How to Sue for Personal Injury
If personal injury occurs that may be due to negligence on some party's part, you need to have an idea of how the legal and insurance systems are set up to respond.
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Instructions
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Understand the legal definition of personal injury. It usually involves an accident where someone gets hurt due to negligence, like an automobile collision or even an industrial or medical accident. Note that the injury can be to someone's emotions, and not just to the physical body.
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The next step is from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-29990.html "If you've been injured in an accident, it's important to notify anyone who may be responsible for the accident. You don't have to know who was at fault; you must simply think about who might have been at fault. Moreover, in the beginning you don't have to give the people involved, or their insurance companies, any detailed information about the accident or your injuries. All you have to do is let them know that there was an accident at a certain time and place, that you were injured, and that you intend to file a claim."
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When talking to insurance companies, remember that their job is to minimize what they pay, no matter how nice the person is you're talking to. Give basic information about who you are to an insurance company the first time they call, and learn more (http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/accident-law/index.html ) or talk to a personal injury attorney before going into details.
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Benchmark the settlement values of similar accidents. Some of these are published in the media or find equations online for how insurance companies and lawyers calculate a claim. The nolo site offers guidance in this area.
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Determine if you need an attorney or not. You may as well seek free advice if a personal injury lawyer is willing talk to you free of charge, which many will do to see if your case has potential for settlement or winning in court. If you're not sure which one to call, you may as well go with the ones that advertise a lot? A law firm that can afford to buy a lot of advertising is probably doing well at winning cases or earning settlements.
There is also guidance on when you need legal help or not: http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-30140.html
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