Dealing with an injury is a very stressful situation. You have to deal with huge medical bills, missing work, potential physical therapy, and even changing your lifestyle and adopting a new routine. All these things may make your place contacting a personal injury attorney at the bottom of your priorities list. Yet, you should take this very seriously because you may be entitled to compensation for your injury, which can help you cope with these challenges more easily.
Now, if you’re not sure whether or not your situation is really a personal injury claim, the best way to find out is to reach out to a personal injury attorney. But, if you first want to gain a better understanding of what makes a good personal injury claim, you’ve come to the right place.
Here are six signs that you may have a personal injury claim and be entitled to ask for compensation.
1. A personal injury offense occurred
A clear sign that your situation may be a personal injury claim is if your injury has occurred in the form of an accident. For example, your injury may have occurred as a result of:
- A car accident
- A bike accident
- Defective products
- A motorcycle accident
- A truck accident
- A slip and fall incident
- Dog bite
These are just a few examples of personal injury accidents that you may have been involved in. If your injury occurred in a different type of accident, a professional personal injury lawyer would be able to assess if your incident is eligible for a personal injury claim.
2. A personal injury attorney told you so
It may sound obvious, but if you’ve reached out to a personal injury attorney and they said that you might have a personal injury claim, that’s likely the case.
There’s no better advice than specific and expert advice about your situation from a qualified personal injury lawyer. So, if your lawyer says so, it means that you should actually consider making a claim.
As the legal experts from CompensationCalculatorUK explain, “Professional advice from an expert personal injury lawyer helps determine everything about a claim, from whether it is valid to how much compensation the plaintiff can claim for.”
So, there’s no better sign that you have a personal injury claim than an expert’s opinion on your situation.
3. Someone else’s negligence caused your injury
Another clear sign that you can make a personal injury claim and ask for compensation is if your injury occurred as a result of someone else’s negligence. Simply put, if you’ve got hurt because someone was not doing what they were supposed to do, you can consider that as the other party’s negligence.
For example, if you got hurt in a work accident, your boss or colleagues might be the negligent party who failed to ensure you a safe workplace. Or, another example is if you’ve got hurt in a traffic accident caused by another driver who did not follow the traffic laws. Or, if the doctor who treated your medical condition made a mistake that led to your injury, that is also an act of negligence from the other party.
4. You can prove that the other party was at fault
Sadly, it’s not only enough for someone else to be at fault for your injury. If you make a personal injury claim, for it to be valid, you also need to have relevant proof that the other party is to blame for negligence.
Considering the examples above, if you’ve got injured in a traffic accident caused by another driver, you need to prove that the driver did not respect the traffic rules like signaling their directions or driving at high speeds. Or, if a medical professional’s negligence led to your injury, you need proof, like medical records from another doctor, that their actions resulted in your injury. Without relevant evidence that the person you’re suing is at fault for your injury, your case won’t be considered valid.
Now, negligence claims need to prove four things in court, including:
- Duty (the defendant had the moral and legal duty to protect your wellbeing)
- Breach of duty (The defendant failed their legal duty by acting or failing to act in a specific way)
- Causation (Proof that the defendant’s actions, or inactions, led to your injury)
- Damages (Proof that you have been injured or harmed as a result of the defendant’s actions).
So, the evidence you gather for your personal injury case must prove these four things. Otherwise, your proof won’t be considered relevant enough to force the defendant to pay you compensation legally.
5. You have medical records proving your injury
One of the first steps you need to follow after being involved in an accident that resulted in an injury is to visit a medical specialist and get medical records for your injury. In other words, a medical specialist needs to consult your injury and determine how severe it is and if it occurred as a result of the accident you describe.
It is essential to obtain these medical records because they act as evidence in court if you make a personal injury claim. Without medical documents signed by a medical expert, your case won’t stand.
Always make sure to correctly fill out a legal medical release form so that your Doctor knows what records they have been given permission to release.
6. You followed the proper steps after the incident
The tricky part about personal injury claims is that you need to act in a certain way following your injury in order to ensure that you’re not compromising your case. Even a tiny mistake can be a significant detriment to your personal injury case. Some common errors that can cancel your claim include:
- Not getting medical treatment immediately after the accident/ incident.
- Post sensitive information about the accident and injury on social media.
- Ignoring advice given by a healthcare professional.
- Waiting more than three years to make your personal injury claim.
If you haven’t made any of these mistakes and followed the proper steps after an accident, your personal injury claim may be relevant and valid.
We always recommend speaking to a professional who is qualified, before coming to any conclusions.
