When you suffer a severe injury, it can complicate your life in more ways than one. You could miss work, lose income, have unexpected medical bills, and, depending on the extent of your injury, your entire life might change forever. If someone else’s negligent behavior left you with injuries, you might be able to file a claim against them. Consult with a Southaven personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your options. Board-certified attorney David E. Gordon has extensive experience fighting for clients who have suffered a personal injury from someone else’s negligence.
Common Accidents Arising from Negligence
Nearly all accidental injuries can be traced back to someone’s negligence. Negligence is often a factor in:
- Motor vehicle accidents (including trucks and motorcycles)
- Slips, trips, and falls as a result of hazardous property
- Injuries from defective products
- Dog bites and animal attacks
- Fires and explosions
- Side-effects from prescription and over-the-counter medications
- Workers’ compensation claims
- Maritime injuries
When someone suffers an injury in an accident that had negligence at its root, the responsible parties and their insurers will exert considerable effort to limit their liability. A Southaven personal injury attorney like David can level the playing field and help an injured person obtain a fair settlement for their losses.
Negligence Key to Recovering Damages
To collect compensation, an injured person must demonstrate that someone else’s negligence contributed to the circumstance that caused their injury. Negligence is a failure to exercise the caution and consideration that a prudent person would exercise in similar circumstances.
Proving negligence requires the injured person show that someone had a duty of care, which they breached. He or she must also must demonstrate that the breach led to an incident that left them injured and caused actual losses. The specific evidence that they produce to prove negligence will depend on the circumstances. David can advise an injured person about the likelihood of proving negligence in their particular case.
Sometimes an injured person’s own negligence was a factor in the accident. If a claim goes to trial, the judge or a jury will hear the evidence and then apportion fault among the parties. Mississippi law allows a negligent claimant to seek damages from any other negligent party. However, their compensation will be reduced by a percentage that equals their own portion of responsibility.
Damages in Personal Injury Cases
The compensation that an injured individual can expect to receive from a negligent party will depend on the specifics of their case. In general, any loss that he or she suffered because of their injury could be reimbursed through an award of damages.
Economic damages provide restitution for the injured person’s out-of-pocket expenses related to the injury. These might include medical expenses, lost income, costs of replacing the injured person’s services to their family, and any expenses incurred in the future because of the injury. He or she must offer proof such as receipts, tax returns, invoices, expert opinions about the projected cost of future medical care, and similar documentation to support their claim.
Non-economic damages are payments to alleviate the impact of the injury on the client’s emotions, activities, and relationships. They can ask for damages for their physical pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, and loss of consortium. A Southaven accidental injury lawyer can offer persuasive evidence of how the injuries impacted the client’s quality of life. State law caps the total non-economic damages a person can receive at $1,000,000.
Hire a Southaven Personal Injury Attorney to Fight for You
If you have suffered an injury in any type of accident, do not engage with an insurance company until you have spoken to a legal professional from the Law Office of David E. Gordon. Insurers often take advantage of unrepresented individuals by attempting to shift blame away from their insured, questioning the legitimacy of the injuries, or otherwise refusing to negotiate in good faith.
A Southaven personal injury lawyer can fight back against these unfair tactics by handling negotiations on your behalf and filing a lawsuit, if necessary. Schedule a consultation today.