Is Your Personal Injury Claim Going To Be Difficult?

Many people visiting a personal injury law office want to know how difficult their claim is going to be. A personal injury lawyer can never promise how a case will turn out. However, they'll note that three factors influence how challenging a claim may or may not be.

Does the Defendant Have Insurance?

Generally, a defendant with insurance makes a case easier. Insurers are often motivated to wrap cases up as quickly as possible. Likewise, they use actuarial tables to determine what they ought to pay out. As long as your claim isn't unusual, this tends to put the case on the rails.

Notably, a defendant doesn't have to maintain insurance. Personal injury attorneys still bring cases against uninsured defendants. Even if a defendant doesn't have any money or assets, it might be possible to sue and obtain a court order garnishing their wages. However, this does add some steps to the process. Also, some defendants are so thoroughly financially wrecked that they're effectively lawsuit-proof.

How Much Evidence Is There?

Evidence helps injury claims. First, unless your case is flimsy, an insurer doesn't want to risk going to court. Second, evidence not only helps to prove who was at fault but explains how bad your injuries were. Overall, this tends to drive settlements or judgments higher.

A personal injury case lawyer will look at several types of evidence. There is medical evidence of the injuries, particularly in the form of scans and reports from doctors and first responders. Likewise, witnesses can provide testimony. Companies also maintain equipment and worker logs that sometimes flesh out stories about negligence and liability. Finally, there may be evidence like video or audio that shows the moment of an accident.

What Is the Theory of the Defendant's Liability?

A personal injury law firm always prefers to present the simplest theory of the defendant's liability. There might be a fairly standard argument, such as a store's liability for leaving an unmarked and wet floor where customers walk.

Conversely, there could be a more complex theory of liability. Suppose a bar has been the scene of several extremely violent assaults. Worse, another assault happens. The victim might sue the bar for negligent security even though a patron was the perpetrator of the crime. A case like this is far from impossible, but it presents more hurdles to proving that the business was at fault compared to the slip-and-fall example.

For help with your case, contact a personal injury law firm in your area such as Stawicki Anderson & Sinclair.


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