Stoneham, MA Personal Injury Lawyer
Were you recently hurt in some kind of accident? If so, you do not have to bear the burden of your injuries alone. An attorney can help you sue the person responsible for the accident, hold them accountable, and make them cover your costs and damages. This is not always an easy path to follow, but it is often necessary for injured victims to get full and fair compensation.
Damages in personal injury claims may reflect a vast assortment of injuries, losses, costs, and painful experiences. Keeping track of all your damages can be difficult, and you should speak with your attorney to make sure nothing is left unaccounted for. Your lawyer must also help you determine fault. Generally, fault in personal injury claims is based on negligence, although defendants sometimes try to accuse plaintiffs of being at fault for their own injuries. In such a case, we can use evidence from the accident to prove that the defendant is fully responsible for your injuries.
Speak to our Wakefield, MA personal injury attorneys at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan by calling (617) 925-6407 and ask about a free initial claim evaluation to begin your case.
What Your Stoneham, MA Personal Injury Claims Might Be Worth
Compensation in personal injury cases is typically based on the plaintiff’s damages. Damages reflect losses, injuries, costs, and even painful experiences endured by the plaintiff as a direct result of their accident. Considering how varied personal injury claims can be, it should come as no surprise that damages vary greatly from case to case. As such, it is important that you thoroughly discuss your damages with your attorney so that nothing is overlooked and you get the fair compensation you are entitled to.
Economic Damages
Your economic damages represent all the ways that the accident cost you real money. For many, economic damages are the driving force of their claims, especially if injuries are severe. For example, medical costs alone, in some cases, can add up to thousandas, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. Not only can you claim current hospital bills, but you may also claim the expected cost of future treatment if your medical needs are ongoing.
You should also consider your property that was damaged or lost in the accident. In a car accident, plaintiffs usually claim the damaged vehicle’s value. If they lost personal items inside the vehicle (e.g., phones, laptops, jewelry), they may claim the cost to replace them.
If your injuries are so severe that you cannot return to work for a while, or possibly ever again, talk to our personal injury attorneys about claiming lost income. You may claim income you have already lost due to your injuries and future lost income if you cannot work for the foreseeable future.
Non-Economic Damages
Not all injuries are decided based on money and cost. Non-economic damages tend to include emotional and psychological injuries that might not cost plaintiffs anything but may still be incredibly painful and difficult to endure. These damages are frequently referred to as “pain and suffering,” although they may encompass so much more.
You may claim damages related to public humiliation, psychological trauma, physical pain, the loss of enjoyment of your life, and other terribly painful experiences. Since these damages tend to be rather subjective, the jury usually has the final say on what they are worth.
Determining Fault in a Stoneham, MA Personal Injury Case
Perhaps the most significant issue in most personal injury cases is how to prove fault. It is not enough to accuse the defendant of some sort of wrongdoing. We must be prepared with informative evidence and well-thought-out arguments to prove your claims by a preponderance of the evidence.
In injury cases involving accidents—which are many injury cases—plaintiffs must establish how the defendant’s negligence caused the accident. Unfortunately, a common tactic among defendants is to try to flip the script and argue that some or all of the plaintiff’s injuries were caused by the plaintiff themselves, not the defendant. If such an issue arises, we must adhere to laws of comparative negligence.
According to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 231, § 85, if the jury deems a plaintiff partly responsible for the accident or worsening their own injuries, the plaintiff’s damages may be reduced according to their share of the blame. For example, if the jury decides you are 10% at fault, your damages may be reduced by 10%. If you are more than 50% responsible, you might be barred from recovering any damages.
What Evidence You Need for a Stoneham, MA Personal Injury Case
You cannot possibly win your personal injury case without evidence. More specifically, we need evidence of the defendant’s negligence and how their negligence is the direct and proximate cause of your injuries and damages. Exactly what evidence we need, where we can find it, and whether it is even available may all depend on your specific situation.
First, you should try to take photos of the scene if you are able. These photos help to preserve details about the area, the people present, and your injuries. They can be especially important if the authorities or the defendant clean up the accident scene quickly, causing evidence at the scene to be lost.
Depending on the location of your accident, we might be able to obtain copies of security camera videos. If you were injured in front of a store, home, or on a public street, there is a good chance that a security camera recorded everything. We have to move fast to obtain these videos, as footage may easily be deleted.
Speak to Our Stoneham, MA Personal Injury Attorneys for Assistance with Your Claims
Speak to our personal injury attorneys at the Law Office of John J. Sheehan by calling (617) 925-6407 and ask about a free initial claim evaluation to begin your case.
