The question, “Can I sue for personal injury?” is something that it’s very common. The simple answer to that is yes. If you’ve been injured due to negligence or by intentional tort, you have a right to file a claim for compensation. But what you need to realize is that with every personal injury case, not every single one has to be filed into litigation. Many personal injury claims never see the inside of a courtroom, and quite often, that’s a good thing. If a claim can be settled before it’s filed as a case, the situation can usually be resolved satisfactorily in much less time than a court case would take. A court case also requires more thorough evidence than a simple claim, which may make the possibility of winning damages more of a challenge. If a claim can be resolved before litigation is necessary, it is because the other party has chosen to provide the required damages to avoid the hassle of going to court.
In both a claim and a case, we need a preponderance of evidence— which is to say that we must prove that the case is more likely than not— that suggests that the defendant was in the wrong. If you’re considering suing for personal injury, as you think over your claim, the best thing you can do is gather any and all evidence you have of both injury and fault. Keep records of your doctor visits and medical bills. Photograph your injuries. Keep a log of any things that you may now be unable to do, or which are now considerably more difficult to do in the wake of your injury. If you have anything that incriminates the other party as the source of your injury, hold onto it. Record everything. Make sure that your side of the story is reflected in any police reports that may be filed. The more hard evidence you have, the better chance you have of being successful with either a claim or a case.
When you come into our office and we have your claim, it starts out as a claim, before you file a lawsuit, which is the point at which it can go to trial. Filing a lawsuit may seem like the thing to do to get results, but it can actually be highly stressful and isn’t always worth it. If we can avoid and insulate someone from the invasive nature of a lawsuit, we will do so. Whatever choice we make, we make it together and we make it in the best interest of what you’re hoping to attain. And sometimes we come to the conclusion that filing the case puts us at an advantage for reaching your goals and getting you to the most desirable outcome. Not every case has to be filed, but they certainly can be, and sometimes they should be. And when they are, we are going to guide that case through every process and every step along the way to ensure that we can maximize the recovery for the filing party. What we’re going to do is ensure that we make that decision together when we choose to assess the risk of moving forward with litigation. What we do know is that you have a claim. You’ve been injured and you’re entitled to recovery. How we get there is something that we will decide together. So give us a call and we can start planning how best to proceed.
