Suffering a serious injury can turn your life completely upside down. Even if you will fully recover from your injury, the disruption to your life can be significant and costly. Recovering compensation from the liable party can be essential when attempting to rebuild your life after an accident.
At White Law PLLC, we have a proven track record of helping injury victims secure favorable settlements and court-ordered payouts for the damages they suffered. If you were injured by a negligent party, contact us today to learn more about your options. You can schedule a free consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys in Marquette.
What a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Do for You
After suffering a personal injury, attempting to recover compensation on your own can be challenging. Fortunately, an experienced personal injury lawyer in Marquette, MI, can help. When you hire a personal injury attorney, one of the first things they will do will be to launch an independent investigation into your case.
This inquiry will serve the dual purpose of establishing who is liable for your damages and gathering evidence to support your claim. After completing their investigation, your lawyer will assess your damages and calculate the full value of your personal injury claim. If you choose to pursue an insurance claim, your attorney will file your claim with the liable party’s insurer.
Alternatively, should you choose to pursue a lawsuit, your attorney will draw up the appropriate paperwork and file your lawsuit with the court. They will then proceed to go through all the steps of the pretrial process and, if necessary, represent you in court. Throughout the process, your attorney will attempt to settle your case through negotiations with opposing counsel.
Your Fight Is Our Fight
Damages You Can Recover
After suffering a personal injury, recovering damages can be critical. There are a large variety of damages, and figuring out which ones you are eligible to claim depends on the particulars of your case. All damages can be split into three primary categories.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are fairly easy to quantify. These damages cover any losses you suffered due to your accident that had a direct impact on your financial situation. Some common economic damages include:
- Lost wages
- Diminished earning ability
- Property damages
- Medical bills
- Future medical expenses
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are far more complex. Because these damages cover losses that do not have a concrete monetary value, establishing how much these damages are worth can be challenging. Non-economic damages are often profound. As a result, the money recovered from these losses tends to be substantial. Some common non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of companionship
- Permanent disability
- Decreased quality of life
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are reserved for a small percentage of personal injury cases. A judge will award punitive damages in extreme cases where the liable party acted in a criminally negligent manner or with the express purpose of causing harm.
Rather than replacing losses suffered by an accident victim, punitive damages are assessed as a means of punishing the liable party for the role they played in causing you harm.
We know how to get our clients the results they need in the toughest legal arenas.
Talk to a Lawyer Before Taking a Settlement Offer
Insurance companies will do anything to avoid paying out the total value of a claim. They have many tricks that they will employ to achieve this goal and either deny or devalue your claim. One of the most common tactics they use is to approach accident victims with a settlement offer before they can get their bearings.
After suffering an injury, an insurance adjuster may present you with a settlement offer before you are even released from the hospital. They will attempt to make this offer appear like a friendly gesture aimed at helping you pay off your medical bills and get back on your feet. They will also likely imply that this offer will only be on the table for a short period to pressure you.
However, while the amount they are offering may seem significant at the time, it is likely only a fraction of the true value of your claim. Furthermore, you won’t lose your chance at a settlement by waiting for a lawyer to review the offer. By hiring a personal injury attorney in Marquette, MI, you can level the playing field and protect your right to recover fair compensation.
We know how to get our clients the results they need in the toughest legal arenas.
File Your Personal Injury Lawsuit on Time
When pursuing a personal injury lawsuit, it is critical that you pay attention to the statute of limitations. In Michigan, the statute of limitations for filing a lawsuit after suffering a personal injury is three years. If you don’t get your lawsuit filed before three years pass, it is likely that you will lose your right to pursue compensation from the liable party.
However, you need to realize that exceptions to the statute of limitations could result in the time you have to file being extended or shortened depending on the particular circumstances of your case.
You can discover the true time frame in which you must file by consulting an experienced personal injury attorney. Your lawyer can identify if any exceptions apply to your case and ensure that your lawsuit gets filed on time.
You will always work directly with your attorney throughout your case.
The Cost of Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer
The cost of hiring a lawyer often discourages accident victims from obtaining legal counsel. However, the perception that hiring a personal injury attorney is too expensive is false. While many lawyers do charge high hourly rates and a costly fee to retain their services, personal injury lawyers tend to do things a bit differently.
A personal injury lawyer will only charge a single fee for their services. This fee is assessed at the conclusion of your case and is entirely contingent on the money you recover from the liable party. When you receive a settlement or court-ordered payout, your attorney will receive their fee as a fixed percentage of this compensation.
Under this setup, your lawyer will be compelled to ensure you get as much money for your case as possible, since a bigger payout for you means a bigger payday for them. Furthermore, should your attorney fail to secure compensation on your behalf, they will not be paid for their services.
Contact a Law Firm That Handles Personal Injury Cases in Marquette
When hiring a law firm to help with your personal injury case, it is critical that you find a firm with both experience handling your type of case and a proven track record of recovering favorable compensation for their clients. At White Law PLLC, our team has a long history of helping injury victims get their lives back on track after an accident.
Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with a personal injury attorney in Marquette, MI. We will review your case and advise you of your options for pursuing compensation. Give us a call or complete our online contact form to get started.
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