When to File a Civil Suit for Your Injury

It’s a dreaded situation, sometimes not even pictured: a major accident or unexpected event that causes injury, whether physical, mental, or emotional, and a significant drop-off in an income stream. Some prepare for it and other do not. Roughly 75% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and 27% have no savings at all. This leads to the possibility of significant damage and stress when an accident occurs.

A surprising number of these accidents can occur in the workplace, with slips and falls being a significant number. The possibility of significant injury may go up in industries where heavy machinery and physical labor play a crucial role in the company’s process. The statistics may surprise you:

• 85% of worker’s compensation claims are attributed to employees slipping on slick floors.

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• 22% of slip/fall incidents resulted in more than a month away from work.
• The maximum average compensation for an employee who has damaged one arm equaled nearly $170,000 (as of March 2015).

74% of states require all businesses to have worker’s compensation. When it comes to the legalities of the process, a workers compensation law firm may have the answers when filing the claim and working the system to achieve maximum payout to you. A lawyer in a workers compensation law firm may know the specifics as to state law, in addition to any other statutes you may need to know when filing a claim.

The importance of selecting an injury attorney that is qualified and experienced emphasizes the difficulty you face when recovering from an accident or for paying your immediate bills. And the need goes far beyond workers compensation. Consider the following statistics:

• In 2013, over 3,000 people were killed in accidents involving distracted drivers, and over 400,000 people were injured.
• 28,000 infants every year are born with a birth injury.
• 32% of all motor vehicle accident fatalities are from drunk driving.

Civil suits cost the U.S. economy $239 billion each year. It is possible for many people who have been involved in an accident to be significantly disabled, even after the initial recovery. Medical bills and expenses accounted for 62% of personal bankruptcies in the United States, according to a Harvard University study.

In each of these cases, a legal representative may be necessary if you wish to navigate the legal system and achieve the best possible result for you and your family. A workers compensation law firm may help you with workers compensation issues, but there are also lawyers for bankruptcy, disability attorneys, and accident claims lawyers.

A legal team can help guide you through the process, analyzing your initial situation (what caused the accident) and seeing if you have a good chance of a payout if you file a civil suit. An experienced local attorney can enable you to understand the laws in your city and state, as well as the precedent (previous decisions) for cases like yours.