Common Personal Injury Cases
There are many types of accidents that can result in bodily injury and/or death.
At Dore Law Group, PLLC, we represent clients in all types of personal injury claims, including:
- Car accidents
- Commercial truck accidents
- Maritime accidents
- Elevator injuries
- Construction accidents
- Brain injury
- Burn injury
- Defective products
- Slip and falls
- Neck & back injuries
- Dog bites
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
In most cases, these accidents need not occur. In the case of car and truck crashes, for example, many severe accidents are caused by negligent and reckless acts of drivers. These acts may include driving while intoxicated or while under the influence of a drug, running red lights, speeding or violating other traffic laws, driving while distracted with cell phone usage or texting, or driving when the driver is too tired.
Proving Negligence & Damages
When accidents are caused by the reckless or negligent acts of others, the job of a personal injury lawyer is to seek the maximum compensation possible for injured clients. To do so, it is important to thoroughly investigate accidents in order to determine who is liable. In many cases, more than one person may be responsible for causing an accident.
Proving Liability
Under the law, in order to recover damages in a personal injury case, the injured person must show that the defendant or defendants breached a duty owed to the injured person. For instance, when we all drive, we owe a legal duty to others on the road to drive safely, to control our vehicle, and to obey all traffic regulations.
If a person runs a red light, this will be an example of breaching the duty owed to other drivers to drive in a safe manner. If the person hits another vehicle coming from a side street after running a red light, the person running the red light will be liable for all damages sustained by those in the vehicle that was hit.
In order to prove legal liability, Dore Law Group, PLLC will often retain accident reconstructionists and other experts. These experts are a vital part of proving negligence in a court of law and showing that the defendant or defendants breached their liability towards those injured. In the course of litigation, the defendant or defendants will also typically retain their own accident reconstructionists or use favorable witness statements to show why they are not liable, rather than simply admitting that they were the cause of the accident and injuries.
As a result, if you have been injured, it will be to your advantage to retain experienced legal counsel with years of successfully proving liability on behalf of clients. At Dore Law Group, PLLC, attorney Jim Dore, Jr., has been making the case for injured clients for more than 30 years.
Proving Damages
In addition to proving negligence, we must also prove the damages sustained by our client. This aspect sometimes also requires experts to ascertain aspects such as lost damages from work. Damages may also be recoverable for pain and suffering, medical bills, and other economic and emotional loss.
Recovering for Past & Future Damages
In bringing a personal injury case, we carefully document all damages sustained, as there will only be one opportunity to recover for damages. Damages will include not only costs, lost wages, and other damages that have been sustained prior to trial, but also all future damages that are likely to be incurred (including pain and suffering for future surgeries, future lost wages, and other costs).
In order to help you recover significant compensation for future damages, we often work with medical experts who can elaborate on future medical treatment you will likely need, as well as the pain and suffering your injuries will likely cause in the future. These and other experts can also address future costs and lost work time/income that will likely result from your injuries.
If the injury victim is likely to never work again, it is also important to retain an expert to properly calculate the lost future wages that otherwise would have been likely earned by the injury victim if the injury had not taken place. Our firm is experienced in retaining these experts so that a jury can fairly consider the full amount of damages due.
Recovering for Pain & Suffering
Some damages, such as those for pain and suffering, are not subject to easy monetary calculation. At a trial, these damages must be determined by a jury.
As your legal team, our role is to make the best possible case for your damages based upon the total injuries, economic loss, and emotional pain that you have suffered. In severe injury cases, there are several ways that the pain and suffering endured can be conveyed to a jury.
First, witnesses—including medical providers, friends, and family members—can testify as to the damages suffered by the person. Second, what is known as a “day in the life video” can be used to show the victim’s recovery and daily routine. These types of videos are especially helpful to show the true effect that an injury may have on the victim and the victim’s family.
Our Kent Injury Lawyers Can Help
We offer a free consultation, and there are no fees for us unless we obtain a recovery for you. We also advance the costs of litigation (such as the cost to retain experts and other court and litigation fees) so you will not have to be concerned about paying such costs out-of-pocket as your matter progresses.
Schedule your free consultation with our Kent personal injury lawyer today; call (253) 236-3888 or contact us online to get started.