Handling Personal Injury Claims
Since 1990, the Law Offices of David Kohm have provided outstanding Arlington & DFW personal injury attorneys who win excellent results for clients. Our personal injury attorneys are among the best with a proven track record. If you have been injured in a car accident, on the job, at home or someplace else; our personal injury law firm will aggressively pursue compensation for your lawsuit.
Why You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer
Accidents are a part of all of our lives and happen in an instant. While some accidents are merely a minor annoyance, those that are serious can be difficult to resolve without the help of an attorney. If you have been hurt in an accident, you may be worried about how you will pay your bills or how to get your vehicle repaired. The following is a review of personal injury law and how it could help you obtain compensation for injuries sustained in accidents due to someone else’s negligence.
Types of Accidents
Personal injury law is designed to help people hurt in accidents that are caused by someone being reckless or careless. While there are many different types of accidents, the most common cause of personal injury lawsuit filings are:
Car accidents are the leading cause of accident related death in the United States. Even when the victims of a car accident are fortunate enough to avoid a fatal injury, car accidents very often result in severe injuries that require expensive life-saving medical treatment. In the event of a less serious injury, if a person does not receive medical treatment shortly after the accident they run an increased risk of long term pain and suffering, and possible disabilities and without the help of an attorney they may have no recourse to be compensated for their medical costs. The most common causes of car accidents are typically due to aggressive driving, operating a vehicle under the influence, distracted driving and failure to observe the speed limit.
Learn more about car accidents.
Commercial trucks log thousands of miles a month, taking products and goods to destinations for public use. Unfortunately, tight deadlines and improperly maintained vehicles are the cause of many accidents that hurt people every day. Commercial truckers are often pressured by their employer to drive dangerously long hours, to fake their time logs, and to use other cost saving measures to avoid fines and get their deliveries to the destination more quickly in the name of profit. Taking a truck off the road to allow the driver to sleep or to provide needed safety inspections and maintenance on the trucks is often viewed as a loss in revenue for the trucking company, and sometimes their avoidance of safety measures causes a great loss of life when their trucks meet passenger vehicles in horrific accidents on the nation’s highways.
Learn more about truck accidents.
Property owners must maintain sidewalks and buildings in a manner that is safe for the public. However, many people are the victim of slip and falls due to improper maintenance and failure to post safety signs for the public to see. Store owners, landlords and apartment building owners may be held liable for your injuries if an accident occurs due to their negligence.
Learn more about slip and fall accidents.
According to the Center For Disease Control or CDC, motorcycle riders are 27 times more likely to be killed in an accident than those driving passenger cars or trucks. This is due to several related factors. The first of course is the lack of protection which is inherent to riding in a normal passenger vehicle. The motorcycle is not enclosed, it has no protection from the elements or impact, and it also has no safety belts of any kind. In the event of an accident, riders are thrown from the vehicle, often resulting in additional trauma. The second factor has to do with visibility. Many drivers will often miss motorcycles when looking to see if its safe to turn or pull out and they often miss the much smaller motorcycle in their visual scan. Many of these accidents are not the fault of the motorcyclist but of an inattentive driver. Speed is an additional factor, in that motorcycles can accelerate suddenly and can quickly enter an area that appeared clear to another driver just moments ago, causing them to pull out or turn in front of the speeding motorcycle.
Learn more about motorcycle accidents.
Walking is an affordable way to get to work, school or shopping. Many people walk to get exercise that helps them maintain good health. Unfortunately, hundreds of pedestrians are injured each month in accidents that are preventable. Pedestrians are often not seen by inattentive drivers, and they don’t have the same physical protection that passenger vehicles have. A human body is no match for a multi-ton vehicle.
Learn more about pedestrian accidents.
Everyone should have the right to work in a place that is safe and in jobs where the work itself is inherently dangerous, the company should take the proper precautions to keep their employees safe. The sad truth is that many companies would rather save money by cutting out proper safety procedures and gear, than do what is right to protect their workers. Worse, many companies will try to minimize their workers’ injuries, offering time off, unfair compensation, and will often try to keep the employee from seeking legal assistance. This can lead to threats of termination and can intimidate victims away from seeking the help they need from an attorney who is on their side.
Learn more about workplace injuries.
Types of Damages
While it is difficult to determine exactly what an accident victim will be awarded in a personal injury lawsuit, some of the most common include:
- Hospital and Ambulance Bills
- Other Medical Bills
- Surgery Costs
- Ambulance Fees
- Cost of Physical and Occupational Therapy
- Lost Income and Wages
- Future Lost Income in Cases of Disability
- Pain and Suffering
How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You
Many people hesitate to contact a personal injury lawyer after an accident, for fear it will be expensive or difficult to obtain professional, high quality representation. The truth is that most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis and get paid only after winning your case. Statistics have shown that people who have legal representation are typically offered higher settlements than those who do not have a lawyer working to protect their interests. Some ways a lawyer can help you are:
- Obtaining Police Reports
- Hiring Accident Investigators
- Re-creating the Accident to Determine Fault
- Requesting Medical Records
- Speaking With the At-Fault Party’s Insurance Company Regarding a Settlement
- Filing Court Documents
- Representing You in Court
When You Should Speak to a Lawyer
If you have been hurt, you may be wondering when you should seek legal counsel. Contact our offices immediately, as we offer a no obligation, free consultation. You may have a serious case if any of the following conditions exist:
- You are injured in any way
- The insurance company is not cooperating or refusing to treat your claim fairly
- You have lost wages or cannot work due to your injuries
- You need additional medical treatment or have difficulty paying for medical treatment
- You do not have transportation to get to the doctor
- You are disabled due to the accident
- The insurance company refuses to pay or offer a settlement
While not every accident will qualify for compensation under personal injury law, those that do may help accident victims obtain a fair settlement for their injuries. If you have been hurt due to the negligence of another, contact a personal injury lawyer for a review of your case.
Contact us online or call the Law Offices of David S. Kohm at (817) 522-4451 for a free legal consultation.
