Free Wisconsin Personal Injury FAQs | Free Wisconsin Personal Injury Legal Documents

How Can I Determine How Much My Claim Is Worth?

Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT

To determine the value of your claim, you need to look at your damages. That would include your actual damages such as medical expenses and wage loss. You are also entitled to damages for personal injuries such as pain and suffering. This can include compensation for emotional distress and mental anguish. The value of your claim may include how your pain and/or injuries affect your ability to participate in activities you enjoyed prior to the injury, such as hobbies, etc. The law allows compensation for future medical and care expenses as well as future loss of income and earning capacity.

For purposes of settlement, a claim is valued upon an estimate of what a jury would likely believe the case to be worth, taking into account the severity of the injury, the effects of the injury on your life and the negligence of the other party. If the injured person is partially at fault for the accident, the amount of damages will be reduced proportionately. Any settlement will be reduced if there appears to be a good chance that the claim will not be successful. Other factors that may reduce the damages include past medical history, preexisting injuries, and prior claims history.

Considerable compensation may be commanded if your injuries are severe requiring extensive medical treatment, absences from work and permanent injuries. This is especially true if you were a healthy, productive, young worker prior to the accident. That is because an important factor in the value of your claim is the difference between your quality of life before the accident as compared to after the accident.

How Do I Decide If I Need To Hire An Attorney?

Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT

There are situations where an attorney is unnecessary, such as very small cases. Small claims court will handle claims up to $5000. If your injury is a minor one that will not result in any incapacity, or substantial medical care, then you may want to settle it yourself in small claims court.

An attorney should be consulted if you have been seriously injured or are unsure as to the outcome of your injury. These cases can get quite complicated. In such cases, an attorney will have the legal expertise, time and resources to effectively handle your claim. An experienced personal injury attorney will be able to accurately analyze the value of your case and will be able to meet all of the rules, requirements and deadlines that have to be met.

Personal injury attorneys typically take cases on a contingency basis. This means the attorney is paid a certain percentage of your recovery plus any outofpocket expenses.

How Long Do I Have To Hire An Attorney?

Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT

The law requires that you file a lawsuit within a specified period of time depending on the nature of the claim and the entity that caused your injury. This is referred to as the statute of limitations. Generally, for personal injury claims, the statute of limitations is three years from the time of injury.

There are separate claims requirements in certain instances. For example, if the injury was caused by a public employee, a claim must be made within 120 days. You should consult an attorney about the specific statute of limitations if you are in doubt.

How Will I Cover My Costs?

Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT

If you were injured in an automobile accident, your automobile insurance policy should include a certain amount of coverage for your medical expenses. This coverage would apply to you and your family members as well as any passengers in the vehicle. Your own automobile insurance policy will compensate you if you are injured by an uninsured driver and you have uninsured motorist coverage.

If you are injured while on the job, your employer's worker's compensation carrier will pay your medical expenses and wage loss. Your health insurance and disability insurance carriers will usually provide benefits arising out of accidental injuries. Your carrier will most likely require that you pay them back if you prevail in a claim against another party.

Homeowners and commercial policies cover only visitors to the premises. This would be in effect for you if you were injured at someone else's home, business, etc.

How Will My Claim Be Processed?

Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT

If the person who caused your injury has insurance, an insurance adjuster will gather the pertinent records including medical records, medical bills, wage loss verification and the like in an effort to verify your damages. The insurance company may make you an offer to settle the claim. You may find the offer acceptable and once you accept it, the claim process is over. If you do not receive an acceptable offer, you can proceed with filing a lawsuit.

You should be sure not to sign any documents without prior review by an attorney. You need to attend all scheduled doctor appointments in order to document your injuries. Accurate records should be kept of time you missed from work, medical bills, and property damage repairs. You can document your damages with photographs of your injuries or photos of property damage.

After a lawsuit has been filed, both parties will conduct discovery. Pretrial discovery usually takes about a full year during which time both parties investigate all aspects of the claim. This may include taking oral depositions, obtaining pertinent records, propounding interrogatories, and hiring expert witnesses to obtain more evidence about the claim. During this period of discovery and as the trial date approaches, the parties will exchange settlement offers/demands. A large majority of personal injury claims settle before trial.

I Was Injured In An Accident. What Can I Do Now?

Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT

You can make a claim against another person or business and their insurance company if someone else is more at fault for your injury than you are. Wisconsin is a comparative fault state. That means that the injured person can only recover if his or her negligence is not greater than the negligence of the person against whom the claim is made. If you were partially at fault, your damages may be reduced proportionately. Whether or not you are entitled to compensation may depend on the type of accident that caused the injury.

For example, workplace injuries generally are covered by worker's compensation benefits, which compensate for medical expenses, lost wages, and impairments, without regard to fault by anyone. A claim can be made if the accident was caused by someone other than the employer or a coworker.

If you were injured in an automobile accident, the party most at fault would be determined by whether a driver violated any traffic laws and/or which driver's lack of care contributed most to the accident. Proof of fault is often contested and requires thorough investigation.

If you were injured at someone else's home or at a commercial establishment, the person responsible for the premises may be found liable. You will need to prove that the injury was caused by an unsafe condition that the owner should have known of and corrected before the accident. In a typical slip and fall accident, the injured person must show that the person responsible for the premises was negligent in the design, construction or maintenance of the property. Claims for injuries caused by an unsafe condition on public property are subject to strict claims requirements and liability is only established in certain circumstances.

Injuries can occur in many other situations as well as those outlined above. Once again, you may have a claim if someone else was more at fault for your injury than you are.

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