Personal Injury

Automobile Accidents:

When you are injured in an automobile accident and the accident was not your fault or was only partially your fault, you may have a claim against the other driver for your auto damage, medical bills, time missed from work, and pain and suffering. It is important to learn your legal rights right away before you sign away any rights to recovery or lose evidence that could be valuable at trial. If the other party's insurance company contacts you and wants to offer you a settlement, you can deal with them without an attorney. However, it is very important that you know exactly what rights you are giving away and what you might be able to recover in trial. A verbal "yes" over the phone to an adjuster could seal away your claim forever. If the insurance company requests copies of your medical records or asks for a statement, tell them that you wish to fully cooperate but must speak with your attorney first. If the accident is your fault you may need legal assistance in fighting any traffic charges or in defending yourself against a civil suit. Typically, if you are insured, your carrier will provide you will civil legal defense because they will be paying the bill anyway. However, if you are being sued for an amount over the amount of your insurance coverage, you may need an attorney to represent you that does not represent the insurance company. There is no charge for an initial consultation to determine if you have a possible case or need legal representation.

Premises Liability:

This area refers to accidents that happen at a place rather than on the road such as in a residence or a commercial property. When you are injured on someone else's property, the owner may be liable for your medical bills, missed time at work, and pain and suffering. Whether or not they are liable depends on your status on the property. Their duty to protect you varies with your status and the courts can draw very fine lines in determining your status. The three general statuses are a trespasser, a licensee, and an invitee. A trespasser is someone who has no permission to be on the property at all and an owner's duty to him is to not willfully and wantonly injure him or set traps for him. A licensee is someone who has permission to be on the property. This category usually applies to social guests. In addition to not purposefully hurting them, the owner must also warn licensees of any known dangers. An invitee is someone on the property for a business purpose in which the owner derives some kind of economic benefit. Customers in stores and sometimes repairmen at homes usually fall into this category. The owner owes the greatest level of protection to the invitees and must routinely inspect the premises in order to make them safe for them. If you are an injured party, you may wish to consult with an attorney to discover your status. Just because you were hurt on someone's property does not make them automatically liable and an insurer of your safety. If you are an owner of a property, you may wish to find out what duties you owe your guests before they are injured. There is no charge for an initial consultation to determine if you need legal representation.

Worker's Compensation:

Your injury falls into this arena when you are hurt while on the job or during your performance of your employment duties. The law is very specific concerning what your job related duties are. If it is determined that you were hurt during your job and that the accident was not due to your negligence, you may receive compensation benefits for your medical care and time missed from work. You do not receive pain and suffering benefits under this plan. It is very important that you follow guidelines established by the state and by the employer in order to qualify for these benefits such as seeing a doctor on your companies list and reporting the injury to your employer right away. If you think your injury may qualify or if you have been turned down for these benefits, you may have a free initial consultation to determine if legal representation can help you.