In a personal injury case, you can claim damages for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. However, insurance companies often refuse to pay a fair value, meaning the only way to get the damages you deserve is to go to court.
Our lawyers can help you with your case by collecting evidence, filing briefs, and standing up in open court for you. We can advise you as to what your case is truly worth and help negotiate away low-dollar settlement offers.
For a free case evaluation, call The Reiff Law Firm’s personal injury lawyers right away at (215) 709-6940.
Do I Have to Go to Court for My Personal Injury Claim?
Most injury cases will be filed in court, but whether the case actually gets to the trial stage is a different issue.
Insurance companies often pay low-dollar settlements that will not cover your needs. In some cases, they may refuse to account for pain and suffering, while in others, they might refuse to acknowledge their policyholder’s fault. In any case, this usually means they will refuse full payment.
When you file your case in court, the judge and jury get to decide payments instead. This puts more pressure on the insurance company to pay a fair settlement, or else they are going to have to pay their lawyers more just to lose at trial.
If they still refuse a fair settlement, we can take your case to trial. There, we can prove the value of the case to the jury and argue that they should rule in your favor. If at any point the insurance company does offer a fair settlement, it is up to you whether to take it or not; our personal injury lawyers can only advise you.
Do I Have to File an Insurance Claim Before Suing?
In many cases, filing an insurance claim is the first step toward getting damages. However, there is no law requiring you to turn to insurance first in most contexts. This allows us to go straight to court if that is the best strategy for your case.
Otherwise, we can file an insurance claim first, see what offers the insurance company makes, and step up the case to court if their offer is too low. Since most early settlement offers are far too low, we might determine it is best to skip any preliminary filings and go directly to court.
One exception is car accidents, where you might be required to use your insurance first. Pennsylvania’s choice no-fault system means drivers with “limited tort” policies usually cannot sue unless they meet certain criteria. In these cases, your first-party coverage might help while the other driver’s insurance investigates or while your case goes to court.
With work injuries, there are also complications because of how Workers’ Comp blocks lawsuits against employers. However, our attorneys can still typically file a claim against other liable parties.
What Damages Can I Claim for an Injury in Jim Thorpe?
Injury cases usually involve three main areas of damages. However, you can also claim compensation for any other financial or personal harms you face.
Medical Bills
Whether you received emergency treatment one day or spent months in rehab, you will likely have faced medical bills in your injury case. From specialist appointments to surgeries and hospital stays to mental health appointments, there are many costs you might face to get all the care you need.
Our lawyers can help you claim all of these damages as part of the “economic damages” in your case. This also includes the cost of any medical care you need going forward, which we can calculate.
Lost Earnings
If you missed even a day of work, you faced lost wages. However, many injury victims will have faced weeks or even months away from work by the time their case is resolved.
For many, the lost earnings will be ongoing. If your accident caused you a disability that prevents you from working, future lost earnings can also be claimed.
Pain and Suffering
Along with other “non-economic damages” like mental anguish and emotional distress, pain and suffering covers the other harms you face. Money cannot make up for sleepless nights in pain or serious facial scars, but it helps.
We calculate your damages for pain and suffering using various methods, depending on the facts of your case and whether the suffering is ongoing or has already been resolved/healed.
Do I Have a Case?
We would need to look into the specific facts of your case to determine whether you have a case, but most cases are built on these following building blocks. If these are all present, then you should have an injury case:
Someone Else’s Fault
You cannot sue for injuries you caused yourself, so the accident needs to be someone else’s fault. This may include things like slip and falls, where the property owner’s negligent upkeep hurt you. It may also include things like defective products, where it was the dangerous product manufacturer’s fault.
Negligence
In most injury cases, your claim is based on “negligence.” This means proving that the defendant caused your injuries through a breach of a legal duty. If these elements are all met, then you have the bones of a “negligence” claim and can proceed in court.
Other cases are based on intentional injury, using different standards.
Damages
You cannot sue without damages. If you face medical expenses, lost time at work, and pain and suffering, your case is likely serious enough to pursue.
How Long Do I Have to File?
You should call a lawyer as soon as you can after your injury case so we can begin collecting evidence, building your case, and filing. However, you do have up to 2 years from the date of injury to file in most cases.
In some cases – especially medical malpractice claims and sexual abuse claims – the deadline to file might be longer. But you should still work with a lawyer as soon as possible to avoid surprise deadlines and to give us time to build your case.
Call Our Jim Thorpe Personal Injury Lawyers Right Away
Call (215) 709-6940 for a free case evaluation with The Reiff Law Firm’s personal injury attorneys.
