How Do I Know If I Have A Valid Personal Injury Case?

Simply put, the only sure and absolute way to find out if you have a valid personal injury lawsuit is to seek the legal counsel and guidance of a personal injury attorney.

The first thing that you have to think about after an accident is if someone’s negligence or carelessness caused your injuries. If this is the case, you should contact a personal injury attorney immediately to file a claim.

Next, after you determine that someone being negligent caused your injuries, you have to think about a few other items.

To have a valid personal injury lawsuit, you may have to prove:

• That you have an actual injury with medical documentation
• That the party you are suing was actually negligent in the accident
• That the party you are suing caused your injury through negligence in the accident

With these three aspects in mind, seeing a doctor right after an accident to prove your injury is real could be key to helping you win the lawsuit.

Medical Documentation and Treatment
Keeping with the medical theme and seeing a doctor to prove you have a real injury and valid case, you should also be able to tell if you have a strong case through your medical records.

The severity of your injury and costs to heal that injury are of great help to your case. If you had to go to the hospital or have surgery, this could be clear sign that you have a valid claim.

If an emergency room visit was not necessary but you still had to see a doctor on a regular basis because the injury affected your life so much, that is an obvious sign that you have a valid case.

Input from Other People at the Accident
After an accident, most people are shaken up and disoriented. It is natural. What is often overlooked, is the opinion of an unbiased bystander who saw the accident and injury clearly.

These bystanders that have no stake in the claim at all are favorites of a jury that will decide the outcome of your claim you lawyer will most likely use their detailed accounts of what happened during the accident to prove your claim.

Squeezing Blood from a Stone
After you have ascertained that the three key elements to a personal injury lawsuit exist and that you have a valid claim, you have to ask yourself if the defendant can even pay you compensation for your injuries if you hire a personal injury attorney.

If you find yourself bringing on the expertise of an experienced lawyer to sue a woman with no insurance and no job, especially in this economy, there might be no point.

For example a Miami man was hit by a woman who was speeding in a car hardly worth $1,000. The man suffered whiplash and even had TMJ, a dental condition, from the accident. The woman had no car or medical insurance and had no job or family. The man hired a lawyer only to see the woman unable to pay any compensation.

Common Sense in a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Another aspect that may help you realize if you have a valid claim is plain, simple common sense. Could this injury have been avoided if the negligent party was more careful?

Some very avoidable injuries from negligence that make for solid claims through a personal injury lawsuit include:

• A dog running free of a leash and biting you
• A person speeding and hitting you or your car
• Unfixed stairs in a home that lead to a slip and fall
• Liquid on the floor of a store or bar that could have been cleaned up