The purpose of a personal injury case is to compensate those who are hurt as a result of other people’s negligence. There are many accidents that may cause personal injuries. For instance, such injuries can result from car accidents, slip and falls, and accidents caused by defective products.
Plaintiffs in personal injury cases may pursue multiple forms of monetary damages stemming from the harm they incurred. However, defendants and their insurance companies often attempt to refute plaintiffs’ claims. The assistance of our attorneys can be very helpful when proving your case. After being hurt as a consequence of another person’s negligent actions in Lowell, MA, get help obtaining the financial compensation available to you.
Speak with our personal injury attorneys by contacting the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 533-0726. Our experienced attorneys can review your case for free.
Time Limit to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Lowell, MA
The time limit to file a personal injury case is governed by Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 260, § 2A. Accordingly, you will usually have three years from the date of your accident to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for the damages you suffered. Noncompliance with this deadline could cause you to miss out on crucial monetary damages. For that reason, you should contact our attorneys quickly after experiencing an accident. Our personal injury attorneys will help bring your case to court on time.
Furthermore, pertinent evidence needed to support your case can become hard to collect and preserve as time goes on. For example, you may forget certain details surrounding your accident, and physical evidence can be misplaced. The sooner you reach out to our attorneys, the more easily we may gather the information needed for your case to prevail.
How to Begin a Personal Injury Claim in Lowell, MA
Generally, personal injury cases begin with a formal complaint. The complaint is more than an allegation or accusation against the defendant. It is a lengthy, formal, legal document containing details about the accident, your injuries, the people involved, and what you need to find relief (i.e., damages). Drafting the complaint can be challenging, as much of the necessary information has yet to be discovered when you begin. Our personal injury lawyers can help you assemble these details and draft the complaint.
When your complaint is filed, it is imperative that we serve notice of the case to the defendant. Serving notice is a very strict requirement. If the defendant is not properly served with notice in a timely manner, the court might throw out the case. The defendant needs the advanced notice so they have time to file a response to the complaint.
When we file the complaint, we must make sure we file with the correct court. Not all courts are the same, and if we file your complaint with the wrong court, we might lose precious time on your case. The correct court should have jurisdiction over your case. Jurisdiction may be based on the nature of the accident, the location of the accident, or the residency of the parties. Talk to your lawyer about how and where the accident happened to figure out what court you need to file the case with.
Common Types of Personal Injuries Suffered by Victims in Lowell, MA
Personal injuries can come in many forms. The type of injury you suffered can influence the process of recovering compensatory damages. Our experienced personal injury attorneys can help pursue compensation related to any of the following types of harm:
Broken Bones
Broken bones are a very common type of injury. Such injuries often occur as a result of car accidents. However, victims of slip and fall accidents also regularly suffer broken bones.
These injuries can be highly painful. Further, in serious cases, victims with broken bones may require surgical treatment. If you suffered broken bones because of an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, then you should contact our attorneys for help determining the proper course of action.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries are also a common type of personal injury suffered by victims. These injuries can produce many debilitating symptoms that negatively impact people’s enjoyment of life. For instance, someone who sustains a traumatic brain injury may have trouble engaging in the activities that they took pleasure in before they were hurt.
Traumatic brain injuries are usually the result of external blows to the head. Therefore, such injuries can result from many different types of accidents. Our personal injury attorneys can help plaintiffs with traumatic brain injuries navigate their complex roads to recovery.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissue injuries usually involve damage to tendons, ligaments, and muscles anywhere in the body. Soft tissue injuries can be highly painful and immobilizing. Many victims who suffer such injuries must spend time away from their jobs while they recover. Fortunately, our personal injury attorneys will help plaintiffs seek payment for any lost wages related to the harm they endured.
Internal Injuries
Internal injuries usually refer to organ damage or internal bleeding. Internal injuries can lead to devastating symptoms but may not become noticeably painful until days after an accident. If you believe you may have suffered an internal injury, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible. Waiting for your injuries to worsen could cause irreparable harm. Our personal injury attorneys help find the right doctors for our clients.
Common Accidents that Cause Personal Injuries in Lowell, MA
There are several potential causes of personal injury cases that our attorneys can help you with, including the following:
Car Accidents
When motorists act carelessly behind the wheel, devastating collisions can occur. As an example, many crashes happen because drivers operate their vehicles while drunk or distracted. Furthermore, accidents also occur because drivers run red lights and commit improper left turns. These collisions can cause victims to suffer multiple forms of hardship. If you were injured because of a car accident, you should contact our personal injury attorneys for help seeking the payment available to you.
Slip and Falls
People are often injured because they slip and fall after encountering dangerous conditions on other people’s premises. Owners are required to perform adequate upkeep and maintenance for their properties. When they do not take care of their properties, injurious slip and falls can happen.
For instance, a tenant at an apartment building may slip and fall because of ice accumulation at their entryway. Furthermore, a grocery store shopper may slip and fall because of a wet spot on the floor. In any case, our personal injury attorneys can help victims of slip and fall accidents build their claims against at-fault parties.
Pedestrian Accidents
Pedestrian accidents often occur at intersections and in crowded urban areas. If you were struck by a careless motorist, our attorneys can offer guidance and support.
Measuring Your Damages and Estimating Compensation for a Personal Injury Claim in Lowell, MA
Personal injury cases involve all kinds of accidents and injuries. Because of the varied nature of these kinds of claims, damages may also vary greatly between cases. Damages may be awarded based on the money the plaintiff lost because of their injuries and the painful emotional injuries they experienced that might not be related to money.
Property damage is a common concern among plaintiffs in personal injury cases. If you were injured in a car wreck, you may claim the value of your damaged vehicle. If you lost personal belongings in the accident (e.g., phones, laptops, wallets, jewelry), you can claim the cost to replace them. It is best to make a thorough list of damaged or destroyed property so your attorney can help you calculate these damages.
If you were badly hurt, you might be unable to return to work for some time. As such, you might lose valuable income and earnings. This lost income should be added to your damages. Additionally, you may claim the value of income you expect to lose if your injuries will prevent you from working for the foreseeable future after your case is completed.
Medical costs are a major factor in damage calculations because healthcare is notoriously expensive. Even just one visit to the emergency room after an accident might set you back thousands of dollars. Your bills might be huge if you need more extensive or long-term care. These costs absolutely should be accounted for in your damages.
Psychological distress may be a significant element of your damages, especially if your accident or injuries were particularly painful or traumatic. Many people live with the emotional and mental turmoil of their accident for years, and this pain deserves fair compensation.
What Kind of Evidence You Need to Support Your Lowell, MA Personal Injury Claims
Backing up your claims requires the strongest evidence our team can obtain. How and where we find this evidence varies based on your circumstances. Plaintiffs should be prepared for the possibility that strong evidence may be hard to find. This does not mean their claims are invalid, but we might need to work harder to win the case and get fair compensation.
Physical evidence includes tangible items and objects connected with your accident and injuries. Often, pieces of physical evidence come directly from the scene of the accident, although this is not always the case. One example is a weapon or dangerous instrument. If you were injured by such an item, the object itself should be used as evidence.
Testimony is also important in many personal injury claims. When accidents occur in public places, or somewhere others can see, there might be numerous witnesses. These witnesses can testify about what they saw. It is best to interview many witnesses and narrow them down to those with the clearest memories and strongest testimony.
Records of events surrounding the accident might be useful, depending on the situation. For example, if we need to prove the extent of your injuries, we can use medical records. If you were injured by a truck driver or delivery driver in a crash, we might use business records from their employer to prove certain elements of the case.
What Our Lowell, MA Personal Injury Attorneys Will Do for You
People sometimes question whether they need a lawyer’s help. While you might think you can handle your claims alone, it is always best to have a lawyer by your side. The legal process is famously time-consuming and complicated, and a lawyer has the skills and experience to navigate the judicial system more effectively.
Our team of attorneys can begin your case by assessing the strength of your claims, evidence, damages, and other important details. This assessment may help us figure out a timeline for your case and the best way to approach legal strategies.
Next, we can work on preparing the complaint. As discussed above, the complaint is a complicated legal document that takes time and a great deal of effort to prepare. Often, most of the time spent working on a particular case happens before the case is even filed.
Once the case is underway, we can work to make sure you get the most compensation possible. This might involve filing pretrial motions to set boundaries in the case before it gets started or working with the opposing party to reach a settlement agreement and avoid a grueling trial.
If You Need to File an Injury Case in Lowell, MA, Our Lawyers Can Help
Those who sustain harmful accidents caused by other peoples’ negligence should get help from our Lowell personal injury attorneys by contacting the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 533-0726 for a free review of your claim.