Injuries are hard to handle. Moving forward doesn’t have to be.
We’re Smiley Injury Lawyers, and we can help you fight your case with confidence.
How much is your case worth?
Who is responsible for compensating you?
How do you file a personal injury lawsuit and win?
The justice system has two divisions: civil and criminal law. Criminal law is how the state punishes a wrongdoer. Potential consequences include jail sentences and fines. Civil law is how individuals seek compensation from other parties. Personal injury law involves people seeking compensation for damages to their person.
A New Orleans personal injury lawyer could represent you when you are hurt in an accident and want to pursue compensation for your losses. Our attorneys could handle the entire legal process—from filing a claim with an insurance company and negotiating on your behalf to representing you in court, if necessary. Severe injuries often come with lifelong expenses; you should have someone advocating for you to ensure you get the most money possible out of a settlement or damages award.
A personal injury can include any harm to a person that happens under any circumstances. The injuries can come from accidents or intentional behavior. When a personal injury is the result of an assault, battery, sexual assault, domestic violence, or murder attempt, the wrongdoer may also face criminal charges.
Common cases in which these injuries occur include:
A compassionate personal injury lawyer could also help people in New Orleans with wrongful death claims. In a wrongful death action, the victim dies as a result of another person’s wrongdoing. Their survivors can bring a lawsuit on the deceased individual’s behalf.
In a personal injury claim, a victim seeks compensation for any damages resulting from an accident caused by someone else’s negligence. The entire claim depends on the existence of an injury, but the damages can extend beyond the direct costs linked to the injury claim. They can include economic, non-economic, and punitive damages.
Economic damages compensate people for financial harm. Medical bills, lost wages, and loss of earning capacity are the three main types of economic damages. Depending on a victim’s circumstances, there may be additional monetary damages. For example, if someone’s injuries require adaptive equipment or modifications to a home, those expenses would be economic damages.
Non-economic damages are the justice system’s way of paying people back for non-financial harm. These include pain and suffering, emotional trauma, loss of companionship, and other forms of harm without an economic value. The court tries to estimate the financial worth of those damages. It should come as no surprise that victims and insurers often disagree on the appropriate amount for non-economic damages.
Punitive damages are rarely available. Louisiana explicitly limits them to just a few scenarios:
Acts of terrorism and hazing can also trigger punitive damages.
A seasoned personal injury attorney in New Orleans could look at the facts of a specific case and provide a settlement range. Armed with that information, victims could determine whether a settlement offer is fair.
There are four elements of a personal injury claim. A plaintiff must prove that the defendant owed them a duty of care, breached that duty, the breach led to an accident, and the accident caused their injuries.
After establishing a claim, a plaintiff also has to prove their damages. To demonstrate damages in a personal injury case, a New Orleans attorney might use medical bills, testimony about a victim’s medical condition, and evidence of lost wages and loss of earning capacity. To prove non-economic damages, a lawyer may have a victim or their loved ones testify about the impact of the injury on their life.
Some people think insurance companies will take care of them after an injury. However, insurance companies tend to minimize payments in order to maximize their own profits, so it is important to rely on an attorney instead. Whether you’ve suffered life-altering injuries in your accident and need compensation to obtain the best medical treatment in New Orleans, or you’re hoping a settlement will heal your emotional injuries caused by the accident, our team could help.
A New Orleans personal injury lawyer could help you determine the value of your claim, negotiate on your behalf, and take your case to court when needed. At Smiley Injury Law, LLC, our main priority is you. We fight hard every day to help injury victims like you win the maximum available compensation, and we want all our clients to walk away with the best legal experience. Call us today to schedule a consultation to discuss your legal rights and options.
In this book you will learn more about how to handle a personal injury case. There are real life examples of how cases are handled. This is first hand information from a New Orleans personal injury attorney on the front lines who is familiar with fighting insurance companies.
Injuries are hard to handle, moving forward doesn’t have to be.
We’re Smiley Injury Lawyers, and we can help you fight your case with confidence.
Personal injuries can include permanent disabilities, spinal injuries, brain injuries, and more. A variety of accidents can cause these injuries. A New Orleans personal injury attorney can fight for the compensation you deserve.
Motorcyclists often go unnoticed on the road and end up with severe and life-altering injuries. If someone hit you while you were riding your motorcycle, you deserve justice. A New Orleans personal injury lawyer can help.
Car accidents commonly cause injuries in New Orleans. If you know someone else is responsible for your collision, you can hold them accountable by suing them and using evidence to prove negligence.
Negligent drivers can injure bicyclists in crosswalks, bike lanes, and other unregulated areas. You can file a claim against any liable party who injures you while riding your bike in New Orleans and obtain a settlement for the damages you suffer.
Construction is one of the most dangerous career fields in the world. Construction accidents happen frequently and can leave you with life-altering injuries. Identifying who’s responsible for your construction injury is essential.
If you were exposed to toxic chemicals and suffered injuries as a result, you can identify who’s liable for your injuries and file a claim for compensation that covers the full extent of your damages.
If you slip and fall on a hard surface, you can suffer severe injuries like brain or spinal damage. When you fall on someone else’s property, it’s possible that their negligence contributed to your accident.
Losing a loved one is never easy, especially when negligence factors into the death. If your family member died in an accident involving negligence, you can file a wrongful death claim to obtain a settlement on their behalf.
Trucks can malfunction and cause accidents if they aren’t maintained properly. Semi-truck drivers may also cause accidents if they’re negligent while driving. When 18-wheelers wreck, the potential for injury is high. Knowing who to sue for your damages is crucial.
If a product malfunctions and leaves you with injuries or other damages, you can sue the manufacturer for their negligence and receive a settlement.
Work with experienced personal injury lawyers and investigators to gather information that supports your claim.
Use evidence and information from your accident to pinpoint all at-fault parties and sue them for any damages you’ve suffered.
Determine how much your claim is worth by assessing the severity of your accident, the level of negligence contributed by all parties, and the various economic and non-economic damages you experienced because of the accident.
Use the evidence you gathered, such as witness testimony, photographs, and video footage, to prove who’s responsible for your accident and walk away with money in your pocket.
The liberative prescription for personal injury claims in Louisiana is one year. You’ll have one year from when your injury or car, truck, or motorcycle accident occurred to file a claim if you want the court to hear your case. It’s essential to contact an injury lawyer as soon as possible if you want a chance at recovering compensation.
Louisiana’s comparative negligence law allows anyone involved in an accident to recover compensation for damages they’ve suffered regardless of whether they’ve contributed fault in the accident. The court will, however, deduct each party’s percentage of fault from their overall settlement. Your personal injury attorney in New Orleans can provide you with more information on how this law relates to your case.
The state of Louisiana doesn’t regulate the amount you can receive in an injury claim unless the claim is for medical malpractice. It’s essential to account for all your economic and non-economic damages so you can recover the full amount you’re owed.
We can’t determine whether court is necessary until your case begins. We try to settle most cases in pretrial negotiations, but if the defendant refuses to offer you the settlement you deserve, we’re ready to fight for what you’re owed in court.
A contingency fee is a method of payment that makes it so you don’t have to pay up front for legal services. Our attorney fees are contingent upon us winning your case. We’ll discuss the contingency fee before moving forward with your case; this fee is usually a percentage of the settlement won. Once we successfully resolve your case, you’ll pay us the agreed-upon percentage.
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