Frequently Asked Questions
First, you will never pay anything if you do not win! We represent you on a contingency basis. This means SLG will only get paid when you recover compensation —by settlement or court judgment—in your personal injury case.
Additionally, all litigation costs are paid for by SLG and taken out of a recovery by settlement or court judgment.
If you do not win – by getting a settlement or court judgment- you pay nothing to SLG, not even for costs paid on your behalf.
Additionally, all costs of litigation are paid for by SLG and are taken out of a recovery by settlement or court judgment.
If you do not win – by getting a settlement or court judgment then you pay nothing to SLG, not even for costs paid on your behalf.
The Statute of Limitations sets legal deadlines for filing personal injury claims. You could lose the right to recover compensation for injuries and damages if you do not file your claim before the legal deadline.
The deadline to file an injury claim may vary based on the facts of the case and the type of personal injury case. With that said, for most – but not all personal injury lawsuits – the statute of limitations is between one and three years.
Generally, it is in your best interest to seek legal advice from an attorney immediately after an accident or injury.
When injured in an accident, file a report as soon as possible with the appropriate entities or individuals. An official written report of the accident or injury will help when it’s time to file a personal injury claim.
Calling 911 for assistance is the best way to report a traffic accident. Construction site accidents must be reported to the property owner, contractor, and employer. An accident on another person’s property should be reported to the property owner or a person in charge of managing the property.
Once the injury or accident occurs, see a doctor for medical care as soon as possible. Some injuries can be challenging to diagnose. For example, you might not realize it, then learn later you have a severe brain injury. You may not experience symptoms for hours, if not days, after the incident.
Seeking prompt medical attention protects your health. It reduces the risk of your injuries becoming worse or even life-threatening. However, immediate medical care also protects your legal rights after an accident.
Any delay in medical treatment could potentially hurt your case. The responsible party might claim that you did not seek immediate medical treatment because the accident did not cause your injuries. Document your injuries for an accident claim by seeing a doctor and reporting even the slightest symptoms as soon as possible.
You may be able to recover your medical bills and lost wages as part of your settlement or judgment.
Damages intended to compensate for actual financial or pecuniary loss, also known as losses measured in money.
Economic Damages recoverable in personal injury cases often include:
Past and future medical bills: The total cost of medical bills necessary to treat your injury, including past and future expenses.
Past and future lost earning capacity: The money you could have made if you had not experienced the injury.
Past and future lost income: The money you lost due to injury plus any future losses.
Property damage: Damage to your property, such as your vehicle, phone, glasses, or laptop, is recoverable in an accident case.
Diminished value of property: If your car is worth less after being repaired due to an accident, you are entitled to recover money for your vehicle’s reduced value.
Loss of services: If a married couple can no longer do their regular household duties due to the injury, they are entitled to recoveries.
Damages that are awarded to compensate for mental or emotional pain or anguish, physical pain and suffering, physical impairment, disfigurement, loss of consortium, loss of companionship and society, loss of enjoyment of life, inconvenience, injury to reputation, and all other nonmonetary losses other than exemplary damages.
Past and future mental anguish: How your injury has caused you a high degree of mental anguish, to a higher degree than mere disappointment, embarrassment, resentment, or anger; and how it will continue moving forward.
Past and future pain and suffering: Compensation based on the jury’s common sense, knowledge, and sense of justice.
Loss of body member or mental function: Losing an arm, leg, hearing, or cognitive function or capacity due to the accident or injury, there may be circumstances where this injury needs to be claimed separately from physical impairment or disfigurement to recover damages for the harm that was caused.
Loss of consortium of a spouse, parent, or child: If the injury is so severe that you can no longer enjoy the companionship of your family, you are entitled to recover for this damage.
Past and future physical impairment: Your physical impairments from the past due to your injury. Also includes how you will be physically impaired in the future.
Past and future disfigurement: When you are physically disfigured, from the injury, in the past and how it will continue to worsen in the future.
Emotional/mental trauma causing a bystander injury: If a closely related person like and sibling, Aunt, or Uncle actually witnesses in some way as it happens, such as sees a loved one seriously injured or killed, they are entitled to recover as a bystander for the emotional or mental trauma caused by witnessing such an event.
The best way to learn if you have a claim is to contact the lawyers at the Sico Law Group to thoroughly discuss your rights.
Most all personal injury claims are founded on the legal principle of negligence. To have a personal injury case, a person must have been injured by someone who violated a duty of care, resulting in injuries. This can be broken down into specific elements requiring a fact-specific evaluation of your potential case.
A duty can be owed in different contexts. For instance, everyone owes each other a duty of care when sharing public streets and byways. That is why we are all subject to traffic laws. Your doctor and other professionals you have a client relationship with also often owe a duty of care. For example, your doctor owes you a duty of reasonable care to provide you with medical care. Additionally, property owners whose properties you visit owe you and other visitors a responsibility to keep the premises safe and free from hazards.
Whether or not the person who owed you a duty violated said duty will also depend on the specific circumstances. Proof of a breached duty may come from evidence that a traffic law was broken. It may be in records showing a failure of a property owner to perform regular maintenance and safety checks of the property. It may also be in comparing the actions of a medical professional to how another similarly situated medical professional would have acted under comparable circumstances.
You will need proof that you were injured due to the other person’s violation of a duty owed to you. This will, of course, come primarily through medical records.
If you can show that the negligent actions or inactions of another caused you harm, then you have a personal injury claim. This analysis, however, can be complicated and may not be accessible by someone who has not practiced personal injury law. Before you walk away from a chance to seek full and fair compensation for your accident injuries, consult with an attorney first.
A personal injury occurs when another party causes an accident or incident that injures another person. A personal injury claim is a process of demanding compensation for injuries and damages caused by another party.
Personal injury laws cover a wide variety of situations. Incidents that could result in a personal injury claim include, but are not limited to:
When a person dies because of an accident, the family may file a wrongful death claim seeking compensation for damages.
You can speak with a lawyer today if you aren’t sure if you have a personal injury claim. Lawyers analyze the case and advise you of your legal rights as well as options for seeking compensation for damages.
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