When to Hire a Personal Injury Attorney: Do You Have a Case?

Sustaining an injury is, at the very least, an inconvenience and, at most, life-threatening or debilitating. Life isn’t always fair, and many accidents can’t be prevented. However, some can.

How do you know when you should contact one of the Florida personal injury lawyers at Avera & Smith? It’s important to know what qualifies as a personal injury claim—and what doesn’t—so you can make the right decision and call a personal injury attorney if necessary.

What Is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Accidents are part of daily life, but the fact that they are common does not make the situation any less painful for you or an injured loved one. In certain cases, you may be able to reduce pain and suffering by receiving compensation for damages. But how do you know if your case qualifies?

First and foremost, for an injury to warrant a formal personal injury case, where you hire a personal injury attorney to represent you in civil court, there must be a way to establish that someone else was responsible for the accident. Negligence is one of the most common ways that another party may be responsible for an accident. Examples of negligence include a driver failing to stop at a red light or a company ignoring safety procedures in the workplace.

If a personal injury attorney can establish that someone else was liable, or responsible, for your accident, you have the potential to bring a personal injury case against them or their insurance company.

Liability for Damages in a Personal Injury Case

Once a lawyer establishes another party’s liability for the accident, they must be able to show that the accident caused your injury and that it resulted in harm in the form of compensatory damages.

Compensatory damages from a broken leg caused by an automobile accident could include current and future medical bills, lost wages due to time away from work, general pain and suffering, and more. These damages are bills and circumstances that only exist because of the accident, so it is only fair that the responsible party, or their insurance company, covers the cost associated with them.

Hiring a Florida Personal Injury Attorney

Unfortunately, around 1 in 3 people will be involved in a serious accident at some point in their lives. If another party is responsible for the accident that caused your injury, you may be entitled to compensation for everything from medical bills and lost wages to pain and suffering. Contact the personal injury lawyers at Avera & Smith for a free consultation.