Imagine one day you get injured in an accident or have a family member that is hurt. This can be because of work, somebody else around you, a lack of proper medical care in a long-term care facility, or even pure negligence.
This results in a personal injury that can leave you on the sidelines for months or even years. Then, not only do you miss work, but you get the medical bills attached to it.
Suppose you or a loved one are injured and find yourself in this situation. In that case, you need to speak with a personal injury lawyer for representation. Whether it is a motorcycle accident, nursing home abuse, or wrongful death, our attorneys can view your claims and get the wheels of justice turning.
In the United States, more people realize this fact. Personal injury cases rose by 97% at the end of 2019.
So, how do you know when you need to arrange a consultation with an accident lawyer? These are some of the signs.
Table of Contents
Car Accidents
This can be one of the most critical times to hire a personal injury lawyer. The main reason is that not everyone has the proper insurance to cover specific personal damage, and sometimes truck accidents result from defective equipment or someone not following regulations.
For example, if a commercial delivery truck crashes into your car, and it results in an accident that causes you to have back injuries. The delivery truck may have needed maintenance, or the driver may not have been following safety regulations.
This accident could leave you potentially stuck with medical bills, especially if you only have liability insurance yourself. It can also cause you to miss time from your job, which means a potential loss in income, and maybe even questioning how you will put food on the table.
Car accident injuries can range from minor cuts and bruises to traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord damage. However, injury victims may be entitled to seek compensation from the responsible party whenever someone else was at fault for the accident, whether it was due to their reckless driving, a car malfunction, or other factors.
The automobile accident attorneys at Lawyer.help think that victims in this position deserve justice for the unjust injuries they have endured as well as compensation for the unjust losses they have sustained. In personal injury lawsuits, we defend your rights rather than those of the insurance company. Statistics show that car accidents are by far the most common and catastrophic of all accident cases, and if you were injured in a car accident as a result of someone else’s negligence, you might be entitled to compensation.
Filing a lawsuit against the driver and their insurance company can force them to pay for your medical bills and perhaps compensation for your time missed from work.
Call our office to review your situation with a personal injury lawyer today.
Level the Playing Field
You will have a more substantial chance of going after a large corporation rather than just one person with a lawyer.
For example, let’s say you are going to dinner before catching a movie on Friday night, and you walk through the main dining area to get to your seat. But, there is a spill in the walkway, and a busser has not gotten there to clean it up yet.
The floor is slippery, and you may not see how wet the floor is. Then, you fall, break your elbow, and can barely stand up straight.
This is the type of injury that may not only keep someone out of work for several weeks but also burden them with a significant medical expense. But, who do you get to pay for the damages?
The restaurant company is responsible for the condition of their premises and the actions of its employees. However, the company will have a team of lawyers at their disposal to deal with a case like yours. Even when they are the liable party, they may tell you that the law isn’t on your side.
They may try to intimidate you into backing down or force you into a lengthy trial without a good lawyer. But, with an experienced personal injury lawyer, you can fight to get what you deserve! Our firm has the resources to help you get what you deserve.
Call our offices to review your situation with a personal injury lawyer today.
Negligence
Negligence is one of the top reasons why personal injury cases are filed, but the definition of negligence can be a little vague. It is defined as the party at fault having an established duty of care that they did not perform for the victim.
Let’s go back to the restaurant. If you happened to slip and fall on the floor, then the restaurant would have failed to live up to their duty of care.
Their responsibility in that situation is to provide a safe environment for you to enjoy eating a meal. With a wet floor, the responsibility of the employees would be to get it cleaned up as soon as possible and clearly mark it as a hazardous area.
Until the employees can properly clean it, they would have to put up a wet floor sign. This sign fulfills the duty of care requirement because, in this situation, the employee is letting the guests know that the floor is currently wet, and walking in that area can result in the guest falling.
If a guest continued to walk right by the wet floor sign and then fell, the restaurant company would not be liable for their injuries because the guest ignored the safety protocols that the restaurant provided for them.
Negligence is failing to perform these simple duties, in other words, not doing the job that you are supposed to.
In New Mexico, you can recover a percentage of damages equivalent to the percentage of negligence on the side of the other party, even though the other party was mainly to blame. Suppose you were 90 percent at blame in an accident while the other person was only 10 percent at fault. In that case, you would be able to claim 10 percent of the damages resulting from your accident.
When it comes to determining damages, New Mexico uses a different method. Damages will only be recoverable in New Mexico, where you are less than 50% responsible for the damages that have occurred. You may be able to recover damages as long as you were only 49 percent at fault or less in the accident. If you were 50 percent or more at fault in your accident, you would not be able to claim any damages.
A lawyer can help establish negligence for situations you may never realize and help you recover the full extent from the at-fault party.
Nursing Home Abuse
Abuse and neglect in nursing homes are unfortunately too commonplace. Nationwide, the amount of abuse and neglect cases in nursing homes are rising. The type of neglect and abuse found in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and around the U.S. can manifest in many forms, mainly through visible or mental channels. A nursing home abuse attorney can best help an individual understand the circumstances of the case at hand.
No matter the type of neglect or abuse found in nursing homes, it is important that action is taken to bring charges against the negligent party. In order for this to happen, people need to be aware of the symptoms of this kind of abuse. Federal nursing home regulations provide that the resident has the right to be free from verbal, sexual, physical, and mental abuse, corporal punishment, and involuntary seclusion.
Nursing home negligence statute of limitations range from 1 to 6 years, depending on the state. Nursing home abuse and neglect cases in New Mexico generally have a statute of limitations one year from the date you discovered the abuse.
Nursing home abuse generally refers to neglect. Neglect is evident when a patient is not fed properly, not cleaned, not turned, or not given enough nourishment or water, leading to a physical breakdown.
A knowledgeable nursing home abuse lawyer with extensive experience can assist in preparing a strong legal action to help maximize any potential damage awards. It is in your best interests to explore – it can make all the difference between getting nothing and getting full compensation.
Hire an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney
If any of the above reasons fit your personal situation, NOW is the time to speak to the right personal injury lawyer. Call us by phone, contact us via text message, send us an email, or come into our offices for a free consultation today!
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