Personal Injury Lawyer in East Orange, NJ

Common Myths About Personal Injury Law 

When you hear the term “personal injury law” you probably think of the steaming hot coffee in the Liebeck vs. McDonald’s case or the many claims levied against weathermen for predicting sunshine when the clouds spilled rain. The industry is rife with outlandish cases, but the average personal injury lawyer in East Orange, NJ has bread and butter cases to serve up with the occasional outlandish case.

This is an intensely practical field, and it exists to bring a healthy level of accountability to the world. When someone else’s negligence costs you money and social harm, personal injury law not only brings you reparation. It also helps to ensure that others don’t suffer the same consequences. Society is at its healthiest when ethics keep it in balance, so when you hire our personal injury lawyer in East Orange you help to restore equilibrium for those who will follow behind you. Let’s look at a few myths surrounding personal injury law to help provide better understanding for you.

Myth One: You Can’t Afford a Personal Injury Lawyer

In most cases, your personal injury lawyer will function on a contingency fee basis, handling the case free of charge before deducting their fee from the settlement. Section 2 of the Contingency Fees Act states that a lawyer in East Orange, NJ isn’t entitled to fees for their services unless they win the case according to the (often stiff) conditions set out in the contingency agreement. You usually only pay if you win, and that payment generally comes out of the defendant’s pocket, not yours. The law also sets a limit on the amount awarded. Your personal injury lawyer in East Orange, NJ may not charge more than a quarter of the awarded amount.

Myth Two: Your Insurance Will Cover Your Injuries

Even the stiff, ranging regulations of the insurance injury won’t stop your insurer from trying to wriggle out of covering your injuries. Policies rarely cover the full injury scope. Much of the time, your personal injury lawyer will calculate your settlement carefully according to:

• The lifetime costs of your medical expenses, including those you’ll have to pay in the future
• Property damage
• The lifetime cost of your lost earnings
• Pain and suffering
• Nuisance
• General economic costs

Your personal injury lawyer in East Orange, NJ might find medical expenses and lost workdays easy to quantify, but your physical discomfort and mental suffering have as much of an impact on your daily life.

Myth Three: Your Claim will be Paid Out of Pocket

Compassionate people often avoid personal injury cases in fear that their damages will bankrupt the guilty party. This is rarely the case. US businesses spend about $13 billion on general insurance liabilities alone each year, and that excludes medical malpractice and the remainder of their general insurance policies. Your losses will generally be covered by an insurance company, not an individual. In addition, courts consider what the responsible party can afford when determining the settlement amount. Ask our personal injury attorney for an estimate of what you can expect.

Myth Four: You Can Trust the Police to Keep Your Evidence

With roughly half of personal injury cases entailing car accidents, your average driver must become a veritable forensic expert. This is a moment that may change your life for years, so start looking for evidence as soon as you’ve received urgent medical care. Write the details down before you forget them. Talk to witnesses before they vanish without a trace. Our personal injury lawyer in East Orange, NJ will thank you for taking photographs of the road, its surroundings, and even the weather. Every detail matters and your own memory of events won’t sway the court as well as a witness’ testimony will. Similarly, your personal injury lawyer won’t be able to assess your claim’s value without medical evidence, so it’s best to see a doctor.

Myth Five: People with Minor Injuries Shouldn’t Bother with Personal Injury Suits

When you consult with our personal injury lawyer in East Orange, NJ, you may not have to pay for your initial assessment. The best attorneys in this field would rather offer a free consultation than see a person whose endured mistreatment go without compensation. When you’ve just been injured, it’s often difficult for a personal injury lawyer to predict what the true damages will become. That seemingly minor injury might develop long-term complications. That damaged car might never be the same again. Your spouse’s injury might require you to work fewer hours. It’s best to speak to a personal injury attorney in East Orange than to write off your rights prematurely.

Myth Six: It Takes Tears to Settle a Personal Injury Claim

A personal injury claim can take between two weeks and several years to settle. In most cases, though, it takes a personal injury lawyer four to six months to settle road or car accident claims and six to nine months to settle work accident matters. Medical negligence and industrial disease claims are far more complicated, so they can take up to 36 months to try. The length of time a claim takes depends on whether the other party accepts liability and how long it will take to collect evidence. Our personal injury lawyer in East Orange, NJ will be able to estimate your anticipated trial period based on the seriousness of your injuries and the circumstances of your accident.

Myth Seven: All Cases Go to Court

Lawsuits are expensive, so if the other party expects to lose, they’re often willing to settle out of court. Many proceedings end amicably, so our personal injury attorney might be able to secure a settlement long before you receive your first medical bills.

Myth Eight: Personal Injury Law is a Selfish Pursuit

Personal injury law has a reputation for being intensely selfish, but unsafe behavior has a price, and it’s paid by all victims, past, and future. When you apply for compensation with your personal injury lawyer you don’t merely cover your own needs, but the victims that could follow in your stead. Personal injury claims hold businesses accountable for their actions. If a product is found dangerous in court, it motivates the manufacturer to improve its practices. The tobacco industry once insisted that its products weren’t connected with cancer. When lawsuits proved otherwise, the industry was all but forced to use health warnings.

When Richard Grimshaw made a personal injury claim against Ford Motor Company for a death caused by a ruptured gas tank, much of the world saw the case as frivolous. The lawsuit exposed the fact that the automobile giant had known about the flaw all along. Pintos were taken off the road, and motor companies all over the world learned an important lesson: Lies and unethical choices would be exposed. You, too, can change the world—and your next personal injury claim might do exactly that, so speak to our personal injury lawyer in East Orange, NJ today.