Injuries are common, no matter where you live. The majority of those injuries are caused by accidents. According to MedlinePlus, many people are injured each year because of accidents caused by other people. There is a cause of action in civil law; personal injury law is designed to deal with this.
If you are injured because of the actions of another person, you have the right to sue them under civil law. This can help you recover financial compensation to help pay for the cost of medical treatments and other related expenses. Before you take action, discuss your case with a Charlotte personal injury lawyer to see what your legal options are. Call the offices of Ben Crump Law, PLLC at (800) 730-1331 to discuss your case with our team.
Defining Personal Injury
Personal injury is a term used in civil law to identify claims related to physical injuries. When a person is injured because of the actions of another, they can file personal injury claims. These injuries usually cause victims to need medical treatment to recover. This can have a significant financial impact on victims. Civil law allows victims to hold the person who caused the accident responsible for related expenses.
Personal injury claims only address the expenses related to physical injuries and the recovery process. For example, getting into a car accident can leave victims with medical expenses, car repair costs, and reduced income for missing work. The resulting lawsuit will include personal injury claims for the medical expenses and different claims for the car repairs and reduced income. Most civil cases involve personal injury claims, as it is one of the most common reasons why people file lawsuits.
For a free legal consultation with a personal injury lawyer serving Charlotte, call (800) 730-1331
Statute of Limitations
Filing a lawsuit is a big decision to make. Many personal injury victims want to take their time making a decision. While it is a good idea to stop and think about your decision before committing to a course of action, be aware that there is a limited amount of time for you to take legal action in your case.
Every state has a statute of limitations, which is a legal time limit on how long you have to file a lawsuit with the courts. If you miss the deadline, your lawsuit could be thrown out on a technicality. While this is not always the case, it is possible.
According to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52(16), you have three years to file a lawsuit with claims for personal injury and property damage. This means that your lawsuit must be filed with the court within three years of the date of the incident. Since many lawyers are not hired until months or years into the statute of limitations, there may not be a lot of time to pull your case together. Give your Charlotte personal injury lawyer as much time as possible by starting the legal process as soon as you are able.
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Determining Liability
When you hire a lawyer to manage your case, one of the first things your lawyer will do is try to determine liability. Liability means that someone or an entity (like a company) is legally and financially responsible for any damages that were caused in an accident. Your lawyer needs to know who is liable for your accident because that is who the lawsuit will be filed against. Depending on the circumstances of your case, this could be an individual, a company, a group of people, or an insurance company, to name a few options.
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Lost Wages and Other Expenses
Since personal injury claims only apply to the costs of physical injuries, there are other types of claims that you can file under civil law for different types of damages. These claims can include:
- Lost wages: If you have to miss work for a period of time after an accident, you may not be paid for the time that you are out of work. You can file a civil lawsuit claim for lost wages, which tries to recover the amount of wages that you miss from being out of work.
- Property damage: You can claim any damage to property such as your cell phone, your car, your house, or anything else that you own that counts as physical property.
- Pain and suffering: In cases with a strong emotional or mental impact on the victim, you may be able to claim a special type of compensation for pain and suffering. It is awarded on a case-by-case basis and the judge determines how much should be awarded.
- Punitive damages: While you may not claim punitive damages in your lawsuit, it may be awarded to you if the judge feels that the person at fault deserves additional punishment for their bad actions.
There may be other types of compensation that you can claim that are not covered on this list. The types of compensation you can claim in each case depend on the specifics of the case. Your lawyer can help you identify specific expenses that you can file claims for in your personal injury lawsuit.
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Seeking Compensation
When filing a civil lawsuit, it is important to keep in mind that it is entirely separate from a criminal trial. Criminal trials happen when laws are broken, and the government sues the person for breaking the law. While there may be a criminal trial related to your case, your civil trial is completely separate.
The goal of any civil trial is to collect financial compensation from the person who is responsible for the problem. In your case, the goal is to collect compensation from the person who caused your injury.
Recovering financial compensation can have a significant impact on your future. Many injury victims are left with extensive medical bills and other expenses that they may not be able to handle on their own. In the eyes of the law, they should not be expected to pay for all of these expenses since they did not acquire them through their own actions. Instead, the person who caused the problem should be held liable for those expenses.
Contact Us Today
If you or a loved one believe that you have a viable personal injury case, the first step for taking legal action should be to contact the office of a Charlotte personal injury lawyer. A lawyer can tell you if you have a case and help you start the legal process. Call the offices of Ben Crump Law, PLLC today at (800) 730-1331 for a free consultation.
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