How to Determine the Value of Your Personal Injury Claim

Personal injury lawsuits come from the carelessness and negligence of others that cause bodily harm, destruction of property, or other forms of loss to the victim. Below are a few reasons individuals file personal injury lawsuits.

• They have sustained injuries from a motor vehicle accident
• Their health has been negatively affected by medical malpractice
• A person suffers a slip-and-falls on poorly maintained infrastructure on either private or public premises
• One got injured at work
• A defective product causes injury to the user

Suppose any of these scenarios, or others not mentioned, apply to your situation. In that case, whether you are seeking compensation in NYC after having suffered a slip due to negligence of others or you are suing an owner for a dog bite in Missouri, it is best to look for a dedicated personal injury attorney to help you determine the value of a personal injury claim.

Determining the Value of Your Personal Injury Claim

It's only fair that the more the losses a person suffers, the higher the value you receive on your personal injury claim. After assessment and litigation, the liable party should compensate the plaintiff for how the incident has negatively affected their life.

Read on to learn about the three main categories of compensation.

Special Damages Also Called Economic Damages

Economic damages are awarded to compensate victims for their tangible loss. These include the medical bills incurred during treatment, the cost of replacing or repairing damaged property, the lost income due to time taken off work, and other unforeseen expenses that have a price tag associated with them.

These expenses are easier to calculate and project because there are records that one can provide to ascertain their legitimacy. They cover both current costs and future financial implications of the accident.

General Damages Also Called Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are awarded to compensate victims for their intangible loss. These include the emotional distress caused by the accident, the physical pain caused, the change in the quality of life caused by the victim’s injuries, disability, and loss of consortium.

Punitive Damages

Punitive damages are awarded to the plaintiff not as direct compensation but as punishment to the liable party for their reckless or malicious actions.

The Type of Case Impacts the Value of Your Claim

Even if there is sufficient cause for an injured person to receive compensation, there are other factors at play that could determine the value of your claim. 

The liable party’s insurance will have a policy limit if your compensation exceeds that limit or the liable party doesn't have insurance. You’ll have to pursue compensation in civil court.

Company-owned vehicles have better insurance; therefore, the payout will be substantial. Other factors like the person’s age in the accident, the status of the liable party, the venue the claim was filed, etc. 

Some cases are more complicated because of the people involved and might determine the lawsuit’s outcome, whether negatively or positively.

Get a Personal Injury Attorney to Increase Your Claims Value

When going through the rigorous process of claiming compensation, you will need an experienced personal injury lawyer in your corner. They will represent your best interest every step of the way and fight to see justice served via a financial compensation.

If the process goes to a courtroom, your lawyer can represent you in the court proceedings. Their knowledge of the law about personal injury will be invaluable.

How to Sue for Medical Malpractice

Doctors, medical practitioners, and hospitals owe a duty of care to their patients. They are expected to attend to patients with the most reasonable amount of care a qualified practitioner should have. Once the duty is breached in negligence, patients have the legal right to seek and receive compensation for medical malpractice and any resultant injuries.

Medical malpractice laws are meant to protect the rights of patients that have suffered as a result of substandard medical care. While this protection is provided for in the law, the first step to asserting these rights requires initiative from the patient. 

The following is an in-depth discussion on medical malpractice cases and how to go about them.

Act Before the Expiry of the Statute of Limitations

The biggest mistake any patient can make is taking too long a time to file their medical malpractice. There are statutory time limits requiring patients to file their medical malpractice claims promptly. Time limits vary from state to state; they could be as short as a year since the malpractice occurred. 

Therefore, ensure you find out the statutory provisions for medical malpractice in your state. Pay attention to how long you have to make your claim.

Discuss Your Case with a Medical Malpractice Attorney

Quite plainly, medical malpractice lawsuits aren’t the kind of lawsuits you would risk handling by yourself. These cases are often very complex since they cut across a variety of medical, legal, and procedural standpoints. 

Proving medical practice requires a law firm that understands the laws applying to your situation and familiarity with all the hoops a medical malpractice plaintiff must jump through.

From the moment you realize you want to file a medical malpractice claim, consult with an attorney. A medical malpractice attorney will have access to all the needed experts, such as expert medical witnesses.

Determine Whether the Hospital Was Negligent

Before filing the claim, you must determine who was negligent. Just because medical negligence took place at a hospital doesn’t automatically imply that the facility, i.e., the hospital, must be held liable. 

For instance, if the substandard care was provided by a doctor that is an independent contractor; therefore, not an employee, you should be pursuing action against the doctor herself/himself.

In most cases, you cannot sue a hospital for any doctor’s treatment error, unless the doctor in question is an employee of the hospital. However, exceptional cases occur, like when the doctor’s incompetence should have been apparent to the concerned hospital.

This is where an attorney comes in; once you consult with one, they’ll listen to your case’s circumstances and give you sound advice.

Obtain Your Medical Record and Determine Your Damages

Every hospital keeps their past patients’ medical records, at least a few years since their treatment. Upon making a request, the hospital should give you your records without hesitation. The most they should charge you is the copying expense.




At some point, the hospital or negligent practitioner may offer you a settlement; you must determine your case’s value beforehand. Consider all the possible harm and losses that stem from the malpractice, including future medical treatment that resulted from the error.

Evaluate the past and future lost wages. Valuing damages by yourself is risky since there may be some valid losses that should be compensated for that you are not aware of. 

For instance, you need to take into account any decrease in your life’s value due to the injury, a loss measured by lifestyle changes like losing the ability to walk, enjoy sports or play with children.

You may also get damages for the loss of consortium, which is the loss suffered by your family members due to your injury. A seasoned attorney will have the requisite knowledge to evaluate every single loss you suffered from the malpractice.

Draft and File Your Complaint

A lot of states have varied rules regarding the procedure involved in filing a medical malpractice suit. For instance, some states require their patients to file an affidavit of merit where a qualified medical expert has attested that the patient has a valid case.

Your attorney will take you through these processes to ensure your claim isn’t invalidated over a small step missed. Finally, you and your attorney will draft and file the complaint describing the occurrence of the injury, the harm caused to the patient, and the amount of money expected in compensation.

Make a Claim and Get Justice for Your Injuries

Sometimes, mistakes are just mistakes, while other times some mistakes are obvious and could have been avoided. If you suspect that you are a medical malpractice victim, seek a professional medical expert and medical malpractice attorney. 

Explain the circumstances and check whether you have a valid case. Once you have ascertained that you have a claim, go ahead and begin the process.

Suffered an Injury? Here's What You Will Need to Recover Physically and Financially

Injuries can happen anywhere, place of work, on the road, or during medical malpractice. Whichever the cause of the injury, you need to get to your original physical, mental, and financial position. 

It would mean that you undergo various treatment plans and a good representation from a lawyer if the responsible party is not responding. Therefore, below is a list of what you need to recover physically and financially when you suffer an injury.

Diagnostic Tests

It is important to know the extent of the injury so that the doctor can implement the ideal treatment plan. Therefore, you are supposed to look for diagnostic tests like CT scans and X-rays. The diagnostic test performed on you will depend on the type of injury that you acquire.

Treatment from Medical Professionals

Once you have figured out the scope of the injury, it is time to get the necessary treatments. Comprehensive treatment will guarantee quick and efficient recovery. Also, you will need to consider different specialists to help you recover from the injury. 

For instance, immediately you experience the injury, you will need an ER to nurse the wound before heading to the doctor. At the treatment center, you will need access to various specialists, depending on the type and extent of the injury.

Medication and Prescription

An injury can have varied effects on your body. It can lead to severe pain and permanent injuries when it is chronic. Medication and prescription will help you in the healing process and return you to your initial physical condition. 

For instance, you will need access to pain medication to help you relieve pain. Also, some antibiotics will help you ward off infections as fast as possible. Both short-term and long-term prescriptions are ideal for dealing with minor and long-term injuries, respectively.

Physical Therapy

The injury can cause permanent malefactions on your body parts. However, with effective physical therapy, you can gain these functionalities. Therefore, it would be ideal to consider physical therapy and chiropractic care to aid your healing process.

Personal Injury Lawyer

Treatment plans can be expensive, and you would want to be compensated. However, the company you are working for or the responsible party for your medical malpractice may not be willing to compensate you for the medical expenses. 

Therefore, you will need the services of a personal injury lawyer who would calculate the amount you need to be compensated. Also, a lawyer would help you get funds to make up for the lost income and benefits.

Recovering from an injury can be a painful and long journey. Special medical cover and representation from a qualified personal injury lawyer will help you recover financially and physically.

How to Know When You Should File for Personal Injury

It’s easy to turn your nose up at the concept of filing a personal injury claim after suffering an injury, but just because this practice is sometimes abused doesn’t mean it isn’t valid. Sometimes in life, injuries happen and affect your life and through no fault of your own, you earn less or can’t do some of the things you used to do.

Filing a claim can be a long and exhausting process, mentally tough, emotional, especially when trying to heal physically at the same time. That’s why you need someone who has experience in the industry to help you decide not only when to file but how to go about making it happen.

Common Areas

Some of the more common areas of personal injury law include:

• Brain injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Long-term disability
• Slips and falls

And within these areas of injury, you may be looking at more specific incidents, such as:

• Car, truck and boating accidents
• Amusement park ride accidents
• DUI accidents
• Medical malpractice incidents
• Dog bites
• Construction site accidents
• Workplace accidents
• Accidents on private property

How It Generally Works

Usually, it all starts with an accident of some sort and an injury. The injury may be minor or major, but it happened because someone else did something they shouldn’t have done. That “something” can vary greatly, depending on the details of the injury.

They may have driven after having a few drinks, forgotten to shovel their sidewalk, let their dog roam around without a leash or prescribed the wrong medicine for a particular ailment. Once the injury is suffered, the victim will contact a personal injury lawyer and tell their story.

Then, the lawyer will lay out the options, whether he feels the case is strong and outline the best way to proceed. Sometimes, a settlement is reached out of court and sometimes the case must be settled in court. 

Following Advice

Since the top personal injury lawyers have experience in the industry and in the area you suffered the injury, it makes sense to follow any advice you’ve been given. Your lawyer will know who can sue in your area and what conditions must be present to get a decent settlement or any settlement at all.

Any reputable lawyer will do everything by the book and won’t be the stereotypical “ambulance chaser” type of personal injury lawyer. Suffering an injury out of the blue through no fault of your own is terrible.

Not only will there be medical costs, but you may not be able to earn in the same capacity. You deserve someone to take responsibility for your injury, so don’t feel ashamed about seeking out legal help. Make your claim and do what your lawyer says. Sometimes, you may receive a settlement and still be out some money after all the medical and legal costs. No one plans to get injured or wants an injury, so don’t feel bad about doing something about it.

Author Bio:

The author of the article is Jeremy Benson. He has been writing about finance, mortgage and law since 7 years. Blogging is one among his greatest passions. Follow him on Twitter@jeremybenson19.

Image Source: www.shutterstock.com

Boomers Dental Health: What You Need to Know

English: A little girl has her first visit to the dentist. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As more and more Baby Boomers age, many are finding that their overall dental health is lacking. Trying to juggle the many different monthly expense is contributing to the lack of proper dental care. It's true their prime health concern is worrying about paying their health insurance premiums. Plus with the Obama Care debacle, many losing are losing their health care insurance.

It is very important to take care of your dental health but to many it's secondary and often ignored. A survey by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) finds that for older Americans, even though they claim to be aware of preventive dental measures, neglect to implement these measures. These measures include using floss and mouthwash daily and even daily tooth brushing.

Still the good news is many Boomers do make twice a year visits to the dentist for check-ups. You need to take charge of your dental health care by learning what your needs are and making sure your dentist performs the proper the treatment properly.

It is important to be aware that 80,000 people per year are victims of some form of dental negligence. Sadly only 10,000 of these people seek help and appropriate compensation. Many wish to avoid the malpractice root because of fear or ignorance of their rights. 

The law states any health care practitioner who is responsible for causing injury is subject to the laws of medical malpractice. If your dentist hurts you or causes pain or injury it could be considered medical malpractice.

Dental malpractice is considered by many to be when the dentist causes a negligent conclusion to a medical procedure. This is true but there is another type of malpractice called passive malpractice. An example of this is when during a regular checkup your dentist spots evidence of cancer development. If the dentist neglects to tell you, then this is considered passive negligence.

There are many reasons that people avoid going to the dentist. But for overall health it is important to get you checkups and cleanings twice a year. For more information on dental health and your rights visit brooklyn dental malpractice.

Medical Negligence Solicitors Can Help the Victims of Malpractice

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Medical malpractice is the result of a medical professional being negligent in the practice of medicine. Medical negligence is when a doctor does not comply with normal medical practices to keep a patient from harm. If a doctor does not follow normal medical practices, and the result is complications or serious injury, then the result is malpractice. 

How Does Medical Malpractice Effect the Elderly

Here are reasons seniors may need to file a medical malpractice lawsuit:

1.Wrong Medication Prescribed- You often hear of medical malpractice cases caused by someone given the wrong medication. You might be in a hospital and given too much of a medication, or you are given the wrong medication for your illness.   If you were ever prescribed the wrong medication and you became gravely ill, left handicapped, or die, you or your family can file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

2. Incorrect Diagnosis - If you go to a doctor for symptoms that you have, you expect to be given a correct diagnosis. If you are tested, but given the wrong diagnosis, you can file a lawsuit if the illness progressed and resulted in damage to your body.

3. Medical Equipment Failure- A medical device might not work properly, or give false signals. It might also not be properly cleaned, and the patient develops an infection and dies. A doctor or medical staff can be held responsible for any injuries resulting from defective equipment.

4. Wrongful Death - A wrongful death can occur from a doctor, or other health care professional acting in a way that goes against the standard of care that is guaranteed under a U.S. state or federal law. The same lawsuit can also be applied in the case of any doctor, who fails to act to an incident, and the patient dies as a result of the doctor's negligence.

What Should You Do if You Think You Are a Victim of Medical Malpractice?

First contact a medical malpractice attorney. They have free consultations, and you can tell them all the details of your case. They can inform you of your rights, and determine if your problem really is malpractice or not.

It always good to have separate discussions with several lawyers to get other opinions. If most of the attorneys believe you have enough evidence to file a medical malpractice suit, then it's time to choose the best attorney to help you with your case.

You should consider that medical lawsuits can take years to resolve. Even if you settle out of court, it can take a lot of time. Most people, who file a lawsuit, get worn down by all of the time it takes, and the amount it can cost them upfront.

Finally, over half of all medical malpractice suits that are filed are not successful. This is also something that needs to be considered before filing any lawsuit. In the end, use your judgment to determine what you really want to do. For more info see Pryers Solicitors.

Medical Negligence A Growing Problem For Baby Boomers

When going to the doctor we expect to find treatment and cure for our pain, injuries or illnesses. Such is the nature of the medical practitioners, to bring relief and diminish or eliminate the source of pain which is causing discomfort to the body. But what happens when the ones in charge of our health make the wrong decisions and therefore cause injuries or illnesses to patients who required their assistance? 

Medical negligence should be avoided at all costs and when it does occur, legal actions should be taken in order to obtain support and compensation. Neglect could be the result of the following actions: 

• Incorrect or late diagnosis 
• Errors and mistakes performed by doctors during surgery 
• Lack of appropriate post surgical care and treatment 
• Administration of medication which is not correct and might lead to complications 
• Lack of sterility in the environment where the patient is located before, whilst and after surgery 

These factors will lead to complications, occurrence of temporary or permanent injuries and life threatening illnesses. In the unfortunate situation when a friend or family member finds himself in such a position, it is crucial to ask personal injury lawyers for help and advice. These people have dealt with similar situations in the past and will surely know what should be done next in order to obtain compensation and full recovery. One of the most important things to consider is the time limit: it should be no longer than 3 years starting from the moment you notice the neglect. Proof of wounding as a result of medical malpractice should be evident and well articulated, so that the patient does not lose his right to compensation due to lack of evidence. 

Bolt Burdon Kemp is one of the companies which deal with such matters and their team of professionals is highly trained so that they can offer only the best of advice and support to the client. Their website offers accurate information on anything related to the topic and people in search of help will surely find answers to all the questions they might have. If that does not happen, they can always get into contact with the lawyers via telephone or email.