Tag Archives: Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyers

What is the Difference Between Criminal and Civil Penalties?

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There are two primary categories of law within our country’s legal system, civil law and criminal law. Within both categories, legal penalties can ensue for any guilty parties. To understand civil penalties and criminal penalties, it is best to first review what civil and criminal cases are defined as under law. Continue reading to learn about civil and criminal cases, their penalties, and their differences.

Personal Injury Law Firm 317-881-2700

Personal Injury Law Firm 317-881-2700

Civil and Criminal Cases

Civil cases are cases in which a person, company, organization, or corporation files a legal complaint against another entity; that entity being any of the above mentioned as well. Civil cases generally deal with legal disputes between private parties, or negligent acts that resulted in injury or damages. The party filing the complaint in a civil court is called the plaintiff, while the party responding to the complaint is the defendant. This process is called litigation. In civil litigation, the plaintiffs ask the courts to “right” a wrong-doing by the defendant. This usually means paying some form of remuneration or compensation to the plaintiff party, or some other form of civil penalty.

Criminal cases deal with actual crimes committed by a defendant, rather than “civil wrong-doings.” These cases are filed by the government, often times the State, and are represented by a state prosecutor. Regular citizens cannot file a criminal lawsuit against a defendant; they instead, can only report the crime and leave the rest up to the ruling branch of government. A defendant will be found guilty or not guilty by the state, with a guilty ruling resulting in criminal penalties.

Civil and Criminal Penalties

Crimes are acts that prohibited and punishable by the government, and fall into two main categories depending on their seriousness: felonies and misdemeanors. Felonies are the more serious types of crimes, rendering jail time of one year or more, and misdemeanors are less serious crimes, rendering sentences less than a year. Examples of criminal cases include murder, assault, battery, armed robbery, theft, arson, embezzlement, and similar crimes against society that affect public safety.

Criminal penalties are those that penalize defendants for committing such crimes. Criminal penalties mostly include capital punishment (death penalty), jail time, incarceration, probation, legal fees, revocation of certain licenses, loss of certain rights, loss of citizenship, retribution, rehabilitation, and more.

Civil “wrong-doings” are acts that cause another person or entity harm, damage, or trouble. Examples of civil cases include personal injury lawsuits, fraud, negligence, breach of contract, harassment, and other similar wrong-doings. In contrast to criminal penalties, civil penalties generally involve monetary payment, or a court order to do something or not do something (i.e. a corrective action or restraining order). Also in contrast to criminal penalties, civil penalties are handed down by a judge, or settled out of court by opposing insurance adjusters.

Consult a licensed personal injury attorney right away if you believe you or a loved one is a recent victim of a civil wrong-doing or negligent accident. You may be entitled to compensation for your damages. Damages include but are not limited to: lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, hospital bills, prolonged rehabilitation, and much more.

Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyers

Personal Injury Lawyers Indianapolis, Indiana 317-881-2700

Personal Injury Lawyers Indianapolis, Indiana 317-881-2700

Call Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 for information about filing a personal injury claim in Indianapolis, Indiana. Attorneys, Daniel Craven, Ralph Hoover, and Keith Blazek retain extensive experience practicing personal injury law. They are seasoned accident lawyers that can prevail for you and your family following a serious injury, accident, or loss. You may be owed compensation for such damages and more. We offer free initial consultations and never collect attorney fees unless we recover for you. Call 317-881-2700 to speak with Indianapolis personal injury lawyers that truly care.

Types of Secondary Liability

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Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

Secondary liability is also referred to as indirect infringement. It is best defined as a legal obligation, forcing an individual to assume responsibility for another person’s act or behavior. Examples of secondary liabilities include principle liability, employers’ liability and parental liability. There are several other types as well, such as ecclesiastical corporation liability, enterprise liability, and much more; but these cases are generally infrequent and more complex.

The more common types of secondary liability are contributory liability and vicarious liability. These are the primary cases of secondary liability seen in courts today. No matter which type of secondary liability case in question, the underlying factor for each is indirect infringement. Continue reading to learn more about vicarious and contributory liabilities, and where to find professional legal counsel you can trust.

Vicarious Liability

You will find vicarious liability under respondeat superior doctrine, under common law. It decrees the legal responsibilities of any person in a superior role, such as leaders, executives, managers, supervisors, bosses, directors, whole corporations, companies, and more. It makes clear that they are legally responsible for the actions of their teams or employees. An example of a vicarious liability case would be if a parent or guardian fails to properly supervise their child, allowing the child to access the home’s handgun and accidentally shooting and injuring another person. The parents would be held legally accountable for their child’s actions, as well as, the victim’s damages.

Contributory Liability

Contributory liability holds a third party legally responsible for anothers actions, even though they were not actually committing an infringement directly. If a person has knowledge of, benefits from, enables, contributes, or influences another person’s transgression, they too can be held legally responsible under contributory liability. An example of contributory infringement would be if someone loans another person a gun, and that person uses the gun to commit a crime, the loaner of the gun can be held legally responsible for the infringements involving the gun under contributory liability.

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 to learn your rights following a personal injury in Indianapolis, Indiana. Daniel Craven, and his partners, are licensed and experience accident attorneys that are eager to help victims and their families recover the full and fair compensation deserved. We offer free initial consultations and never collect lawyer fees unless we prevail for you. Call 317-881-2700 for personal injury claims in Indianapolis, IN today.

Personal Injury Guide and References

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Personal Injury Lawyers

Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

A personal injury can happen to anyone, children and adults alike. When someone is injured in an accident that was caused by another entity’s negligence (a person, company, organization, product, etc.), they are considered victims of tort. Tort is a civil wrong that can serve as grounds for a lawsuit in order to recover compensation for related damages. There are three different kinds of tort; intentional torts, negligent torts, and strict liability.

Examples of intentional torts can include cases of assault, harassment, trespassing, or emotional distress. Negligent torts can include cases like fraternity hazing gone bad, wrongful death, and motor vehicle accidents. Cases of strict liability can include slip and fall accidents, defective products, and more. There are several other areas of tort as well, not included in the above categories; such as defamation, harassment, nuisance tort, and more.

An example of a common tort would be if a drunk driver hits you and causes you serious injury. In this case, they have committed a negligent tort, and you have grounds to pursue lawsuit to obtain recompense for vehicular damages, personal injuries, trauma, lost wages, and much more. Assault is another example of tort that can lead to a personal injury lawsuit. Some forms of tort, mostly intentional ones, are not only grounds for a personal injury lawsuit, they are also punishable by imprisonment. Other forms of personal injury include wrongful death. Property damage, however, does not fall under personal injury law.

Personal Injury Terms

We have covered what tort is, and what a personal injury is, but there are other related terms that might be helpful to know before pursuing your own personal injury lawsuit. There are nine principle participants in a general personal injury claim. The first is the victim, or person filing for the victim. This is called the claimant. The rest are listed and defined below. Continue reading for more helpful legal terms related to personal injury lawsuits.

Claimant – This is the person that files the claim with an insurance company, or the person that actually suffered the personal injury. In the case of a wrongful death, the claimant would usually be a relative or spouse.

Party – A participant in a lawsuit.

Plaintiff – Also called the “claimant”, or the person that files the lawsuit.

Defendant – This is the opposing party (either a company or individual), or the party being sued.

Lawyer – This is the licensed legal party (usually one person, or sometimes a small team) that represents the claimant in a personal injury lawsuit.

Adjuster – This is the 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 – This is the insurance company of the victim, or person filing the claim.

Third Party Insurance – This is the opposing party’s insurance, or the party being sued.

You can speak with a licensed Indianapolis accident attorney about your personal injury questions and concerns by simply scheduling a free initial consultation. They can listen to your story and assess whether or not you were an actual victim of tort. If they find that you or your loved one was wrongfully injured or killed as a result of another entity’s negligence, they will represent your claim. Many law firms do not collect upfront lawyer fees, and only do so if they recover full and fair compensation for their clients.

Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C.

Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

Call Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to speak with a licensed Indianapolis personal injury attorney regarding a recent tort or accident. Seasoned lawyer, Daniel Craven, and the panel of personal injury attorneys alongside him, are eager and waiting to recover the full and fair compensation you rightfully deserve after being negligently injured in an accident. We offer free initial consultations and never collect lawyer fees unless we settle your claim. Call 317-881-2700 for more information about filing a personal injury lawsuit in Indianapolis, Indiana, today.

Spinal Cord Injuries and Lawsuits

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Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

Thousands of people each year suffer spinal cord injuries that result in life-changing damages, like chronic pain, paralysis, and even death. One of the leading causes of spinal cord injuries in the United States is motor vehicle accidents and collisions. In many cases, these types of accidents are caused by negligent or careless driving.

If you or a loved one was recently injured in a car wreck that occurred as a result of another driver’s negligence, you may be legally entitled to compensation for your damages.

Continue reading to learn more about spinal cord injuries, as well as, the recommended steps to take following a serious personal injury.

Back, Neck, and Spinal Cord Injuries

As mentioned, car wrecks and motor vehicle accidents are one of the leading causes of spinal cord injuries, as well as, neck, back, and additional orthopedic injuries. These kinds of injuries are often serious and life-changing. Many even result in immediate or eventual death. The spinal cord is one of the most delicate and complex components in our bodies. It, essentially, is a bundle of nerves that starts at the stem of the brain and runs down the back, all the way to the tailbone. Even if implicated in the slightest bit, a person can suffer life-long consequences, like loss of sensation and movement.

Common Spinal Cord Injuries Include:

Paraplegia – Paralyzed from the waist down.

Quadriplegia – All four limbs are paralyzed.

Central Cord Syndrome – Damage to nerve fibers that carry information from the cerebral cortex to the spinal cord.

Brown-Sequard Syndrome – A puncture wound to the neck or back, on one side of the spinal cord.

Anterior Spinal Cord Syndrome (ASCS) – Compression of the main artery, called the anterior spinal artery, which runs down the front of the spinal cord.

Spinal Shock – Temporary loss of neurological activity below the level of injury. This includes loss of sensation, reflexes, and motor functioning, with a gradual recovery following a spinal cord injury.

Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries:

• Motor Vehicle Accidents
• Assault, Battery, and Violence
• Slip, Trip, and Fall Accidents
• Sports or Recreational Accidents
• Horse-Related Accidents
• Alcohol Related Incidents

Spinal cord injuries are serious in all cases. If you or a loved one suffers a spinal cord, neck, or back injury as a result of another’s negligence, consider filing a personal injury claim to collect compensation for your own, or your family’s damages. It is strongly encouraged to consult a licensed Indianapolis catastrophic injury lawyer for advice and information regarding orthopedic injury lawsuits and more. They can professionally assess whether or not you have a valid case, and assertively take the lead on your accident claim. You can recover compensation for pain and suffering, lost wages, medical expenses, hospital bills, prolonged rehabilitation, mental anguish, and much more.

Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyers

Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

Indianapolis Personal Injury Lawyers 317-881-2700

Call The Law Office of Craven, Hoover, and Blazek P.C. at 317-881-2700 to schedule a free initial consultation with one of our licensed Indianapolis personal injury lawyers, regarding a recent catastrophic injury or accident. Attorneys Daniel Craven, Ralph Hoover, and Keith Blazek are highly accomplished and compassionate accident lawyers with many years of litigation and trial experience. We offer free initial consultations to assess your claim without any payment obligation from you! And we never collect attorney fees unless we recover full and fair compensation for your damages. Call 317-881-2700 and speak with a knowledgeable and friendly legal representative about scheduling an appointment with a licensed personal injury attorney in Indianapolis, IN, today.