Brockton, MA Personal Injury Lawyer
Personal injury law is a broad legal field that might encompass numerous injuries and claims. If you were injured because of someone else’s negligent actions, our attorneys can help you get compensation.
There are many possible claims an injured plaintiff might make in a personal injury lawsuit. Although personal injury cases tend to include a variety of damages, the main focus is bodily harm or injuries suffered by the plaintiff. Common examples include car accidents, slips and falls, and construction accidents. Generally, a personal injury plaintiff has three years to file their case, although the deadline can be extended under specific circumstances. You might recover various damages related to both economic losses and non-economic injuries. Many personal injury lawsuits involve very high damages, and a lot is at stake. To win your case, you need strong evidence to back up your claims, much of which might come directly from the scene of your accident.
For a free evaluation of your case, call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan’s personal injury lawyers at (617) 925-6407.
Possible Personal Injury Claims in Brockton, MA
Personal injury cases can feel overwhelming for victims who are physically recovering from serious accidents. This particular field of law is so vast that most people do not know where to begin. Many possible cases fall under the personal injury umbrella, and our attorneys can help victims prepare claims for compensation against liable parties.
Some of the most common causes of action for personal injury claims include bike accidents, brain injuries, auto accidents (including cars, trucks, motorcycles, and more), construction accidents, workplace injuries, product liability cases, medical malpractice, pedestrian accidents, Uber and Lyft crashes, and premises liability cases.
At the heart of any personal injury case is bodily harm. An accident might lead to multiple losses or injuries, but at least one of those injuries must consist of bodily harm to be considered a personal injury case. Even so, you can claim various other damages along with your claims of bodily injury, such as property damage to your vehicle after a car crash.
Realizing you have a personal injury case on your hands is not always easy or obvious. People often shrug off their injuries as “just an accident” and mistakenly believe nobody can be held responsible. In reality, most accidents result from someone’s bad behavior or negligence, and our personal injury lawyers can help you hold them accountable.
This is often the case in slip and fall accidents due to hazardous property conditions. Suppose you were walking to the restroom in a restaurant when you tripped over uneven flooring, partially due to dim lighting. Though such incidents can seem entirely accidental, it is the restaurant’s responsibility to keep the property safe for visitors, and failing to do so would make the owner liable.
Other times, victims might not notice medical injuries immediately or not expect their injuries to be from medical malpractice. If your medical condition worsened after receiving treatment, there was a major issue with your medication or recent surgery, or you have other concerns, inform our lawyers. After obtaining and reviewing your medical records and discussing your injuries with you, we may identify malpractice, making a negligent physician or hospital liable for your damages.
When You Should File Your Personal Injury Lawsuit in Brockton, MA
Filing a lawsuit requires understanding and following a lot of rules and procedures. One of the most important rules you must know of when filing a personal injury lawsuit is the statute of limitations. These statutes impose filing deadlines on plaintiffs who want to submit their injury claims to the courts. Once the deadline passes, it becomes very difficult, although not necessarily impossible, to file a case.
In Massachusetts, according to Mass. Gen. Law Ch. 260 § 2A, the statute of limitations on personal injury cases is three years. This means you have three years from the day your injury or accident occurred to submit your case to the courts. Although three years might sound like plenty of time to file your case, the deadline is tighter than most people realize, especially after sustaining serious injuries.
Many people cannot file a lawsuit until they recover from their injuries. In cases where plaintiffs are very badly injured, like in car accidents or cases involving brain injuries, a long recovery period may occur before the plaintiff even speaks to a lawyer, which could delay their case.
Once the plaintiff is ready to start their case, a lot of work must happen before a formal complaint is ready. Evidence must be gathered, and your damages need to be evaluated. By the time many plaintiffs are finally ready to submit their filings, the deadline is very close. Our personal injury attorneys can work quickly to help you file your lawsuit before the deadline passes, as missing it could block you from getting compensation for your injury due to negligence.
Recoverable Damages in Brockton, MA Personal Injury Lawsuits
Your damages are all the losses, injuries, and expenses you incurred because of the defendant’s negligent or reckless conduct. Damages are often economic in nature and encompass monetary losses like medical bills. They can also be non-economic and stem from your painful personal experiences with the accident and your injury. Our attorneys can accurately calculate the damages in your lawsuit so you can anticipate your recovery.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are related to monetary losses and expenses directly resulting from your accident and injuries. Medical costs are among the most important forms of economic damages in most personal injury cases. Medical treatment is never cheap, even if you have health insurance. Plaintiffs with severe injuries can often claim future medical costs if they need long-term care. Lost wages are also recoverable economic damages, and we can estimate your missed income since the accident so that the negligent party covers these losses as well.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are more complicated because they are not directly related to an exact amount of money or cost. In fact, most non-economic damages do not actually cost plaintiffs any money, but they may still be financially compensated. Emotional and physical pain and suffering, humiliation, damage to your reputation, and other negative or painful experiences might be grounds for significant non-economic damages. We can use the appropriate equations and methods to calculate your non-economic damages and support these requests with strong evidence, like statements from mental health experts. Non-economic damages are the most difficult for victims to recover, especially from settlements, and we will not underestimate your intangible damages when preparing and litigating your case.
Evidence You Might Need for a Brockton, MA Personal Injury Case
Evidence is the backbone of your lawsuit. Without evidence, your claim will likely be rejected before it reaches a courtroom. Evidence might come from almost anywhere and may be useful if it shows that the defendant was negligent. Some plaintiffs are fortunate enough to have a plethora of evidence to draw upon. Others are not so lucky, and evidence might be hard to come by. Our injury attorneys can help you find the evidence you need to get compensation for your injuries.
A lot of important evidence might come directly from the accident scene. For example, if you were injured in a car accident, you can take pictures of the scene to preserve important details for court. We will also check if your accident was captured on a nearby security camera. Video footage of your injuries as they occurred might be some of the strongest evidence possible.
Witnesses may also be an incredibly important source of evidence in the form of testimony. If a person has direct, first-hand knowledge relevant to your case, they can testify in court about what they know. Even though witnesses do not present tangible evidence, testimony can be very persuasive and powerful.
We will need your medical records to prove the injuries you sustained during the accident. Because this is so important, do not delay treatment after being injured, even if your injuries appear minor. For example, whiplash, which is common during rear-end car accidents, often initially feels like normal stiffness or slight discomfort but might exacerbate if left untreated. Our team can handle requesting, collecting, and organizing medical records so we can show your exact diagnoses and timeline of care. In addition to getting immediate treatment, you should not stop your care or miss any scheduled doctor visits before you fully physically recover, as that could create gaps in your medical records that jeopardize your case.
Preparing for Personal Injury Settlement Negotiations in Brockton, MA
Personal injury claims often settle out of court, though ensuring these agreements are fair is crucial. Accepting and signing a settlement offer would end your case. If the offer you accept is poor, some of your losses might go uncompensated, which we can help avoid.
We must estimate your claim’s total value before filing your case or negotiating a settlement. This requires our lawyers to carefully examine all economic and non-economic damages, including smaller expenses victims might not initially consider, like transportation accommodations so they can get to and from doctor visits. Having a number in mind regarding your deserved recovery is important, as this will allow us to identify poor offers from the defendant quickly.
Negotiating settlements can take time, as defendants want to minimize the amount they have to pay victims. Despite that, our lawyers may be able to get the opposing side to substantially increase their offers, particularly after leveraging evidence that would be compelling to a jury if your case went to trial. For example, having qualified experts give their opinions on certain matters, like whether a victim’s injuries are permanent, can strengthen claims, convincing defendants to hike up their settlement proposals to keep cases out of court.
Our personal injury lawyers would not settle your case to benefit the defendant, so if offers continue to be unfair, we may proceed with a trial. Because negligent parties typically want to avoid court cases, they may increase offers after hearing we are prepared to move forward with a trial. Even during a trial, the defense may send offers to end the case, and we can consider those proposals as well.
Call Our Brockton, MA Personal Injury Attorneys for Help
For a free case assessment, call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan’s personal injury lawyers at (617) 925-6407.
