No one wants to be involved in an accident, but it happens. No matter how careful you try to be, you can get into a car crash or slip and fall at any time. Not every incident, even if it results in injury, needs legal action. However, when another person or entity caused you harm, you have the law by your side.
Filing a Claim
The first thing you must do if you think you have a case is to consult an accident injury attorney. In Denver, you can speak to private practices regarding your situation and ask for a recommendation.
Most attorneys will be happy to provide an initial consultation for free, so do not hesitate to approach one when you need to seek guidance.
You have the option to file a personal injury lawsuit in court to receive compensation for damages. That means you the person at-fault must pay for all the losses you have encountered due to the injury. It includes the medical bills you incurred and income in case you had to miss work to recuperate after the accident.
Another option is to file a claim from the offending party’s insurer. You may need to file a claim through your insurer.
Do You Have Evidence?
To file an injury claim either in court or through your insurer, you have to provide evidence that the other party was responsible for the accident. You have to prove that their negligence exposed you to harm.
You have to collect and submit a police report that describes the circumstances that lead to accident, incident report if it happened in the workplace, eyewitness accounts, photographs of the injury, records of medical treatments including hospital visits, and others. You also have to produce documentation of missed work and loss of income.
However, not all injury claims involve neglect. There may be other reasons why you got hurt seriously hurt and now want to be compensated. For example, a product that you purchased turned out to be malfunctioning and later on harmed you.
If the incident happened in the workplace, you need to file a workers’ compensation claim. Keep in mind that your employer may be immuned from getting sued by an employee due to injury. Again, you need to speak to an attorney, ideally to someone who has experience with similar situations, to know your options.
What if You Are Being Sued?
If you are on the receiving end of an injury claim, you have to get an attorney to defend you. Your attorney will try to prove in court — if the case reaches to that point — that you either have no duty of care to the claimant, you did not breach your duty of care to the claimant, or the claimant did not suffer compensable damage due to the accident.
Do not admit that it is your fault without consulting your attorney because it will be used in court against you. Even if you want to settle on the spot, you may want to wait for your attorney to be present and negotiate on your behalf. Say as little information as possible to the other party.
Filing for an injury claim will not be fun. The other party may try to discredit you in order to avoid paying losses. Trust and follow your attorney’s advice.