Losing wages and accruing medical because of an injury can be highly stressful, especially when you are struggling to afford the costs. If you don’t think the accident was your fault, you may naturally then be wondering whether you are entitled to compensation to cover the costs associated with your injury.
While the legal
process can be intimidating, it can actually be surprisingly simple to
determine whether the case is worth pursuing. Here are a few criteria to help
you determine whether your injury entitles you to legal compensation.
Was there
Clear Negligence?
Ultimately,
whether or not you have a personal injury claim will likely hinge on whether
you can prove that a party other than yourself was partially or fully
responsible for your injury. In the legal world, there is a concept known as the duty of care, which refers to situations where one party is responsible for the
safety of another. Failure to uphold this can therefore result in liability.
Sometimes,
negligence can be clear and obvious. If you were injured due to faulty
equipment being provided at work, for example, or if you were injured by adrunk driver, you are likely to have a strong claim. However, fault can often
be a lot more nebulous and difficult to prove. In such cases, you may want to
consult with a lawyer, to determine whether fault can be proven. Legal firms
also have the benefit of having many specialists on different types of injury.
For instance, if you have been injured by a large vehicle, you may want to
contact a semi-truck accident lawyer.
Can You
Prove Damages as a Result of the Accident?
The strength of
your claim will also likely depend on whether you can produce evidence that you
experienced material losses because of the injury. In practice, this is
normally lost wages due to missed time from work, or medical bills incurred as
a result of the injury. This will also dictate how much compensation you will
be awarded if your claim is successful. In view of this, it is vital you
maintain any record of these things, as this will make your chances of success
much higher.
Did You
Jeopardise Your Claim?
Another key
component to the success of your claim is that you didn’t do anything to damage
the legitimacy of your legal argument. As an example, if you didn’t follow
company health and safety procedures when getting injured at work, it will be
much harder for you or your lawyer to argue that it was negligence on the part
of the company that caused your accident. Similarly, admitting fault after the
accident will also make it more difficult for you to later claim that it was
another party’s negligence that was the issue.
Was the
Accident Recent?
Finally, you
should also consider your region’s statute of limitations laws before pursuing your legal claim any further.
Typically, states and countries have a time limit of several years from the
accident, after which you will no longer be able to take legal action. It is
also good practice to claim as quickly as possible because it will make it
easier to gather evidence relevant to your case.