You’ve been injured. You suffer a severe injury in an accident where someone else made a  mistake. It might have been turning on a red light … giving you the wrong prescription … letting a damaged property stay open to visitors … even slipping and falling in a store parking lot. If you suffered injury, you deserve some help. Almost in every case, you should hire an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Why hire a lawyer?
Well, there are numerous reasons. You get more compensation. You get legal protection. You get the chance to prove, in court, that mistakes were made. You can right a wrong. You can get the insurance coverage you paid for. Your lost income can be covered. Your relationship with your spouse can get help. There are more reasons for both hiring a lawyer and filing a lawsuit, but let’s leave it at that.

When Not to Hire a Lawyer
When you have a minor claim. If you slip and fall, sprain an ankle, ice it for a few days, and are back to normal in a week, is filing a claim really worth it? If you get hit while driving, and you suffer a minor injury, something which gets you in and out of the hospital in hours, you again don’t always need a lawsuit. While there is room in personal injury law for certain kinds of claims, if the injury is minor, if little harm was done, it may be a waste of time. Make this decision with a lawyer, even if it’s only a few consultations.

Dangers of Settling Early
If you do suffer injury and liability is clear, in the majority of cases the lawsuit is settled. This is because it saves the insurer – or person who made the mistake – a long, drawn out legal battle which can cost even more. However, they might visit you in the hospital, or give you a call, trying to negotiate a settlement when you have no legal representation. You can usually see right through it; say nothing. If they want to settle before you get a lawyer, ask yourself why, why are they afraid? If you get a lawyer, it boosts your injury claim considerably. That shows you’re serious.

Dangers of Court
You can’t win in court without a lawyer. What many insurers and defendants are afraid of is proof, witnesses, and experts. Therefore, they will do their best to avoid court, where a settlement and added legal fees can bankrupt them. Remember, if you hire a lawyer correctly – by using the pay if you win philosophy – going to court won’t be a worry. If you go into court without a lawyer, you are making a critical mistake. Ask yourself if you know the first thing about what happens in a court room for a injury claim.

Settling on a Lawyer
Setting goals for what you want for personal injury compensation is good, as are your goals for hiring a lawyer. Since the personal injury process can take many months if not years – until you get better from your injury, or when the full scope of the injury is confirmed – you need not rush into hiring a lawyer. Be critical, look for experience, try negotiating, and start taking steps when you are ready.

What kind of claims call for a personal injury lawsuit? More than you might think. And you may be wondering why you have options when injured, or what your rights mean when you walk into a court room. This blog guide can help.

Do you have a claim?
A useful legal resource for lawyers, experts, and “newbies” is Nolo.com, who recommend you file a claim in four scenarios. You suffer a permanent injury. You or a loved one may be incapable of walking correctly for six months to permanently. You suffer from medical malpractice. An incompetent doctor or hospital makes crucial mistakes and it costs you. You suffer a severe injury, such as loss of sight, because of a car accident or fire which should not have occurred. Finally, in a world full of science and technology, sometimes “toxic” problems, such as dangerous gases or some other contaminate, can lead to major injury or death. In all of these examples, there is room for discussion on when a claim is worth pursuing. You should never make this decision alone; get a lawyer’s help.

You Have Rights
As a citizen of the U.S., as a worker, as a parent, as a safe driver, as someone who puts trust in a hospital, you have rights and they must be protected. It may sound like the Bill of Rights, but the point is that you have rights and sometimes you have to protect them. Often enough, it will be you, not someone else, making the decision for a lawsuit. You should make an educated decision by reading pieces like this one and consulting with a lawyer.

Who should you hire?
You have the option of literally thousands of lawyers pretty much anywhere in the country. Your options are many, but they are not all equal. Not all lawyers are capable of helping you. You want someone who specializes in personal injury, perhaps even has direct experience in your situation – if you were in a car accident, accident law is important. You need someone who has the time to help you, not a lawyer who passes the ball to his or her second. And you want someone who is willing to work on the “no win, no fee” philosophy, where if they lose, they get nothing, and if they win, they get something.

How much?
How much can you expect from your personal injury settlement? It’s a critical question, one we’ve went over before. This depends on how you act legally. If you settle out of court, it may be a “win, win” situation, where you can avoid a long legal battle. On the other hand, you may get more in court. Most lawsuits are settled out of court, and if you get the opportunity, consider it a gift. However, make no legal decisions without an experienced lawyer. There is always room for negotiation.

Do you work on the “no win, no fee” philosophy?
You rarely want a lawyer to handle your case for a regular fee. You want the “no win, no fee” philosophy, where if you fail to settle or win, the lawyer gets nothing. This gives incentive, and saves you from going through financial turmoil if you cannot pay.

How long have you been a personal injury lawyer?
You want to know how long this lawyer has specifically handled personal injury cases. You want a lawyer who specializes in personal injury law, not someone who handles general cases of all types.

What cases do you typically handle?
If your lawyer has never handled a case like yours, such as a medical malpractice, take that into consideration. If you have to choose a lawyer who has specifically worked on similar cases, that is more valuable than someone who has never handled anything like it. While this does not necessarily rule out the lawyer, you do want someone with relevant experience.

How much do you charge?
How much of your final settlement – when using the “no win, no fee” philosophy – will the lawyer take? Protect yourself by having this in writing. Your lawyer is paid with the settlement money, and some charge different rates. While someone who charges more is not necessarily more experienced, often that is the case. Typically you’ll pay between 25% and 35%, depending on the length of the case, if it’s settled or not, and how complex it is.

What settlements have you given clients?
You want to know whether this lawyer has a history of winning personal injury cases, especially ones like yours. If they have actual dollar amounts, that can show you how valuable this lawyer is.

How many current clients do you have? How much time can you invest into my case?
These are two related questions: you want to know if this lawyer is overbooked, and to see how much time they can spend actually representing you. A personal injury lawyer may have a lot of experience, but lacks the time to be effective in your case.

Will you refer my case to others?
Some lawyers have whole teams, such as other lawyers and paralegals, taking an active role in your case. You do not want this to put the lawyer, who you hired based on his or her experience and ability, on the sidelines. Therefore, get upfront info on how much of the case they will be personally handling.

While accidents and injuries occur every every minute of the day, it’s important to note your legal protections.  Sometimes the injury does not occur to you. That makes it important to also understand your spouse’s legal options if he or she is involved in an accident, suffers injury in the work place, suffers after a medical mistake, or for variety of other reasons.

Do you have a claim?
You don’t know if you have a claim without looking deeper in what happened, who holds liability, what injuries your spouse suffered, and finally by consulting with a lawyer. If your spouse suffers a minor injury – twists an ankle or something else with little pain and injury – the claim is likely not worth the time and effort. If you end up owing tens of thousands of dollars for medical expenses, and liability is clear, you definitely should consider your rights.

Liability can be proven in a variety of ways. If the police report shows your spouse made little to no mistakes and the other drivers holds liability, that can be a major point in identifying your right to a lawsuit. If a doctor makes a clear mistake, gives your spouse the wrong medicine or advice, and this causes injury, you have legal protections. Bad as it sounds, the more your spouse suffers, the worse the damage, and the clearer the liability, the more value the claim is. On the other hand, this is quite important: you both deserve financial compensation, much more than the basic expenses.

What are the first steps?
This all depends on what happened. You always want a personal injury lawyer to look over your case, but before that, make sure your spouse is healthy, record as many details on the event as possible, record expenses and expected expenses, and find any possible evidence.

Get Better
Your spouse may not be in the best shape to take a major role in the case. If the accident causes whiplash, a relatively common event, you might take the lead role in helping him or her get better mentally and physically.

Get Witnesses and Experts
You might also take a more active role in putting together a case. With a personal injury lawyer’s help, you can collect evidence, find witnesses, and use experts, all to make a better court case.

Who can help?
Rarely do personal injury lawsuits go to court: most are settled before that. While you may want to be in total control of the lawsuit because of your spouse’s injury, you should immediately consult with an experienced personal injury lawyer. He or she will work for any money you get. If you lose, the lawyer should get nothing. If you win, the lawyer gets a fraction, usually 25% to 35%, depending on whether the case goes to court or not. Let a professional handle the case and your chances of a high settlement are great.

You’re hit by someone who doesn’t check his blind spots while driving, or a work accident leads to a major injury, or you simply slip, fall, and break your leg in a store parking lot. Injuries happen every day, and while that may seem scary, remember your rights when an accident occurs. If someone is at fault, if you suffer severe physical and/or mental injury, if you get billed for $20,000 by the hospital, you have a right to compensation. We went over some of the common injuries, but let’s go into more detail.

Car Accidents
There are thousands of car accidents every day. The numbers can be scary. And remember every state gets hundreds of injuries and deaths related to drinking and driving. There are many who simply should not be on the road, or are busy texting and forget to stop. These things happen, and if you get hurt, you have legal protection.

Slip and Fall
Slip and fall injuries are also very common. If you are in a northern state, ice is a reality. And everywhere it rains is potential for a slip and fall. Simply because you made the wrong decision to step on ice, water, or an object, does not mean you have no legal claim. The owner of the property should have kept the grounds safe.

Hurt At Work
Being hurt at work can be somewhat fuzzy, as in some jobs, such as construction, you are taking some risks by accepting the job. However, once again your rights come into play. No matter your occupation, there is almost always a chance for some sort of accident, whether it’s from falling or some other hazard. You may feel odd suing the company who signs your paycheck, but sometimes you must.

Medical
Medical malpractice, our final common personal injury case, is also something you may feel odd about. After all, the hospital was trying to help you. But if they give you the wrong medicine or botch an operation, mistakes which simply should not happen, it’s important to know your rights. If it can be proven a competent doctor or nurse would not have made the mistake, you have a right to sue.

Can you win?
You always have a chance in a personal injury lawsuit. The clearer that liability is, the better chance you have of winning. Usually, if the evidence is against them, insurers and defendants will offer you a settlement out of court. Few personal injury lawsuits go to court, especially when fault is clear. But you do need a lawyer.

Who can help?
You may just take the first offer and forgo hiring a lawyer. That’s your choice, but you may not get an initial offer, or you may be able to get even more money out of this settlement. You simply do not know the value of the claim; an experienced personal injury lawyer does. Fees are minimal when you consider how much you stand to get for a serious injury.

Winning is not always about money. Winning when you’ve been wronged has much more to do with it than the big check you get. Sometimes it makes a point. Of course, in New York personal injury law, winning is definitely about financial protection. It’s important if you or a loved one has been wronged – whether it’s medical malpractice, a hit and run accident, or many others – to get this financial protection.

Who can help?
First and foremost to winning a New York personal injury lawsuit is who you hire for legal representation. There are thousands of personal injury lawyers just in New York city, and many more outside of it. However, you can narrow the field down quite a bit by years experience, cases won, and price. A lawyer is like a lighthouse ensuring a ship reaches harbor: without it, you may crash and come up with nothing.

How soon must you file a New York personal injury claim?
Each state has different time limits for filing a personal injury claim. In New York, you must file the lawsuit within 3 years of the accident. There are some variations to the laws in other states. Generally you don’t want to rush a lawsuit nor wait too long. If you file too early, and suffer further injuries after not claimed, you stand to lose some financial compensation. Of course, if you wait too long it won’t matter at all. The best policy is to consult with a doctor, then your lawyer, and when the injury affects are clear, to file a claim.

What damages can you get?
States vary again on what kind of damages you can claim, but generally the scope of the laws is very much the same. All common personal injury lawsuits – such as hit and run, brain injury, medical malpractice, traffic accident, etc – can be claimed. However, what many fail to understand is that pain, suffering, and trauma also will be compensated for. If you suffered greatly and your life changed, you may get more from pain and suffering damages than for the actual injury.

How do you prove liability?
Your lawyer’s job is to prove liability and damages. Liability is who’s at fault and why. Sometimes this is quite clear: someone ran a red light and hit you. Calculating damages is different, as you’ll be looking at how the accident affected you both in the short and long term. If you cannot work your job ever again, financial compensation should include loss of work. If you suffered major physical and mental pain, you deserve more. Proving this usually involves a doctor, expert witnesses, actual witnesses to the incident, and if any laws were broken such as running a red light.

How much will you get?
Personal injury lawsuits in all states can be quite high. It does depend on who you are suing. If you’re suing a major company with a lot of insurance, the damages could be of great value. On the other hand, if you are hit by a truck from a small business, they may have less money to give. Usually these cases need not go to trial. You and your New York lawyer will likely get an offer to cover the damages and stay out of court; this saves you time and money.

If you have been hurt, you need to get better. If someone has hurt you, you need to know your legal rights. In personal injury claims, while no two cases are exactly alike, there are some parts which merit going over in detail. Namely, pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment, and other ways where your settlement may be higher than you think.

Why is it important to know these things? Aren’t injury, economic loss, and medical costs more important? You may be surprised to find your claim doubling in value simply because you went through or are going through extreme pain or emotional suffering.

Why Pain and Suffering Issues Make Claims Higher
Pain and suffering is not something you can quantify easily in legal terms, but that does not make it any less important. While your doctor may know the cause of the pain, he or she may have trouble actually stopping it. Not surprisingly, in personal injury lawsuits with extreme pain and suffering issues you can and should be compensated. If you suffer through this, it needs to stop, and those at fault must at the least make financial restitution.

What We Mean by Emotional Distress
You may go through a serious depression after you find out you’re ability to run will be gone, or you can barely walk, or that you will suffer through certain conditions the rest of your life. Perhaps you may suffer trauma from the accident. If you suffer emotionally, you need to be compensated.

Loss of Life Enjoyment
If you can’t walk, as an example, that is a loss of life enjoyment, and a great one. If you cannot do the same things you’ve been doing all your life, it can cause a great impact on your life. Therefore, proper compensation is needed.

Loss of Love
If you suffer through sexual problems –  not being able to have any relations with your spouse – this too is a major change in your life. Also, if you’re relationship with others in the family, such as your son or daughter, is greatly affected by your injury, this can be considered in a claim.

How to Value Your Claim
A personal injury claim is about far more than who’s at fault, why they’re at fault, and a hospital bill. Your claim can likely be valued much higher if you suffer beyond the injury. In any case, a professional personal injury lawyer is required. Quite often you’ll be getting offers from insurers; until they make due on the emotional and other damages, you and your lawyer should be prepared to make counter offers.

Pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of happiness and love – these things can be difficult to prove. However, an experienced lawyer can get you proper compensation for your losses. While money isn’t the answer for everything, it is important.

There is no such thing as a bad question, not in school nor in legal matters. Asking questions is paramount to understanding how laws work. If you have some questions, ask away, but you may find answers below.

Do You Have a Claim?
Perhaps the biggest question is whether you have a personal injury claim or not. It depends on the nature of the claim and is not a decision to make by yourself. Foremost is consulting with a lawyer. Even if you don’t necessarily hire them, an experienced lawyer can quite often explain what will happen. Maybe he or she will take your case, maybe not.

You can also take some steps on your own. Is fault clear in the personal injury case? Has the other party agreed they were at fault? Have you received settlement offers already? These can quite often show if your case is valid. For example, if the police report in a car accident, with corroboration from witnesses, says the other driver was at fault, you have a case. If you suffered little to no injury, it may not be worth your time to pursue a claim. However, if you need compensation because of a serious injury, you can often get damages greater than you might think.

Finding a Lawyer
How do you find a lawyer? This is not a race; personal injury claims take time. You should, for one, wait some months before filing a claim. If you suffer serious physical injury, you just don’t know what the full extent will be unless you and your doctor give it time. You might develop a new problem, mental or physical, months after the accident. If you accept damages before that, you are quite often out of luck.

Proof
Your lawyer’s job is to find relevant proof. Sometimes it will be quite easy to prove fault. In most car accidents, proof is clear, even if both sides are at fault to some degree. A doctor will also give you proof. If you suffer a severe injury causing great pain and damage, your doctor can prove it in a court of law.

Low Offer
One common tactic defendants like insurers use is to give you a low settlement offer. They expect you to counter with another offer, but hope you take the first one. This is often before you even get a lawyer (and they know that). You should take no offer without consulting with a lawyer experienced in your type of personal injury case. Some forgo a lawyer, take the offer, and end up with a fraction of their deserved amount.

Going to Court
Should you take a settlement or go to court for more? Most personal injury lawsuits are settled out of court, and for good reason: lawyer fees can be high, especially for the defendant. You can save some money by taking a fair settlement offer. Your lawyer typically takes a cut of what you get in damages, though it’s less if you settle before court. However, do not be afraid to go to court if your case is strong. It can pay dividends. Just be sure to consult with your lawyer before making big decisions.

Winning is quite often about money, but in personal injury lawsuits, it involves right and wrong too. There are many stories of the good guy losing, but with the right strategy, you can maximize what you get if you’ve been wronged. This is nowhere more evident than in medical malpractice lawsuits. This guide explains four key ways you can maximize your personal injury claim for medical malpractice by helping your lawyer.

Don’t Take Easy Deals, Don’t Cooperate
Let’s make it clear: you do not want to cooperate with an insurer or entity when it comes to a claim. The more you say, the worse the situation will be. If you start making statements, the insurer can use them against you. Their job is to give you as little money for medical mistakes as possible. This is a tough one to know when the situation is chaotic, but the most important step.

Give Your Attorney Proof
You can best help your personal injury lawyer by working with him or her and giving any and all proof. Your lawyer needs proof for things like lost income, proof of disability as a result of a medical mistake, any documentation from your doctor, and any other proof of damages in your life. For example, you need proof from a doctor on your condition, as the judge won’t just take your word for your illness.

Proving Mental Effects
While you may think the physical side of a medical malpractice lawsuit is the most important, sometimes the secondary effects of your condition are cause for more compensation. Just as wrongful death cases can lead a judge to giving a very large sum to the deceased’s spouse, so too can a hospital botching an operation and ruining your mental state lead to proper compensation. This isn’t always about the money. Sometimes it’s about making a point as well, but protecting you and your family’s future is important.

Proving emotional distress is also not about saying you have some problems. If you are experiencing symptoms of schizophrenia, you need to get help to ensure you get better, and also for proof in your lawsuit. You can help your lawyer greatly by going to a professional and getting proper evidence of mental effects.

Pain and Suffering Issues
Along with mental problems, you may have some lingering pain and suffering issues after a medical mistake. It then becomes important to show the details. You can’t just say “I can’t sleep.” You have to say when you can’t sleep and why. Your lawyer can then work on getting relevant proof.

Helping your lawyer may seem like an obvious point. However, it’s understandable you have other things on your mind. Be aware that your lawyer is fighting for your rights. If you hire a good personal injury lawyer, and if you’re honest, the compensation should come.

When should you file a personal injury claim? And where should you go for help? They seem like easy questions, but the devil is in the details. First, know your rights. Second, know how to ask questions. Third, go with the experts. This guide answers many related questions.

When Should You File? First, when should you hire a lawyer?
You should consult with a lawyer before agreeing to anything with insurers or the entity at fault. Quite often insurance companies will try to settle before this case goes anywhere. However, know your rights, know that the people at fault are thinking of themselves first and not you, and follow your given right to hire legal representation. You should hire a lawyer the moment you know a claim will be needed. There may be a case of a hospital mistake leading to an injury. In cases such as wrongful death, it’s even more important to follow this step. If you are in an accident, make sure you are okay first, but if possible write down important details on what exactly happened.

How should you hire a lawyer?
Not all personal injury lawyers are equal. Just as in any profession, some are better than others. This profession requires both in court and out of court experience. To hire a lawyer you can go online, make some phone calls, and perhaps even go on recommendations. You want to consult with more than one. And never meet with a lawyer who charges an initial consultation fee. Meet with several lawyers, go over experience, and consider rates.

When can you file?
Once you hire a lawyer, you can then begin the legal process. If you hire a good lawyer, he or she will handle the time table for you. They will be in charge. Unless major mistakes are made, leave it that way. You typically want to wait six months to a year before making any kind of lawsuit. You may even get offers during this period; until you know the full scope of your injury, make no agreements.

You do have a time table allowing you to file the claim. State laws differ, but usually you have about 3 years to file a claim. It’s best to file far before that, especially if you have medical costs or other damages.

Where do you go for help?
If you are unsure of this while process, that’s okay. It does get complex. There are many references in print and online helping those in need of personal injury law information. However, your best resource is your lawyer. Also, legal sites like this one, as well as government law sites, can provide some detailed information. You may even ask someone who’s been through a similar case, though no two personal injury lawsuits are exactly alike.