Basic Glossary Terms for Personal Injury Lawsuits

Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

When a person is seriously injured by a person, place, or thing as a result of negligence, they are victims of a personal injury. Victims of personal injuries are entitled to compensation for their damages and losses; such as medical expenses, hospital bills, prolonged rehabilitation, lost wages, mental anguish, pain, suffering, and more. In order to pursue compensation following an accident, it is strongly advised to hire a licensed and experienced lawyer that is well-versed in tort law.

It can be very complicated dealing with insurance companies and opposing parties when it comes to recovering compensation; but a seasoned personal injury attorney has the resources and knowledge to fight for the recompense their clients are rightfully owed. Because the process of filing a claim against a company or person is complex, it is imperative to have professional legal counsel in order to present an effective case. Below are several glossary terms that are related to tort law and lawsuits. Continue reading to learn common legal jargon used in a personal injury claim or case.

Important Legal Terms for Tort Law

Personal Injury – Injury to the body, mind, or emotional health.

Accident – An unexpected and often sudden event that causes harm to another person, reputation, or property, unintentionally.

Tort – A wrongful action that results in the injury or trauma of another person, their reputation, or their property.

Negligence – Failure to possess or demonstrate a level of care, expected by all persons under law, which protects another person, reputation, or property from harm or foreseeable and unreasonable risks.

Pain and Suffering – Mental and/or physical distress experienced by a victim of a personal injury.

Recover – To receive compensation equivalent to the losses and damages incurred from a negligent accident that caused a personal injury.

Party – A participant in a lawsuit.

Plaintiff – The party of people bringing forth a lawsuit. Also referred to as a claimant.

Defendant – The person or entity that is being presented with a lawsuit from the plaintiff. The party supposedly liable for the plaintiffs’ injuries and damages.

Lawyer – The licensed legal party that represents a claimant or a defendant. Sometimes one person, and other times, a small team of people.

Judge – A pubic officer that is appointed to hear and decide legal cases in a court of law.

Jury – A small group of randomly selected individuals that assist a judge in identifying the guilty party in more complex lawsuits.

Adjuster –An individual appointed by an insurance company to settle a claim. Their purpose is to coordinate a settlement that doesn’t require the insurance company to pay out, or pay-out as little as possible.

First Party Insurance – The claimant’s insurance company.

Third Party Insurance – The defendant’s insurance company.

Answer – The note filed by the defendant or opposing party in response to the claimant’s allegations and requests, revealing their position in the case.

Complaint – A formal expression of grievance filed in the appropriate court by the plaintiff.

The Personal Injury Law Office of Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C.

Personal Injury Attorney Indianapolis

Personal Injury Attorneys 317-881-2700

Call Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 for information about personal injury lawsuits in Indianapolis, Indiana. Daniel Craven, Ralph Hoover, and Keith Blazek are seasoned accident attorneys that can fight to recover compensation for your losses. We offer free initial consultations and never collect lawyer fees unless we win a settlement. Call 317-881-2700 to schedule your free consultation with an Indianapolis personal injury lawyer, today.

How to Find a Reputable Personal Injury Lawyer in Indiana

Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

After being injured in an accident caused by another person’s negligence, victims are sure to have questions and concerns. This is why a personal injury lawyer is a significant asset to anyone that’s suffered a recent serious injury or been involved in a serious accident. They are there to represent a victim’s best interest, as well as, the best interests of their family and future.

A professional personal injury attorney can bring your claim to trial, or settle out of court with opposing parties and insurance companies, to recover the full and fair compensation an injured victim deserves. When searching for a reputable accident attorney or law firm, it is important to hire someone with a certain level of credentials, including ample experience. Continue reading for tips on how to find a personal injury attorney you can trust is a reputable choice.

Accident Lawyers and Firm Credentials

Misconduct, negligence, malicious intent, and carelessness are all factors that play a huge role in causing a personal injury to occur. These factors and more are used as a basis to begin understanding and investigating an accident case. Once these grounds are determined, lawyers can assess whether or not a person is entitled to compensation for their damages. Of course, the process of assessing an injury case is not so cut and dry; there are several more variables, factors, research, interviewing, investigating, and more that a legal team must cover in order to put together a strong claim for their client’s.

So how do you know your attorney can provide comprehensive legal representation and recover the recompense you deserve? Here are some credentials, attributes, and more to look for when choosing a personal injury lawyer:

➀ Proper State Licensing

Every attorney should be legally licensed to practice their particular area of law in the state they work and live. Be sure they are true, licensed, practicing lawyers before paying a retainer or hiring them on the spot.

➁ Trial and Litigation Experience (at least 10 years)

Choose a lawyer that has several years of experience practicing law, litigating, and going to trial. Experience means more knowledge, better resources, and more power. An experienced lawyer is a confident and assertive lawyer that knows how to recover for clients.

➂ Client Amenities

Law firms should set themselves apart from the others by offering client conveniences and amenities. This lets the client know they are not out to just get paid, but they really care about the comfort and well-being of their clientele. Look for offerings like free initial consultations and no upfront lawyer fees. These client conveniences are a good sign.

➃ Lawyer Availability

An injury attorney should be easily available for their clients at most times. What’s the point of having an attorney if you cannot consult them or bring to them your questions and concerns when you need to? Although it is not possible to always meet or speak in person, but a lawyer should provide full-on open communication with clients through email and phone.

➄ Track Records

Look into an attorney’s track records for success. Find out how many cases were settled, won, lost, and so forth. A good success record means a lawyer knows what works and knows how to bring a claim against an opposing party, like insurance companies. Do not be afraid to ask a lawyer, straight up, about their track record and trial history.

Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyers

Personal Injury Attorney Indianapolis

Personal Injury Attorneys 317-881-2700

Call Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 if you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault in Indianapolis, Indiana. Seasoned Indianapolis personal injury attorneys, Dan Craven, Ralph Hoover, and Keith Blazek have extensive trial and litigation experience. We offer free initial consultations and never collect lawyer fees unless they settle or win your claim. Call 317-881-2700 to learn how to file a personal injury claim in Indianapolis, IN today.

When is a Personal Injury Claim Rejected?

Indianapolis Accident Lawyers 317-881-2700

Indianapolis Accident Lawyers 317-881-2700

When a person or family experiences a tragic accident or serious injury at the hands of another company, entity, individual, or group of individuals, they often times seek legal counsel in order to pursue a personal injury claim. Many law firms that focus on personal injury claims will represent a case for free, initially, and only collect attorney fees if they win the settlement or recover compensation for their clients’ damages. In order for a personal injury lawyer to take on a person’s case, they must have a valid claim
that legally entitles them to remuneration.

If a victim of a personal injury has a claim that is not strong enough to win a settlement, a law firm may pass on representing them; however, if the client insists on pursuing their claim, a lawyer may do so for upfront, non-refundable fees. So what makes a case weak? And why do lawyers pass on certain cases and personal injury claims? There are several reasons why a personal injury law firm will deny a case and refuse to represent someone that has been seriously injured. Continue reading to find out why.

Personal Injury Claims

In order for a victim of a personal injury to successfully win a settlement for their damages, they must prove that they were injured as a result of another person’s negligence or carelessness; and at no fault of their own. There are several laws and stipulations that regulate these boundaries of negligence and fault, and lawyers are extensively well-versed in each of them. If they review a case that seems to have flaws or holes within it, they may not see value in representing the client because the case is weak.

Pedestrian Accident Lawyers 317-881-2700

Pedestrian Accident Lawyers 317-881-2700

For example, if a person is injured in a motor vehicle accident because the opposing driver failed to stop at a red light, they may have a valid case. A lawyer will assess whether or not the injured driver obeyed all traffic signals and laws; and if they did, they were injured as a result of direct negligence and is entitled to compensation for their damages. In this situation, a personal injury attorney would most likely accept this case and represent this client on a contingency fee basis, only collecting lawyer fees if they win a settlement.

In an opposing example, if a person was involved in a motor vehicle accident and suffered injuries, and there were clues that the injuries were the result of their own negligence, then a lawyer will deny representing their claim. If a driver rear-ended a person, and that person hit their head on the dashboard, suffering head injuries, then the accident and injuries were caused by the opposing driver; but, if the victim was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident, then the accident was still the opposing driver’s fault, but the victim’s injuries were a result of neglecting to wear a safety belt. Although this person may still be entitled to recompense for their damages, it is a weak case that may not pull through in a court of law.

Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C.

Personal Injury Attorney Indianapolis

Personal Injury Attorneys 317-881-2700

Call Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 for reputable and experienced personal injury representation in Indianapolis, Indiana. Attorneys, Daniel Craven, Ralph Hoover, and Keith Blazek offer free initial consultations for injured victims, and never collect lawyer fees unless they win your settlement and recover compensation for your damages. Call 317-881-2700 and speak with a knowledgeable and friendly legal representative today about your recent personal injury in Indianapolis, IN and its surrounding counties.

Frequent Mistakes Victims Make in Personal Injury Claims

Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

Have you or a loved one recently suffered a personal injury from a serious accident? In so many cases there are accidents that cannot be avoided or are simply unforeseen. We can’t escape every accident or injury that happens in life, which is why there are personal injury law firms. Personal injury attorneys protect individuals that were injured in accident that resulted from another person or entity negligence and carelessness.

When this happens it’s important for that injured individual to file a personal injury claim against the opposing or negligent party. In order to do this, one must outsource a professional personal injury lawyer to help them through the entire legal process. This process can be extremely complicated, complex, and tedious; another reason why personal injury attorneys are so important to wrongly injured victims.

Filing a Personal Injury Claim

When filing a personal injury claim, it is important to avoid certain mistakes. There are so many mistakes that people make when it comes to filing personal injury claims. Learning a few of these common mistakes can help you avoid making the same mistakes as those injured before you. Here’s a list of the most common mistakes to avoid in a personal injury claim:

• Neglecting to Document the Accident Scene
• Giving Too Much or Implicating Information to Police or Emergency Personnel
• Failure to Obtain Professional Medical Services or Attention
• Making Statements to Opposing Insurance Companies Without Legal Council or Guidance
• Rejecting Hospital or Physician Instructions and Orders
• Applying for Damages that were Never Documented at the Scene of the Accident or in Professional Medical

Facilities or Hospitals:

• Admitting or Accepting Any Degree of Fault for the Accident
• Speaking with Opposing Councils or Insurance Companies
• Waiting Too Long to File an Injury Claim
• Exaggerating or Being Untruthful about Sustained Injuries
• Hiring Inexperienced or Unprofessional Accident Attorneys

There are many other mistakes that a person can make when it comes to filing a personal injury claim as well; however, if they have professional legal counsel on their side, they can be sure they are heading in the right direction to pursue an effective and proper personal-injury lawsuit.

There are several reasons to file a personal injury claim. When you or someone you love has been wrongly injured in an accident, it can be a very emotional and traumatic time. Injured victims face lost wages, medical costs, hospital bills, mental anguish, emotional trauma, lost the ability to work, and much more. In accident attorney is there for families in times like these. They can be trusted to implement all the appropriate legal requirements in your personal injury case, as well as, prepare and facilitate all communication and litigation opposing counsel and parties.

Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C.

Personal Injury Law Firm Indiana

Personal Injury Law Firm 317-881-2700

Call Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 for help with personal injury claims in Indianapolis, Indiana. You can speak with a live legal representative to schedule your free initial consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer you can trust. Attorneys, Daniel Craven, Ralph Hoover, and Keith Blazek are eager to answer your questions about injury claims and lawsuits in Indiana. For more information about how to file a personal injury claim in Indianapolis, call 317-881-2700 right away.