There is more to personal injury claims than just getting into an accident. Yes, accident law is the most common, but you can make a personal injury claim after assault and/or battery.

Just what is assault? What is battery? What kind of claim can you make? And how much is your  lawsuit worth?

Assault and Personal Injury
For our purposes, consider that assault is not always striking someone, such as punching them or hitting them with a bat. It is that, of course, but threatening to beat someone with a bat, threatening with a weapon (real or not; loaded or not) can also be constituted as an assault.

The site NOLO has a useful article on this subject. They point out examples where no physical assault was committed, but where there were actions constituting assaults. One example is where a man threatens to punch another in his face, saying so verbally. This is assault. You can file a suit if someone does threaten you.

Battery is when the assault is no longer a threat and that an action has taken place. If they threaten to hit you but don’t, that’s assault. If they threaten to hit you, and do, that’s battery.

Battery and Personal Injury Claims
State laws differ on how battery is made, but it’s pretty much summed up above: there was contact made, either intentional or not. If someone threatens to hit you with a car, tries to stop, and hits you, that’s battery. You need not break a leg or suffer a concussion to sue on battery charges for this. If there was contact made, and it’s dangerous, you have a case for battery.

So you know that assault is more of a threat, and battery is an actual attack.

What kind of claim can you make?
First, if the assault or battery were minor, you may not want to file a lawsuit. Yes, it can make a point, but the actual damages can be quite minor. If someone threatens to hit you, you can sue them, but it won’t turn into some huge settlement and may cost you too much. On the other hand, if battery did occur, or the assault is very serious, you can get some damages. This can go beyond simple injury: in some cases you can be mentally affected.

You can find out the general rate for personal injury claims made for assault and battery depending on what happened. This is where a lawyer can be invaluable.

How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help
You’ll know you have a winner if an experienced personal injury lawyer takes your case for a portion of the settlement. Few lawyers will take single assault personal injury claims simply because the time involved is too big and damages given too small.  But you really don’t know until you consult with a lawyer. If you intend to win, it’s almost required to hire legal counsel. He or she can prove the assault and/or batter occurred, ensure you get proper damages, and help you make the defendant pay.

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.

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.

Winning is possible in personal injury cases because of laws that protect your rights. You have a right to compensation if you’ve been severally hurt. If a loved one has died, you deserve financial protection and to be able to punish those responsible. If you put your health in the hands of a hospital, it’s their job to keep that trust. Unfortunately, making sure your rights are not infringed upon can be tough. This blog guide goes over the litigation process, educating you on what happens, what you can expect from your lawyer, and what you should expect from those at fault.

First Steps
You hire a personal injury lawyer. Even if you are a lawyer yourself, even a personal injury lawyer, you should hire a professional who can spend valuable time on your case, can stay impartial, and can fight for your rights.

The lawyer will start out by gathering key evidence, witnesses, and experts. Say for example you were in an accident and had a major back injury. Your best evidence may be the witness to the accident. You can also use experts to show how this accident might have happened. And in a proper case, police reports are important.

Your Health
Once you have gotten capable of appearing in court, you and your lawyer will be making a plan based on medical problems you are having, what the doctor thinks, what kinds of losses you’ve had as a result of being unable to work, and some more economic details.

Ask for An Offer
In our accident example, you would want to allow for a settlement offer to be made. Your lawyer should formally ask them for an offer. If one is made, you have to make your own decision. Accept no offer unless your lawyer agrees, and be reasonable. If they are trying to cheat you out of proper compensation, you can keep fighting and with the right lawyer win even more.

You File a Suit
If you don’t like the offer or one never comes, you then file a lawsuit. Then the court process is in the hands of your lawyer. It’s his or her job to ensure you stay within the laws, to effectively use witnesses and experts, and to win you proper compensation. That makes hiring an experienced lawyer very important.

What personal injury lawyer can help you most?
The best personal injury lawyers do more than win, they care. Let’s face it, in many lawsuits you are practically married to your legal counsel. After all, you and your family’s future are on the line. Therefore you should be very picky about getting a lawyer with experience, who offers a fair fee, and who you get along with.

A good lawyer will not take all you compensation. He or she will get a part of the settlement money. This keeps costs down for you while the litigation is ongoing, and gives the lawyer more incentive to win.

A demand letter is an integral part of the personal injury law process. It can mean the difference between winning a lawsuit and getting nothing. An incorrect demand letter hurts you in court. An accurate one is the first step in winning a case, if not settling out of court for a high amount.

This guide will educate you in many ways concerning the demand letter.
-What it is
-Why you need it
-What it includes
-How to set a fee
-How to settle
-And what your lawyer can do

What is a personal injury demand letter?
This letter highlights why you feel compensation is required. You show your arguments on why compensation is deserved. You might have been in a very bad car accident, having to spend months in the hospital. On your insurance claim, you would want to show first how affected you were and second what you deserve in term of compensation. The demand letter acts as the first step in getting compensation for your injury.

What does the demand letter include?
-What injuries you suffered
-What current injuries have effected your life, as well as any new injuries which became problematic
-Why the other person or entity is legally responsible
-How much the medical treatment cost and how long it took
-How much income you lost
Some of this is pretty obvious. For one, your injuries can be proved by your doctor. Your pain and suffering can also be proved by your doctor, along with your own personal testimony.

How the person is legally responsible for your accident can be the deciding factor: you need to prove this in order to win. Using our car accident case, a police report may be the proof you need in a demand letter.

Not noted in those points is the amount of the claim. That’s because you want to ensure you are fully covered. You should know the full extent of your injuries. You need to see how this has effected your life in the short and long term. You definitely need legal representation in order to know the compensation deserved.

How to Set Your Personal Injury Compensation
You should consult with a personal injury lawyer when involved in any case like this. Your fee will involve the above points, such as how much medical expenses you suffered, and may be higher than you think. Since personal injury lawsuits are negotiated, quite often out of court and sometimes before meeting in court, you want a fee you can negotiate with. If you give a number above, say 50-100 percent higher than what you deserve, in negotiations you can go down and come back to your main number.

What can your lawyer do?
Your lawyer is integral in writing a demand letter; often he or she earns his fee through it. As to fees, you should be aware that most personal injury lawyers agree to take a part of the settlement money. This is important. Lawsuits typically take some time to come together, and therefore paying out of pocket for a lawyer may be impossible. If you’re case is a winner, you should have no trouble getting representation. Just be sure the lawyer is rates are reasonable, has experience in and out of court, and can spend some time helping you.

Structured settlements in personal injury cases require some legal help. But who can help? The best way to get help on any personal injury law subject is by consulting with an experienced lawyer. However, the final decisions should be made by you with some guidance from your lawyer. For example, in many cases structured settlements help give more stability after a major injury. You might have trouble walking after being hit by a car, and the settlement pays you money in steady amounts so you can live a normal life. That’s in fact one of the benefits of structured settlements. Let’s go over some more.

Benefits of Structured Settlements
If you have a permanent injury which makes it impossible for you to work, a structured settlement can have lasting economic benefits. You typically pay much less taxes in a settlement. If you have trouble managing larger amounts of money, a lump sum may not be in your best interest. You might also have an easier settlement because some companies prefer paying over time rather than lump sums.

Spending all your settlement money seems like an easy mistake to avoid. However, many believe more money will come in, and blow the entire windfall within a matter of years. If you get it spread over 20 years if not the rest of your life, and have it managed by a professional, you have more economic security.

You can also plan for future problems with a structured settlement. If you fear future medical problems because of the injury, you can plan for such costs in the settlement plan.

Downsides of Structured Settlements
You don’t want too much control of your money; that may sound odd, but it’s because of the IRS. If you control your money too much, the tax benefit you gain will sometimes be lost. You want a professional to manage your money, but that can take the management process out of your hands.

In other situations, you may experience severe economic problems. The economy may go downhill, you may lose a lot in the stock market, your spouse may lose his or her job, and you will have no protection. These are examples of where a lump sum may buy you the time you need.

You usually get about the same amount in a structured settlement, but you can never be sure. Insurance companies sometimes prefer structured settlements because it can save them money in the long run. They won’t disclose the value of the settlement, only how much you get.

Should You?
Structured settlements are not for everyone, but the benefits likely sound better than the downsides. In the end, it’s up to you. What you can do is consult with a lawyer on the case. No matter your opinion or what offers are on the table, you need to hire a personal injury lawyer.

Who can help?
A local, professional, and experienced personal injury lawyer is invaluable in personal injury settlements. Quite often in personal injury cases you will get settlement offers before even going to court.  And the more proof you have of fault and injury, the better the settlement. If you have trouble keeping money in the bank, a structured settlement may be better; it may also be a deciding factor in both sides agreeing to compensation. If you’re good with money and want more control, getting your money in a lump sum can give you more financial freedom.

Let’s get right to the questions you might have when it comes to personal injury law and medical negligence.

Is your case strong?
This all depends on the nature of your case, and requires some legal consultation. However, your right in personal injury cases is clear: you can sue if you or a loved one has been injured and suffer physical or mental issues. In many lawsuits, the case is so strong that the defendant will offer a settlement far before it goes to trial. Even if you get no such offer, the more proof you have of fault, the stronger your lawsuit.

How much will it cost?
Costs for a personal injury lawsuit vary according to the the time involved. Some personal injury lawyers are willing to waive their fees unless you win; if you do win, you pay them an agreed rate. This does not mean paying upfront is bad, as not all lawyers will do this. Also, you should only speak to personal injury lawyers who offer free consultations; you might be meeting several, and this is a fee you need not pay.

How fast will you get trial?
Personal injury lawsuits are not a sprint; they’re more like a long distance run. Typically you have to wait about 1-2 years before you actually go to trial. You should also wait some time until you know the entire scope of your injuries. Your damages may not appear until months later; it’s smart to wait 6 months to a year before you sue.

What if a loved one dies due to medical negligence?
You have the right to sue if you’re spouse, parent, or child has died due to medical negligence. These cases can be hard for you emotionally, but it’s important to exercise your right in court against those at fault.

What laws protect you from medical malpractice?
State laws can differ in terms of medical malpractice cases. However, the nature of the law is the same. If you or a loved one are hurt by incompetence, you have a right to sue the providers, usually the hospital. If it can be proved a competent doctor or staff member would not have made the same mistake, you have a clear case.

How much time do you have to file a lawsuit?
States have different laws when it comes to how soon you must file a suit. In all cases, you need to consult with a local, experienced personal injury lawyer. A lawyer can educate you on your strategy for filing a personal injury lawsuit and the time table for it.

Can you have a jury?
Your right is almost always to have a jury trial, though there are certain times where you can’t. This depends on state laws. States allow for jury trials, but sometimes if you signed an agreement beforehand, you lose the right to a jury trial.

What if you lose?
Losing personal injury lawsuits is not the end. This is what appeals courts are for. If you can prove the laws were not followed correctly in the original trial, you can make a strong appeals court case. This too requires an experienced personal injury lawyer.

You’ve been hurt at work. First, always go see a doctor. You need proof that you’ve been injured; if at work or if somewhere else. You also need to find out if this will be a long term or short term injury. For example, if you were driving a semi-truck as your occupation and the wheels lost traction in the snow, causing you to break your leg severally in the accident, this could be a long term injury. If on the other hand you slipped on a wet spot while walking into your office, that may be a short term injury.

Either does not necessarily mean you have a personal injury case, but no matter if the injury is minor or major, you need to know your rights. If you were injured at work, you may fear complaining about it. If this injury impacts your ability to work and enjoy life, you do deserve some form of monetary compensation if a party is responsible.

What if it’s a long term injury?
If you suffered a severe injury or were permanently disabled by the accident, this is a long term injury you simply must look into. Beyond paying your medical bills, the company insurance carrier should offer you some help in readjusting; actually they should offer a lot of  help.

If it’s a short term injury, is there no chance for financial help?
You still have a very good chance of getting monetary help even for minor injuries. In some cases, it might effect you mentally which can make a big difference. Just because you “only” broke your leg does not mean you have no options.

Do you need a lawyer?
If you are severally injured at work and you are having trouble working with insurance companies, you likely do need a lawyer. Even for minor injuries a lawyer can help. You must first assess the overall severity of the injury, and be able to prove this in court. An experienced personal injury lawyer is very often worth his or her weight in gold. In most cases, you never even go to court; usually an out of court settlement is reached because that’s much cheaper for the insurance company.

The old story is the lawyer takes it all, but if you win in court or reach a settlement, depending on the severity you will be compensated for the future.

What if you don’t get a lawyer?
It would be wrong to say in all personal injury cases, either at work or somewhere else, you must hire a lawyer. However, it greatly increases your chances of winning. If price is an issue, many lawyers are willing to take money if the settlement occurs. You do not have to hire a lawyer, but the insurance companies are trying to save money, not spend money, and they may hire professionals to prove their case. Likely, you should too.