When an innocent victim is injured due to another person’s negligence or wrongdoing, the law provides that the injured party has a right to seek compensation for their injuries. In Miami, accidents occur every day, causing countless number of victims to become injured, and these injuries can be painful, costly, and otherwise devastating.
Our team of personal injury lawyers at Bailey Glasser represents accident victims across the country, including in Miami and greater Florida. If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident, get in touch with our team as soon as possible to request a free, no-risk consultation on your prospective personal injury lawsuit.
What is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
A personal injury lawsuit is the method by which accident victims can recover compensation for their injuries. Personal injury lawsuits represent an important principle in the American legal system – that victims can seek and obtain justice for themselves after being injured or wronged by another person. At Bailey Glasser, that sense of justice drives our personal injury practice. We’re proud to represent accident victims in all types of personal injury cases – including car accidents, trucking accidents, workplace injuries, product cases, medical malpractice, and more.
Damages Available in Personal Injury Lawsuits
The goal of any personal injury lawsuit is to obtain an amount of compensation that fully and fairly compensates an accident victim for the injuries they sustained because of another person’s negligence or wrongdoing. Thus, the types of damages requested depend on the type of injuries sustained in any given case, but most commonly, the types of damages requested in personal injury lawsuits include:
- Hospital bills and medical expenses
- Lost and missing wages
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional and mental damages
- Property damage to a home, vehicle, or other property
- Funeral expenses in wrongful death cases
In some cases, punitive damages may be available. These damages are designed to punish a defendant for conduct that is severely out of line and are only available in certain types of cases. Regardless of the type of accident any case arises from, though, Bailey Glasser attorneys will seek the maximum amount of compensation available to our clients under the law – including punitive damages where they are available.
How a Personal Injury Lawsuit Works
A personal injury lawsuit is understandably intimidating to many people, as most Americans seek to live their lives in avoidance of the court system. But in reality, the process of obtaining compensation for injuries may be much simpler (and faster) than an accident victim may realize. A lawsuit begins by initiating a dispute with the responsible party, and where applicable, their insurance company.
Sometimes, cases can end in settlement before a lawsuit is even filed, and in other cases, compensation may not be available until a trial is conducted and a jury verdict is delivered. The variety of timeframes for personal injury cases depends on many factors, including the amount of money sought, the complexity of the case, and the willingness of the other party to negotiate and cooperate.
Proving Negligence or Wrongdoing
To win a personal injury lawsuit, a victim plaintiff has to show that the defendant acted negligently – which the law defines as unreasonable, in the simplest terms. Proving negligence requires evidence that the other party behaved (or failed to behave) in a manner that an ordinarily reasonable person would behave. That definition depends on the specific situation at hand in any given case, but common examples of everyday negligence include:
- Speeding or distracted driving
- Medical malpractice
- Manufacturing a defective and dangerous product
- Failure to follow safety protocols or guidelines
- Risky or reckless behavior
- Failure to maintain premises in a safe manner
One of the biggest ways that an effective personal injury attorney can assist an accident victim is by providing a thorough investigation of the accident. Sometimes, it can be difficult to determine exactly what went wrong, but an attorney’s investigation can reveal who committed negligence, and in turn, who is liable to pay for the damages.
Settlements and Verdicts
Personal injury lawsuits that result in compensation end in one of two ways: through settlement or by a verdict. In cases that end in settlement, the defendant agrees to pay a certain amount of money in exchange for the lawsuit being dismissed. Settlements offer much faster payouts than jury verdicts, and can sometimes be obtained in a matter of weeks after a dispute is initiated.
However, especially when insurance companies are involved, settlements may not represent a full and fair amount of compensation for an accident victim. Even though the choice of whether to accept a settlement is ultimately our client’s, at Bailey Glasser, we will negotiate with defendants to ensure that settlement offers are fair and accurate. We’ll never advise our clients to accept a lowball offer, because we’re not afraid to take cases to trial.
When a case goes to trial, evidence must be formally collected, and then a judge or jury decides if (and how much) a plaintiff is entitled to receive compensation. Sometimes, verdicts can result in greater amounts of money, but they also represent a much greater risk, as juries are unpredictable. Regardless of whether compensation can be obtained through settlement or verdict, our team of attorneys assists our clients in seeking and obtaining the best possible outcome in every case we’re able to take on.
Contact Bailey Glasser Today
Bailey Glasser is a nationwide law firm of personal injury attorneys. We assist clients across the country, including in the greater Miami area, in personal injury cases of all kinds – but especially cases that involve catastrophic and devastating injuries. The size and scope of our personal injury practice allow us to provide a level of legal representation that small and solo practitioners cannot provide, and we’re proud to put our resources to work for our clients.
We offer free, no-risk consultations to prospective personal injury clients in Miami, and we’re looking forward to hearing from you. If you or a loved one has been injured due to another person’s negligence, you may be entitled to seek legal compensation for your injuries. Contact us today to set up a free consultation with a Bailey Glasser team member about your prospective personal injury lawsuit.