When Is an Injury Serious Enough to Pursue a Claim?
Injuries hurt. Whether you suffer bruises, mild abrasions, or moderate to serious injuries requiring medical treatment, they can slow you down while racking up expenses.
When injuries are caused because someone else was negligent, Colorado law provides recourse for recovering some of what we lose. As an at-fault state, Colorado holds those responsible for causing injuries responsible for compensating their victims. This requires filing a personal injury claim against the at-fault party’s liability insurance or naming them as the defendant in a personal injury lawsuit.
How do you know whether your injury warrants pursuit of either route? There is no definitive rule, such as a dollar amount for medical expenses or how long it takes for you to recover. Every case is unique, but Landry Law, P.C. can help you explore your options. We have done the same for hundreds of clients in Trinidad, Lone Tree, Castle Rock, Castle Pines, Denver, and Douglas County, Colorado.
If you have been injured in a car, motorcycle, truck, ATV, snowmobile, or bicycle accident, while skiing or snowboarding or as a pedestrian, by a defective product, or in a trip-and-fall or construction accident, let us help you figure out where you want to go from here.
What Can I Recover Financially?
You can recover economic and non-economic damages from the at-fault party, either through an insurance settlement or a jury award. Those damages are not limited to what you have already suffered. You may be compensated for future damages as well.
Let’s begin with economic damages which are easy to quantify. They include the money you have to spend on medical treatment, prescriptions, and rehabilitation. They include lost wages or salary you incur because you can’t work due to your injuries. They also include the cost of services you have to pay for because of your injuries. For example, if you normally mow and take care of your yard but have to hire someone to do that while you’re unable to, you can recover that expense.
Non-economic damages are more difficult to quantify. They include such damages as pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of consortium. At Landry Law, P.C., we have the experience to place a value on these types of damages and fight for compensation.
We will also help place a value on any future damages you will suffer as the result of the accident. This could be the cost of future medical, surgical, and rehabilitation treatments. It could include the loss of future income if you will no longer be able to be employed in a job that pays well and offers the opportunity for advancement, or if you will never be able to work at all due to your injuries. It would also include a value assigned to permanent scarring, disfigurement, or disability.
Is My Injury Serious Enough to File a Claim?
You may read this information and still wonder whether your injury is serious enough to file a personal injury claim. It is normal to read about serious injuries and discount your own.
Sometimes, it is all about timing. What if you bumped your head in a trip and fall, had a headache for a few days, but now feel fine? However, what if a few months after the accident, you begin having seizures?
Seeking immediate medical attention to get the care and treatment you may need is necessary. Contacting an experienced personal injury firm (like Landry Law, P.C.) should also be done shortly after the accident.
If you seem to be okay, it is time to wait to know for sure. Colorado allows two years from the date of the accident for personal injury claims to be settled or a lawsuit filed. We can help you determine whether you should file a claim and when without forfeiting your right to by allowing the statute of limitations to expire. Because we work on a contingency basis, meaning you pay us nothing unless you recover a settlement or jury award, you risk nothing, but you gain our advocacy and expert guidance regarding the pursuit of a claim.
Contact Landry Law, P.C.
Are your accident injuries serious enough to pursue a personal injury claim? Avoid making an assumption one way or the other. We can help you figure that out. If you live or were injured in or around Lone Tree or Trinidad, Colorado, call our office to schedule a free case consultation.
Whether to pursue a personal injury claim is a major question. Landry Law, P.C. will help you answer it.