At Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A., we recognize that significant injuries cause more than just physical pain.
Whether you have experienced nursing home abuse, wrongful death, a slip and fall incident, an accident on a construction site, or other personal injuries, the mental, physical, and emotional toll that a personal injury can take on your life is excessive.
Call us today at (800) 800-2575. At Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A., our Gainesville personal injury lawyers have a long track record of recovering compensation for our clients when negligent people leave them with medical bills, pain, and suffering after accidents. Let us see how we can help you.
What Is a Personal Injury Claim?
When someone suffers an injury due to the negligence of another party, that party may be held legally liable for the harm done. This scenario is the basis for filing a personal injury claim.
When you have a personal injury claim, you can get compensation for medical expenses, pain, suffering, and future medical expenses from the other party’s insurance company or others found liable for your injury.
You can benefit from having Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A., represent you in your personal injury lawsuit. Our attorneys will identify the liable parties and recoup fair compensation for your injuries. Most commonly, the case resolves through a settlement or other resolution. Other times, it resolves with a court ruling.
Common Types of Personal Injury Cases
Some of the most common scenarios resulting in personal injury claims are:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Medical malpractice claims
- Dog bite injuries
- Wrongful death claims
- Workers’ compensation cases
- Slip and fall injuries
- Defective Product issues
- Rideshare accidents
Nursing home abuse and neglect, aviation and watercraft accidents, birth injuries, food poisoning, asbestos exposure, and mesothelioma are some of the less common situations that can cause personal injuries.
Injuries That Give Rise to Personal Injury Claims
Some of the most common injuries that lead to personal injury claims include:
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
One of the most prevalent personal injuries that victims sustain is a traumatic brain injury, which auto accidents or other accidents that strike the head can cause.
Traumatic brain damage may have extensive physical and psychological effects on a victim. While some signs or symptoms may appear immediately after the stressful event, others might take days or weeks to appear, which means that your medical bills could accrue long after your accident.
Internal Bleeding
Doctors sometimes call internal bleeding internal hemorrhaging. Trauma from a car accident, slip and fall, or other events can cause internal bleeding. This symptom can become lethal if left untreated.
Fractures and Broken Bones
People may suffer shattered bones after accidents in several different ways. For instance, severe fractures can result from being ejected from a car after a collision without a seat belt, during an injury at work, or slipping and falling on private property.
Spinal Injuries
Vertebra fractures are some of the most serious because, in the worst cases, they call or paralyze their victims. Not only are vertebra fractures scary and life-altering, but they’re also expensive. Medical expenses and the cost of equipment and rehabilitation can add up quickly.
Steps to Take After an Injury
The moments after an injury can be overwhelming, but knowing the basic steps to take after an accident can make the process much easier.
Seek Medical Attention
After an injury, prioritize visiting the emergency room, your primary care physician, or another health care facility. If necessary, call 911 to get an ambulance to the accident scene.
Any delay in visiting the hospital might impact your well-being or legal situation. Most insurance companies believe that seeking medical treatment within 72 hours after the accident is an acceptable amount of time.
Mention all of your symptoms and pain to your doctor, even if you believe they are insignificant. On the other hand, avoid embellishing or exaggerating. Tell your doctor the truth, and do what they say.
Report the Incident and Gather Evidence
In a personal injury case, you and your lawyer must demonstrate that someone else’s carelessness caused your injuries. You must offer supporting paperwork and evidence to do so.
Gather records and documentation for every aspect of your case, including images, police reports, witness contact information, and medical records. To help you remember the events later, you should also compose a document outlining what occurred before, during, and after the accident in your own words.
Keep all supporting paperwork and evidence until your case fully resolves.
Contact an Attorney
After receiving medical care, hire a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer at Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A. You’ll need help constructing your case from someone with your best interests in mind.
Consider this: Attorneys will represent the insurance companies and other defendants. They’ll have legal experts helping them, so you’ll want your own attorney.
What Can a Gainesville Personal Injury Attorney Do for You?
Each personal injury case has unique circumstances. Some include only a minor vehicle accident, while others result in life-threatening damage to the victims. As a result, some cases are legally simple, while others are more intricate.
Our Gainesville personal injury attorneys can undertake all of the necessary tasks to resolve your personal injury case. Below is an outline of a few of the most typical things a personal injury lawyer at Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A. can handle on your behalf.
Understand the Facts of Your Case
When you contact a personal injury lawyer at Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A., we will look into your case immediately. Our personal injury attorneys can piece together what happened by digging through the facts on the police or incident report, watching video footage, and speaking with witnesses. This information will go a long way in settling your claim for the fairest amount.
Attempt to Reach a Settlement with Insurance Adjusters
Just as every personal injury case is unique, every insurance adjuster approaches each negotiation in their own way. Attorneys will know what compensation you deserve and how to negotiate with the adjusters to acquire it.
Once your attorney knows the facts surrounding your case, they can present those details to the insurance adjuster to secure the highest possible settlement for you.
File a Lawsuit
Insurance companies always want to make a profit, so they will look for reasons not to pay. Insurance adjusters may decline to offer a fair and reasonable settlement for any injuries you sustain.
In that situation, a lawyer will sue the insurance provider on your behalf. Your legal representative will draft a complaint that details the circumstances of your incident and justifies why the insurance provider should foot the bill.
Our Gainesville personal injury attorneys can tirelessly negotiate, research, and prepare motions to resolve your case. Lawsuits might last months or even years, and your personal injury attorney will be with you every step of the way.
Defend You in Court
The judge may order a trial for your case if the insurance provider refuses to negotiate. When this happens, each party has the chance to persuade a jury why they should or should not be liable for the injuries.
For example, insurance companies will argue that your injuries were caused by something else, while your attorney will argue that their insured client severely harmed you.
What Compensation Will You Recover After Your Accident?
Emergency medical treatment is expensive. When only one tablet of acetaminophen can cost $50 during your hospital stay, medical bills can quickly reach hundreds of thousands of dollars for catastrophic injuries like traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries. As a result, your injuries might result in significant medical debt.
You can also miss work as a result of your injuries. You will have an even harder time paying your medical expenses without an income. On the plus side, the insurance provider for the at-fault party is responsible for covering your medical expenses as payment for your injuries.
Some examples of costs that the insurance company should pay are:
- Medical expenses
- Lost earnings or income of any kind
- Pain and suffering
- Damages for any permanent bodily impairment
- Emotional harm
These expenses will be taken into consideration by insurance adjusters when determining the value of your claim. You might employ a lawyer to represent you in negotiations with the insurance company if you feel the firm’s offer is less than what you deserve.
What Are the Time Limitations on a Personal Injury Case?
An accident victim has a specific length of time to file a lawsuit under Florida’s personal injury statute of limitations.
The statute of limitations in Florida is typically four years from the incident. In wrongful death and medical malpractice cases, plaintiffs have only two years to file claims.
Reach out to a personal injury attorney soon after your accident so you don’t run out of time to file a claim.
How Long Will It Take to Resolve My Case?
Each case involving a personal injury is different. The intricacy of the case, the amount of compensation sought, the court’s schedule, your patience in waiting for a better outcome, and the insurance company’s desire to negotiate a fair settlement all affect how long the case lasts.
Therefore, it’s difficult to estimate with any degree of accuracy how long your personal injury lawsuit will take to settle. Nevertheless, according to research studies by the National Center for State Courts and the U.S. Department of Justice, most personal injury claims settle.
Who May You Hold Liable for Your Injuries?
Regarding auto accidents, in some states, the legislature has created an at-fault system, which means that the responsible party would be liable for your injuries.
Florida, however, is a no-fault state. With no-fault insurance, regardless of who was at fault in an automobile accident, both parties can file claims with their auto insurance carriers. To cover this, every driver in Florida must obtain personal injury protection (PIP) insurance as part of their auto insurance policy.
No-fault regulations should simplify getting medical care for individuals hurt in auto accidents. There are certain limitations, though. For instance, PIP insurance only covers a specific amount of medical bills.
You may elect to launch a lawsuit against the party responsible for your injuries if they are severe enough to surpass the injury threshold set out by the law or to be more costly than PIP coverage.
When Is the Best Time to Contact a Lawyer?
In general, it’s best to contact a lawyer as quickly as possible to discuss your claim.
Some situations that can necessitate hiring counsel include:
- If you have questions about your legal rights
- If the insurance company treats you unfairly
- If you cannot access or pay for necessary medical treatment
The personal injury attorneys at Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A. can help if you encounter any of these problems.
How Much Does It Cost to Work With a Lawyer?
The personal injury lawyers at Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A., work on a contingency fee basis. We do not receive compensation unless we win damages for you. You pay none of our time-based fees if we cannot recover compensation for you.
Contact Us Today
Recovering from your injuries is hard enough. Don’t let the insurance companies take advantage of you in such a vulnerable state.
If you have any questions about your personal injury case, the attorneys at Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A. in Gainesville, FL, are here to provide answers. Call us today at (800) 800-2575 or contact us online to discuss your case.