Personal Injury Lawyer Elizabethton, TN
If you have ever sustained a significant injury, you know all too well about the financial repercussions, from draining medical bills to lost income and other financial setbacks. Fortunately, personal injury law was designed to help individuals (who are injured due to someone else’s negligent acts) get compensation for damages, including lost income, medical and other expenses, and pain and suffering.
Filing a personal injury claim can be challenging, as the laws are complex, and insurers will often do everything in their power to pay the least amount possible for injuries. However, hiring an Elizabethton personal injury lawyer can help make the process less burdensome and significantly increase the chances of securing maximum compensation.
How Much Does an Experienced TN Personal Injury Attorney Cost?
We understand how financially devastating an injury can be, especially if a victim is unable to work or medical bills are mounting. For this reason, we represent personal injury clients on a contingency-fee basis, meaning we do not collect a fee unless we are successful in securing compensation on your behalf. We also advance all litigation expenses while a case is ongoing (these costs are typically fully covered by a settlement or jury award).
What Should I Do First After Being Injured in an Accident?
After an accident, it is critical to ensure that injuries are properly diagnosed and documented. Seeking medical attention is the first and foremost thing an injured victim should do to determine an injury’s severity.
In many cases, victims do not realize that a simple strain or nerve could lead to a long-term medical issue or permanent disability. Further, some injuries are not readily detectable for weeks or even months. It is crucial to ensure that proper and thorough tests are performed to identify all debilitating conditions so that proper medical treatment can be provided, and full damages can be calculated accurately.
After seeking medical attention, it is essential to consider the following:
- Who is responsible for your injury?
- What kind of injuries and damage have you sustained?
- How can you get the maximum compensation for injuries and damages?
As an experienced Tennessee personal injury lawyer, Mark Hurt can tenaciously fight in seeking to get the maximum compensation possible based upon your damages and injuries.
What Are The Most Common Types of Personal Injury Cases in Elizabethton?
Injuries can be caused in almost limitless ways, but certain situations have a higher likelihood of resulting in a debilitating injury, including:
- Slips and Falls. All public places must make their premises safe for visitors. If a property owner or lessee fails to do so and an individual is injured because of the hazard created, they may be liable for personal injury compensation.
- Injury from a Person’s Malicious or Intentional Behavior. A victim has a legal right to sue a person who intentionally hurts them, especially if they sustain injuries from a criminal act, such as assault, battery, or vandalism.
- Car Accidents. Over 6,000,000 vehicle crashes are reported each year. As such, car accidents are among the most common causes of personal injury. While Tennessee law mandates that drivers carry minimum health insurance, this amount is usually not enough to fully pay for injuries and damages.
- Injury from a Defective Product. Under product liability law, consumer products must be safe (when used correctly). If a product is hazardous or contains improper warnings or labeling, strict liability may apply, meaning a company could be liable for any injury sustained by a consumer.
- Dog Bites. Dog bites can cause serious injuries, including lacerations, infections, severe pain, amputations, and scars (among others). In Tennessee, a dog-bite victim is permitted to sue a dog’s owner for compensation for any injuries suffered due to a dog bite. To be successful, a plaintiff must prove that an owner knew (or reasonably should have known) that a dog would act aggressively. Typically, this can be established if a dog has previously bitten another individual.
- Defamation – Libel and Slander. Defamation (in the form of libel or slander) constitutes injuries and damages to a person’s reputation caused by untrue statements. Damages may include income loss, public harassment, and psychological trauma. If you are a private citizen whose reputation has been publicly harmed by false statements, we would like to help you seek the justice and full compensation to which you are rightfully entitled.
What Types of Compensation Can I Collect for My Personal Injury Case in Tennessee?
Most personal injury cases result in damages. For example, when an individual is injured in a car crash, the person generally incurs expenses and damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage to their vehicle. Automobile accidents are not the only cause of injuries. Slips and falls, wrongful death, construction accidents, work injuries, birth injuries, nursing home abuse and neglect, medical malpractice, defective products, and many other types of matters can all result in injury.
The following are four types of damages that are often recoverable in personal injury cases:
1. Economic Damages.
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- This type of compensation is intended to cover financial losses caused by an accident. All quantifiable damages can be considered economic damages, including:
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- Current and future lost income
- Medical bills
- Housing costs
- Damaged personal property
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2. Non-economic Damages. Non-economic damages cover losses that are not easily quantifiable. However, these damages are just as consequential, if not more critical, than economic damages. These damages may include:
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- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional anguish
- Loss of consortium
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3. Punitive Damages. Punitive damages are intended to send a strong message to wrongdoers and others engaging in harmful behavior. They act as a form of punishment to stop current and future reckless or intentionally wrongful acts. Sometimes, these damages can exceed regular compensation. However, the burden of proof for punitive damages can be very high; thus, if you would like to pursue punitive damages, it is typically advisable to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney.
4. Wrongful death damages. Wrongful death damages only apply when an injury victim dies due to a defendant’s negligence or intentional actions. The family of a victim (or the victim’s estate) may be entitled to pursue compensation on behalf of his or her loved one. Damages may include:
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- Costs of medical treatment of the injuries that resulted in the death
- Funeral costs
- Pain and suffering from the date of the injury until the date of death
- The lost wages that a working individual would have contributed to their family over the course of their expected work life
Hire the Law Office of Mark Hurt for Your Tennessee Personal Injury Case!
Call our office today for a free case evaluation to learn how we can help you!
