Personal injury lawyers have been educated and trained to catch and categorize cases by default. This step is usually complete by the conclusion of the first consultation. What is a normal process of elimination for them may seem rather quick and arbitrary to the average observer. Rest assured, this legal judgment call is neither of those things. A wealth of knowledge and experience goes into categorizing and proving your case.
This article will attempt to break the process down into objective, yet manageable, steps that the outside observer can use to gain a better understanding of personal injury law and cases concerning car accidents; trucking accidents; wrongful death; motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian accidents; insurance law; and product liability. If you live in the Texas Panhandle and have a personal injury case on your hands, please read this article carefully. Even if you do hire an Amarillo personal injury attorney, which is highly recommended, it is best to stay in the loop.
What Is Personal Injury Law?
Personal injury law is used as a catch-all or umbrella term by the legal system. This means the category covers a wide range of cases and injury types, including:
- Auto and car accidents
- Trucking accidents
- Wrongful death
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Insurance law
- Products liability
Among all of these variables, there are two constants:
- Liability
- Damages
The merits of your personal injury case boil down to proving that another person is responsible for your injuries, and attaching a monetary value to those injuries as recompense for the loss and/or pain-and-suffering you or a family member (spouse, parent, child) experienced since the accident occurred.
Personal injury law weighs the burden of proof against the four main components of every personal injury case:
- Liability
- Request for damages
- Insurance coverage
- Validity of claim
Your first task when presenting your case to a personal injury attorney is to show that the person or company that caused the injury acted unreasonably, otherwise known as negligence.
Finding the Common Denominator
Negligence is the most common catalyst in personal injury law. The level of negligence that you can prove dictates the amount of damages likely to be awarded should the court find in your favor. Personal injury law statutes define damages as:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Coverage or reimbursement of medical and rehabilitation expenses
- Lost wages or loss of earning capacity
There’s no standard formula that is used to calculate damages. The overall goal is to assign a monetary value to the resources it would take to make a person whole again.
Generally, the first place to look for compensation is the insurance company for the party deemed responsible. Insurance coverage exists for this very reason. It protects clients from risks, vulnerabilities, and liability. The difficulty is twofold:
- Not every responsible party has insurance coverage
- The insurance company can dispute or deny your claim
In either scenario, you have legal recourse to settle your claim in court. Luckily, thanks to good legal representation, most of these cases are settled out of court. This article has helped you see personal injury law through the eyes of an attorney, but there is no substitution for the real thing. If you are facing a personal injury lawsuit, contact the experienced team of Amarillo personal injury lawyers at Stockard, Johnston, Brown, Netardus & Doyle, P.C. in Amarillo, Texas. They provide exemplary representation – representation that gets results.