Lakewood Personal Injury Lawyer
Suffering from a personal injury can set a person back, affecting everything from physical pain to emotional damages to loss of income. Financially, increasing medical bills combined with a potential inability to work can create struggle. If you or a family member have suffered from unexpected trauma, you should consult a Lakewood personal injury lawyer to determine your legal options. A compassionate personal injury attorney has the experience necessary to help you present a negligence case. En Español.
Common Types of Personal Injury Claims
The term personal injury is broad. Lakewood personal injury lawyers have seen a number of accidents that fall into this category, such as:
- Slip and fall
- Medical malpractice
- Car accidents
- Product liability
- Workplace injuries
What is the Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Cases?
A statute of limitations sets a time limit in which someone should start their case. Following that limit, victims lose the chance pursue compensation for personal injury incidents. In Colorado, the victim has three years from the date of a motor vehicle accident that caused the injury. In other personal injury matters, the statute of limitations is two years from when they should have reasonably discovered their injury to bring their claim to court. Reasonable discovery applies to injuries that are not immediately obvious, such as illnesses caused by defective products (Ex. Products with a carcinogenic). Waiting to seek personal injury litigation can cause unexpected delays that could make someone miss the statute of limitations deadline.
How Could Someone Prove Negligence in Colorado?
There is no specific negligence statute for personal injury claims. Instead, Colorado, like other states, uses a general theory of negligence where an attorney must prove four elements to show the other side’s negligence. A Lakewood personal injury lawyer must show that there was a duty of care owed by the negligent party. Usually, this is a duty to act as a reasonable person under the same or similar circumstances. That duty has to have been breached. Usually, by behaving unreasonably. The third element is causation, which has actual and proximate cause. Actual cause means that the injury would not have occurred if the negligent party acted responsibly. Proximate cause means that it was foreseeable that this conduct would cause harm to a person like the injured party. Additionally, there was no unexpected intervening cause in between the negligence and the injury. The last element requires that there were damages. In personal injury cases, damages are usually physical injuries.
Benefit of a Lakewood Personal Injury Lawyer
There are numerous elements to a negligence claim and to successfully obtain the personal injury compensation you need to prove each one. A Lakewood personal injury lawyer will be able to handle the legal aspects of your case while you focus on healing and recovery. Your attorney can also present alternative options, such as whether you want to go to court or settle with the other side. Sometimes, it may be easier and faster to reach a resolution, especially when insurance companies are involved. Meeting with a Lakewood personal injury lawyer can help determine which option is most appropriate for you and your future.
