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Have you or a loved one been injured in an accident or by way of the neglect of someone? Sometimes things can be dealt with by insurance or through a small claims court. Occasionally it’s best to walk it off and get on with your life.
But sometimes you really could use someone to have your back. Someone that will really gun for your case. A person who will fight on your side. Sometimes you really must have a Santa Cruz County personal injury attorney that will fight for your rights, both financial and individually, so you can roll back as close as possible to your life before the injury occurred.
Being harmed by a crime, accident, or willful negligence is not a good time. It’s an extremely trying time, and seeing things objectively is very hard. But remaining calm and logically oriented can be the difference between getting the proper compensation that you deserve or leaving the case broke.
A Santa Cruz County personal injury attorney can act as a counselor between you and the challenging situation, making it much easier to navigate the ins and outs of the legal system. Most people may not even realize the facts of what might occur until discussing the matter with a legal professional. An attorney can help you see all of this in a more objective light, determine the potential of a claim and whether they can be of service, and help you move forward with any potential claim.
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What is a Santa Cruz County Elder Abuse Attorney?
To begin with, personal injury lawyers (PILs) fall into the bigger arena of civil lawyers. Civil lawyers are generally hired to recover cash or other assets from a person or legal entity on behalf of another person or legal entity.
This means that when someone brings a civil action suit against someone else, a civil lawyer is usually hired to begin the lawsuit and another civil lawyer is retained by the defendant. In the case of bodily injury, the injured person will retain a personal injury professional when said claim involves reimbursement or payment of expenses derived from the injury such as health costs, mental health problems arising from the injury, and legal costs, etc.
After the legal professional has been retained, they will gather all of the information for the case that they are legally entitled to. They will speak with all witnesses that are available, research any and all documents in relation to your claim, and use all available resources to make sure all of their is accurate.
Then they will first attempt to negotiate a settlement in the case. If negotiation falls through, the legal professional will consider filing a lawsuit in response, depending on the potential for a win. But what cases can a personal injury lawyer accept?
A PIL generally tackles a wide variety of cases that fall into two primary groups. The first field includes negligence and accident cases such as medical malpractice, legal malpractice, auto accidents, child negligence, and wrongful death cases. Wrongful death can be caused by a doctor, nurse, or other medical practitioner. In most of these cases, someone is injured (or worse) due to the negligence or incompetence of a person.
The second main field of a PIL is the purposely executed tort case. A purposeful tort happens when someone purposefully hurts another person. This includes violent crime, assault and battery cases, slander, theft, and other such situations. In the end, the potential causes for a personal injury case is nearly endless.
In addition, separate from most other fields of the legal world, personal injury lawyers nearly always work on a contingency fee basis. What this means is that they are not paid unless the person or entity that they are representing wins the case. It means that there should be no upfront payment, for consultation or otherwise. Their fee is based solely upon a percentage of the financial compensation received by their client.
What Could Happen in an Injury Case?
Of course, sometimes even the final steps of the process aren’t necessarily easy. The injured party can counteroffer if they feel they are not receiving in their eyes a fair compensation. It is when these offers do not get agreed upon or an offer is just flat-out refused that a case may very well end up in court.
However, it is rare for a personal injury case to get to the trial phase. And this is for many reasons:
First, a settlement lends itself to a situation where the defendant can control risks and avoid unneeded legal costs. If the defendant is completely aware that they are at fault for the incident that led to the claim, they probably do not want the case to get in front of a sympathetic jury that could give much larger damages.
Secondly, a settlement can help keep the case on the down low. This is especially important for well-known people or large high profile companies. A big trial brings public attention. And even a small trial can bring unwanted attention. A settlement is conducive to letting everyone involved to fully negotiate terms, including those terms regarding non-disclosure.
Thirdly, a settlement can hasten the process. Extended trials can take an eternity, lasting for many months or longer. In addition, if anyone appeals, the outcome can remain in the system for even longer. The plaintiff probably wants financial payment as soon as possible rather than having to wait. Or they may simply not want to finish the never-ending process of putting on a case, presenting evidence, and doing whatever it takes to beat the claim.
And finally, settlement allows the plaintiff a guaranteed win. A trial is more of a ‘the higher the risk the more the reward’ type of situation, which is not always the best situation for either. The accusing party may in many cases rather settle for a little less in a guaranteed win. This, versus holding out for maximum dollar amount but also risking either losing the court case or having a judge or jury give a much lesser amount due to unknown circumstances pretrial.
What are the Personal Injury Lawyer’s Duties?
First they will take care of finding evidence and finding the responsible party, whether it be an insurance company, individual, or other legal entity.
Once the attorney has formed a case, they draft and send an official letter of demand to the defendant. This letter includes a breakdown of what occurred, of injuries suffered, and the amount of financial compensation requested.
Next, the lawyer may attempt to negotiate a settlement, and depending on whether a settlement is reached, decides if they will push to bring the case to court. This is determined by how much the other party agrees to the terms of the settlement. If the other party agrees completely to everything proposed, then there would be absolutely no reason to file a court case. If the other party agrees to some of the terms but not all of them or only is in partial agreement to terms, the ball is then put back in the plaintiff’s court to decide if they will push for further negotiations, agree to the new terms, or file a claim in court.
Choose the Successful Elder Abuse Lawyer Near Me in Santa Cruz County
Here at DeLozier Law, we have over 4 decades of experience in successful personal injury law litigation. Our clients are extremely pleased with us because we helped them get the settlement they deserved. We offer a free consultation so you can see if we can help you with your claim, too. Give us a call today at 602-989-1759!