When unsure whether to pursue litigation for personal injuries in Dedham, victims can turn to our lawyers to address their concerns. We can go on to prepare a lawsuit with the evidence necessary to prove the defendant’s fault for your injuries, enabling you to get the compensation you are entitled to.
Common concerns associated with filing personal injury lawsuits include whether or not a case is viable and difficulty meeting filing deadlines. Right away, our attorneys can review the accident with you to determine if another party is liable for your damages and injuries. We can then start preparing your case to file it before the deadline. We can estimate the length of your case based on certain factors, like the defendant’s apparent willingness to settle quickly and fairly. During settlement negotiations, we can evaluate offers and identify unfair proposals from defendants so victims do not accept less than what they deserve. From the early stages of your case, our lawyers will aim to preserve and collect compelling evidence capable of proving the defendant’s liability if your claim goes to trial.
The Law Office of John J. Sheehan’s Dedham, MA personal injury lawyers will assess your case for free when you call (617) 468-7752.
Addressing Victims’ Concerns About Filing Personal Injury Claims in Dedham, MA
Filing a lawsuit is a commitment, and victims might have concerns about the viability of their claims, the possible lengths of their claims, and their ability to prove fault or evaluate settlement offers. Our attorneys can address each of your concerns and prepare a case that gets you the compensatory damages you deserve in Dedham.
Case Viability and Filing
Preparing, filing, and overseeing litigation is very complicated, deterring some victims from seeking compensation because of the effort involved. While that concern is understandable, our attorneys can handle the complex aspects of filing your case so that you can focus on your physical and emotional recovery.
Initially, we will assess your case’s viability by reviewing its basic facts with you. For example, if you were hurt in a car accident, explain what the other driver did wrong and the exact circumstances of the accident. Some personal injuries are not obviously due to negligence, and our attorneys can confirm if someone else is liable for your damages. For example, a restaurant may be liable if you tripped as a guest because of poor lighting or uneven flooring.
In addition to determining liability, we can prepare your complaint in its entirety and file it before the deadline in Dedham. The statute of limitations for personal injury claims is typically three years under Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 260, § 2A, though there are some exceptions in certain situations.
Length of Claims
Pursuing recovery might become less appealing the longer the process takes, which is understandable, especially when victims are physically recovering from serious injuries. Before filing your lawsuit in Dedham, our personal injury lawyers can assess your case for any signs that might indicate its overall length. For example, some defendants are eager to settle claims quickly to avoid trials and possibly being held liable for greater damages by juries. While settling fast might be appealing in such situations, if you could get more compensation by going to court, our lawyers may advise you to take your case to trial. We may also do this if settlement negotiations drag on for too long so as not to delay your access to compensatory damages unnecessarily.
Identifying Unfair Settlements
A lump sum settlement offer could seem attractive to any injured victim dealing with expensive medical bills and lost wages. However, getting a settlement offer from a defendant does not necessarily mean you should accept it. Evaluating settlement offers requires a thorough understanding of your specific damages, including those incurred to date and future losses.
When evaluating settlement offers from a defendant, our lawyers will consider various factors, such as our calculation of damages and the evidence we have to leverage. We can tally your damages as you incur them throughout your case. We will cite your requested economic and non-economic damages when we file your lawsuit in Dedham. Records of financial losses, like medical records, can support our request for compensation.
It is important to factor future damages into these calculations, as victims with serious injuries might never return to work and could need long-term treatments and therapies. If settlement offers do not cover future damages to any degree, we can continue negotiating.
Victims should not feel pressure to accept any settlement offers that do not fairly compensate them. At any time before signing a settlement agreement, you can decide to change lanes and move forward with a trial.
Collecting Evidence and Proving Negligence
Evidentiary concerns are also common, as victims might be too injured to preserve, obtain, or organize evidence themselves. As you recover in the hospital or at home, our attorneys can turn our attention toward preserving evidence. This may include interviewing eyewitnesses, obtaining surveillance footage, or getting the police report or any other incident reports about the incident. Furthermore, we can assist in organizing victims’ medical records so that there is clear evidence of their injuries from the date of the accident onward.
Successfully proving negligence requires a thorough understanding of the standard of proof applied to personal injury claims in Dedham. Typically, plaintiffs have to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that it is more than likely a defendant is liable.
This is done by establishing four elements, the first of which is that the defendant owed the victim a duty of care. This legal duty is present in all sorts of relationships and dynamics, from landlord-tenant to doctor-patient dynamics, and varies from situation to situation.
We can then show that the defendant breached their duty of care by acting negligently, which is the second element necessary to prove fault. The third step is proving causation, or showing how the defendant’s negligence caused your injuries. Finally, our lawyers will submit proof of your financial and emotional losses to show that the defendant caused you real damages because of their negligence in Dedham.
Personal Injury Cases Our Attorneys Handle in Dedham, MA
We handle a variety of personal injury cases, aiding different plaintiffs injured through someone else’s negligent or reckless conduct. Car accidents are particularly common, as are injuries from slip and falls out of poor property maintenance. In addition to construction, workplace, and medical malpractice cases, we also help survivors seeking damages following a loved one’s wrongful death due to personal injuries in Dedham.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents comprise a large number of personal injuries throughout Massachusetts. Even in minor collisions, victims might suffer head or neck injuries or others worthy of compensation. Regarding car accident cases, it is important for victims to understand that Massachusetts is a no-fault state, only allowing victims to sue if their injuries are deemed serious enough under Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 231, § 6D or they have incurred more than $2,000 in medical expenses, which is likely if they have to go to the hospital or get any medical attention.
In addition to accidents involving typical passenger cars, our attorneys also routinely help victims struck as motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bicyclists hold negligent drivers accountable. Victims could be more likely to suffer worse injuries in these types of accidents as they have little to no protection from vehicles. Bikers and pedestrians might be pushed into traffic or pinned beneath or between vehicles, possibly leading to traumatic or fatal brain injuries, paralyzing spine injuries, disfiguring injuries, and deep lacerations.
Furthermore, we also handle truck accidents and Uber or Lyft accident cases, which may be more complex. For example, when hit by a reckless truck driver, you can potentially sue their employer, potentially maximizing the damages you recover.
Before leaving the accident site, take photos to preserve evidence of damage and impact points on vehicles. Give this information to our personal injury lawyers, and we will compare it to other images we have compiled from law enforcement and eyewitnesses. We may source additional photographic evidence that benefits your case during our investigation, like videos from doorbell cameras or surveillance systems.
Slip and Falls
Premises liability lawsuits are for slip and falls that occur due to negligent property maintenance. Hazardous property conditions, like broken tiles, spilled drinks, or loose carpeting, might make visitors slip, trip, or fall. When bracing themselves for impact with the ground, victims might suffer displaced fractures in their hands and wrists, and sprained or broken ankles are also common. Falls from any height could lead to brain damage if victims’ heads hit the ground, potentially entitling them to long-term compensation for medical expenses and reduced earning capacity. Generally speaking, these lawsuits are against property owners, whom we can identify on victims’ behalves while they are physically recovering at the hospital or home.
Construction Accidents and Workplace Injuries
Construction accidents are a top cause of workplace injuries, and our attorneys can help confirm your path to recovery after an on-the-job incident. While slipping and tripping accidents are common on worksites, so are explosions from defective equipment and falls from high heights. While Workers’ Compensation is the exclusive remedy for injured employees in Massachusetts, we may be able to file a third-party lawsuit against someone other than your employer. For example, the manufacturer of the piece of equipment or machinery that malfunctioned and hurt you could be sued for your injuries. Workers’ Compensation only covers a portion of victims’ damages, notably excluding pain and suffering, so confirming whether or not you have a third-party claim is crucial.
Medical Malpractice
Patients do not anticipate doctors violating the standard practice of care and injuring them or worsening their conditions. Unfortunately, this happens fairly regularly, with physicians ignoring signs of potential strokes or heart attacks, administering or prescribing the wrong medication, and even leaving foreign items behind in a patient’s body during surgery, leading to infection or other complications. Harms from medical malpractice are not always immediately apparent, and our attorneys can cite tolling exceptions for delayed discovery if applicable in your case, potentially pushing back your filing deadline. Medical malpractice claims might include the individual doctor or physician who harmed you and the hospital that employs them. Depending on the level of conduct exhibited in causing your injuries, our attorneys might seek punitive damages, which are capped at $500,000 in medical malpractice lawsuits, according to § 60H.
Fatal Injuries
When personal injuries turn fatal before victims can hold liable parties accountable themselves, their survivors may bring wrongful death lawsuits with our attorneys’ help. The decedent’s personal representative will act as the plaintiff in the case, and their surviving spouse and children will recover any awarded damages. Wrongful death actions must be brought within three years under Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 229, § 2, and survivors can recover for the loss of reasonably expected net income, which we can calculate with experts, as well as protection, care, comfort, and guidance, among other intangible damages. Survivors may also recover for the cost of funeral and burial expenses. Furthermore, if the victim died from willful, wanton, malicious, or reckless conduct, punitive damages of no less than $5,000 must be awarded, barring some exceptions.
Call Our Dedham, MA Injury Attorneys Now
Call (617) 468-7752 for a free case discussion with the Law Office of John J. Sheehan’s personal injury lawyers.