If you’ve been hurt in an accident in Fairfield, Ohio, the personal injury lawyers at Kruger & Hodges Attorneys at Law may be able to assist you with your case. Unexpected accidents can leave victims and their families facing high medical costs, long-term rehabilitation expenses, lost wages due to missed time at work, and other expenses. If another person or party’s actions resulted in your injuries, you may have the right to seek damages to cover your losses. Kruger & Hodges Attorneys at Law are personal injury lawyers helping injury victims in Fairfield, Ohio who can negotiate with insurance adjusters, identify negligent parties, and fight to help you get the compensation you may deserve under the law.
What to Do if You Are Injured in Fairfield
If you or a loved one falls victim to a personal injury, be sure to call our Fairfield personal injury attorneys as soon as possible. We’ll review your case and help you better understand the steps you need to take.
You need to:
Immediately report the accident
Seek medical attention
Take any pictures of the location of the accident that may prove fault
Take pictures or videos of your injuries
Document and keep copies of all medical records and issues
Note life changes that relate to the injury
Avoid making any statements without a personal injury attorney
If you cannot complete any of these tasks due to your injury, don’t worry. Your health and well-being must come first.
There are many ways that our Fairfield, OH personal injury lawyers can help you with your accident case. Initially, the accident lawyers at Kruger & Hodges Attorneys at Law can review your medical bills, rehabilitation expenses, lost wages, and other losses to estimate the value of your claim. Understanding the value of your claim is important when negotiating with insurance adjusters and negligent parties. Kruger & Hodges Attorneys at Law can review your medical diagnosis, speak to experts to determine how long you might be disabled as a result of your injuries, and estimate the value of your lost wages, as well as your pain and suffering damages.
Sometimes victims and their families might be offered what appears to be a substantial settlement by insurance companies, but this settlement may not always take into account all the losses a seriously injured individual might sustain. If you have suffered an injury that is likely to result in permanent disability, your settlement value could be quite high. Individuals who have suffered spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, amputations, disfigurement, or other traumatic injuries may have the right to seek substantial settlements for their case. A personal injury lawyer can review your damages and losses and arrive at a fair and reasonable settlement estimate for your case. After our accident lawyers understand your case and its value, our attorneys can take steps to help you get the settlement you may deserve under the law. We can:
Negotiate with Insurance Adjusters. Insurance adjusters may use a range of methods to estimate your settlement. Your personal injury lawyer can review your insurance policy, review the settlement offer, and negotiate with insurance adjusters if their settlement doesn’t match your attorney’s estimate of the value of your claim. Sometimes these disparities arise because the insurance adjuster may not have all the information for your case, and sometimes these disparities arise because insurance adjusters might use computer programs or estimates rather than looking at the actual losses sustained in your case.
Write Demand Letters to Other Negligent Parties. Sometimes insurance settlements may not be sufficient to cover the full extent of your losses. In some accident claims, it may be possible to seek damages from negligent parties directly.
Take Your Case to Court. If negotiation can’t result in you and your family getting the settlement you believe you deserve, our personal injury lawyer may be able to take your case to trial. The civil trial process can be costly and time-consuming, so this is generally a last resort. However, sometimes victims and their families are able to get better settlements for their serious injury cases by going to trial.
Do I Have a Case?
In order for a personal injury claim to be valid, there must be evidence of negligence and duty of care. In other words, you must be able to prove that the opposing party:
Had a duty of care to reasonably avoid causing injury.
Breached that duty of care.
Caused your injury as a result of their negligence.
Proof of breached duty can include:
Evidence that a traffic law was broken (speeding, running a red light, etc.).
Failure to perform regular maintenance on a property or routine safety checks.
In a medical setting, breach of duty may mean that a doctor did not act in the same way another medical professional would have acted in comparable circumstances.
If you can demonstrate that the opposing party owed you a duty of care, they breached that care and their negligence led to your injury, then you have a personal injury case.
Our attorneys can help you determine whether you have a valid claim and the best course of action to take.
What is My Injury Claim Worth?
There are several factors to consider when determining the value of a personal injury claim. It’s impossible to know how much your claim is worth without having all of the facts and details about the accident, your injuries, and the circumstances of the incident.
The factors that can influence the value of a claim include:
The severity of the injuries
The financial impact of the injuries
Insurance coverage
The opposing party may make a settlement offer, but their offer doesn’t necessarily represent the value of your claim. Insurance companies will attempt to secure the lowest settlement possible to protect their own interests.
Having a skilled and experienced personal injury lawyer on your side will ensure that you never settle for less than you’re entitled to. Your lawyer will also help you determine the true value of your claim.
Case Illustration of Injury Claim in Fairfield, OH
Personal injuries can cause serious damage. Kyle, the man who we’ll use for this case illustration, is walking into his favorite restaurant when a waitress walks into him, causing Kyle to fall back and hit his head on the ground.
Head injuries, being very serious, result in the restaurant calling 911 and Kyle being told to remain still until the ambulance arrives.
Kyle is a bit confused and when EMS asks him what his Social Security number is, he draws a blank. It takes a minute or two before he blurts the number out. Nausea sets in and he has a pounding headache.
All of these symptoms are classic signs of a concussion, but upon arrival to the hospital, symptoms of a traumatic brain injury present, including:
Blurred vision
Slurred speech
Vomiting
Kyle’s condition may require rehabilitation, and he may even need to go to speech therapy if his speech remains blurred. As Fairfield personal injury attorneys, we know that 69,000 people die from TBIs each year, and Kyle is lucky not to be among these statistics.
However, he has a long road ahead of him. Medical bills will keep coming in, and he deserves to have the financial security that will allow him to receive the care he needs to recover.
How to Choose the Best Personal Injury Lawyer for My Claim
When it comes to personal injury claims, your lawyer can make or break your case. It’s crucial to make your decision carefully when choosing a lawyer. There are several factors to consider when comparing Fairfield Personal injury attorneys, but some of the most important ones include:
Specific Case Experience: Personal injury cases require experience and competence. Your lawyer should have experience dealing with cases similar to yours and understand the impact of your injury.
Reputation: Your lawyer should have a good reputation with previous clients and be happy to provide references.
Fees: Your lawyer should be transparent about their fee structure and the potential costs of your case.
Availability: A lawyer with a heavy caseload and little availability may not give your case enough attention. Your lawyer should have the time and resources to handle the complexities of your case.
Compassion: Your lawyer should have experience, but they should also be understanding and compassionate. It is their job to ease your burden and help you achieve the best possible outcome for your case.
When accidents lead to severe injuries, you need a lawyer who will fight tirelessly to ensure you obtain the compensation you need and deserve. At Kruger & Hodges, we always put our clients first and will help you determine the best strategy for your case.
Kruger & Hodges’ Trusted Personal Injury Lawyers in Fairfield, Ohio
