Following a personal injury, it can be challenging to adapt to the new physical restrictions of your recovery. You may have hospital or doctor’s bills—a financial stressor made worse by time away from work. Finally, dealing with the emotional consequences of knowing your accident was caused by the carelessness of another can leave you despondent. Fortunately, a personal injury lawyer can help you take action. By filing a civil suit against the at-fault party, you could recover damages for your injuries. The process can be challenging, however—between investigating your case, filing paperwork on time, and even negotiating a fair settlement with the insurance company. Let our Virginia Beach VA personal injury lawyer review your case.
A Guide to Filing a Personal Injury Claim
Accidents can result in a variety of physical damages, commonly known as personal injuries. Personal injuries may span the range from minor to severe. Additionally, it is common to classify injuries as temporary or permanent, or total or partial, depending on how these may limit your ability to work or care for yourself. These are examples of personal injuries:
- Brain injury
- Back, spinal cord, or lumbar injury
- Broken or fractured bones
- Burns
- Lacerations
- And others
Personal injury law – also called tort law – is a component of civil law that provides you with protection when you or your property suffers damage caused by someone else’s action, or, in certain circumstances, inaction. At the very core of personal injury law is negligence and a claim for damages: filing a successful claim means establishing that another party acted negligently, leading to your injuries.
Virginia Beach VA Personal Injury Lawyer
What can filing a claim do for you? As someone who has suffered a personal injury at the hands of someone else, filing a claim allows you to claim compensation, or damages, from the at-fault party or parties. You may be able to recover a wide range of damages in a personal injury action based on the nature and severity of your injuries. In the past, personal injury victims achieved success in seeking compensation for damages of both economic and exclusively non-economic nature. The following are some of them:
- Medical bills, including emergency fees and bills for ongoing treatment
- Punitive damages
- Temporary or permanent disability
- Property damages
- Loss of income
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
It can be often tricky to figure out the real value of your personal injury claim. Thus, consulting your doctor is not only helpful for healing your injuries, but also for estimating the costs of medical care. With that cost of medical care as the keystone, you can strengthen your claim by engaging an experienced personal injury lawyer to diligently conduct the process of civil discovery.