Westminster Personal Injury Attorney
When another party has inflicted an injury on you or a loved one, it is natural to wonder whether you can hold them legally accountable for the harm they have done. A Westminster personal injury lawyer is the ideal asset to have on your side after experiencing any type of personal injury claim, and the Law Firm of Jeremy Rosenthal is ready to provide the legal counsel you need for your impending case.
Injuries can have a profound impact on how we go about our daily lives. While a small cut or a stubbed toe might only require a Band-Aid or an ice pack, many injuries are more intense. Broken bones, spinal cord injuries, and brain damage can all have a significant, lasting impact on a person’s life.
When someone else is the cause of your injury, the pain can be amplified. Not only are you hurt, potentially permanently, but you also had nothing to do with the accident. Because of someone else’s actions, you are actively suffering. It is unfair and frustrating.
Fortunately, personal injury law allows you to take action against those who hurt you. In certain situations, when others are acting inappropriately, they can be held legally and financially responsible for their damage. While this will not heal your body or reduce your physical pain, it can help you recover financially following an accident.
However, to take action in a personal injury case, you must have the right Westminster personal injury lawyer by your side.
Westminster Personal Injury Attorneys at The Law Offices Of Jeremy Rosenthal
Personal injury attorneys are all different. Here at the Law Offices of Jeremy Rosenthal, we pride ourselves on our ability to stand out from the crowd through exemplary communication, unique expertise, and a deep passion for justice. For over a decade, we have been fighting personal injury cases and helping families rebuild after tragic accidents.
We focus on personal injury law because we believe in doing things well. Rather than specializing in many areas of law like our competitors do, we instead focus on making a significant impact in the personal injury arena. We believe that our work as personal injury attorneys can help make a difference in the lives of families around the Westminster, CO area. This impact drives us to do our best in every case.
What Is Personal Injury Law?
Personal injury is a wide area of law, so it is easy to feel confused by this category. However, at its core, personal injury law seeks reparations for individuals who have been unfairly harmed by another person’s negligent or malicious acts. This means that if someone else hurts you in a way that is either illegal or intentional, you have the right to seek compensation. Some examples of personal injury cases include:
- Slip and fall incidents. A slip and fall may sound like it would be a minor issue, but the reality is that any such incident has the potential to result in life-changing harm to the victim. If you sustained a slip and fall on someone else’s property, they may be liable for your damages under the state’s premises liability laws.
- Dog bites. Colorado is a strict liability state when it comes to dog bites. This means that if a dog bites someone or otherwise injures them, the dog owner is fully liable for all resulting damages, even if the dog does not have a history of past aggression. As long as the victim did not provoke the attack and they were legally present wherever the attack occurred, strict liability applies to the case.
- Bicycle accidents. Bicycle accidents are resolved in much the same way as all other vehicle accidents in Westminster, but they often entail far worse injuries. Whenever a motor vehicle driver hits a bicyclist, the victim has a high chance of suffering catastrophic injuries.
- Bus accidents. Filing a lawsuit against a common carrier or a public transit organization is very different from filing an individual suit against another private party. Bus accident cases may also involve injuries to multiple victims, resulting in substantial civil liability for the at-fault driver.
- Uber and Lyft accidents. Rideshare services are popular, but experiencing an accident in a rideshare vehicle is just as likely as being in an accident in any other vehicle. However, recovering compensation from rideshare company insurance can be very difficult without an attorney’s help.
- Car accidents. Your recovery from any vehicle accident will likely begin with an auto insurance claim against the at-fault driver, followed by a personal injury suit if their insurance cannot fully cover your damages. A Westminster personal injury lawyer can be invaluable for the help they can provide in both of these recovery efforts.
- Motorcycle accidents. Motorcycle accidents have a higher chance of causing catastrophic or fatal injuries than most other vehicle accidents. These accidents can happen in many ways and often result in devastating losses. Victims need reliable legal counsel who can help ensure they receive appropriate compensation for the full extent of their damages.
- Truck accidents. Accidents involving large commercial vehicles tend to raise difficult questions regarding liability and result in significant damages. Your attorney can help prove liability for this type of accident and hold the appropriate party or parties accountable for the damage they inflicted.
- Pedestrian accidents. If a driver hits a pedestrian, they are almost always entirely at fault for this type of accident. The victim may suffer life-changing injuries and may not have any recollection of how the accident happened. A Westminster personal injury lawyer can help them establish fault and recover compensation from the at-fault driver.
- Assault and battery. If you suffered injuries from an intentional act of violence, the defendant who attacked you not only faces liability for the damages they inflicted but also criminal prosecution from the state. Penalties for assault increase dramatically when the defendant causes severe harm.
- Workplace accidents. When an injury happens at work, the victim may be able to recover compensation through their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance, but this may not fully cover all their damages. If a specific party caused your workplace injury, you may be able to pursue compensation beyond what workers’ compensation insurance can provide.
- Product liability. An unreasonably dangerous and/or defective consumer product may cause devastating harm to an end user. Products may be defective by design, by production, or through the manufacturer’s failure to include proper instructions for use or safety warnings. Your attorney can help prove a product is defective and responsible for your injuries.
This certainly is not an exhaustive list of types of personal injury cases, but it does encompass a fair number of them. If you have experienced one of these, you may be entitled to compensation.
This compensation is designed to encompass the cost of medical bills associated with the incident, as well as lost wages from time out of work while you’re healing. This sum is often significant and can help families get back on their feet after a tragedy.
Do I Need a Westminster Personal Injury Attorney for My Personal Injury Claim?
It is essential to understand that a personal injury attorney is a key to achieving proper compensation for your claim. The services that we provide can help strengthen your case and improve your chances of winning.
It is imperative to remember that your body will need to heal from your injury. This means that while your attorney is building your case, you will need to be able to rest and recuperate. If you forgo legal representation, you are left to build an entire case while healing intense physical and emotional wounds. Unfortunately, this often results in a flimsy case and lower settlements. Many individuals who opt to represent themselves end up losing their cases and facing medical bills and lost income on their own.
When you hire a personal injury attorney, you have the freedom to rest and heal while we build your case. We will seek out proper evidence, determine laws and cases to cite in our arguments, and ensure that paperwork is filed on time.
Potential Injuries and Other Damages in Personal Injury Cases
It is important to understand how expensive accidents and injuries can be. If left to handle the financial burden on your own, you can easily find yourself in debt or financial trouble. In addition, there are often significant medical bills and repairs to physical property that need to be accounted for. Some common physical injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries and paralysis
- Broken bones
- Scrapes, bruises, and cuts
- PTSD and emotional trauma
- Loss of mobility
All these examples are serious and need to be treated by medical professionals. Yet, even if you have insurance, a portion of the bills from the treatment will be your responsibility. This is unfair considering that the accident and resulting injuries weren’t your fault. The person responsible for the pain should be responsible for the financial consequences. This is what settlements are for.
Property damage is also typical, especially in the event of a car accident. You should not have to pay for car repairs if the accident was not your fault and the other person behaved illegally. Possessions such as cell phones, eyeglasses, and watches are also common during personal injury cases. The price of these items should be discussed with your attorney to be worked into your settlement sum.
Economic damages like property losses, medical bills, and lost income are generally straightforward and proven with the appropriate documentation after a personal injury. However, the victim also has the right to claim compensation for their pain and suffering. The state limits this aspect of a personal injury case award, but a good attorney will know how to maximize the compensation their client receives for their non-economic damages.
Negligence vs. Malice
As mentioned, two situations warrant personal injury cases. Therefore, it is essential to understand the two if you wish to create a personal injury claim.
The first category is negligence. This occurs when a person is not acting reasonably responsibly and hurts someone. For example, let’s say you go out to dinner at a restaurant. As you walk to your table, you trip on an unmarked cord in the pathway and fall, breaking your arm. This would be considered negligence because the establishment has a legal responsibility to either clear pathways of all hazards or warn patrons of the presence of a hazard. If they have failed to do so, they are responsible for the injury that has occurred.
Another typical example of negligence is texting while driving. If you get into a car accident because another driver was texting and ran a red light, they are negligent and fully responsible.
The other category of personal injury is malice. These situations occur when the person who harmed you intended to do so. Again, there are laws in place that prevent people from intentionally harming others, and if someone breaks them and harms you, they should be held financially responsible.
Examples of malice would be robberies and many gunshot wounds. The person who hurt you intended to hurt you, and in doing so, they broke the law. This carries two sets of important implications. The illegal nature of their action could result in you receiving punitive damages alongside your other compensation in your civil suit, and they are likely to face harsher penalties in their criminal case because their illegal actions resulted in harm to a victim.
Proving Negligence in a Personal Injury Lawsuit
One of the most abstract parts of personal injury law is proving negligence. Many personal injury cases involve this concept, but the job of proving it is often subjective. In some cases, such as injury cases during a car accident, phone records and local surveillance footage may be sufficient to prove your case. In other situations, such as dog bites, witness statements and medical records may be more reliable.
Despite potential difficulties, proving negligence is at the center of many personal injury cases. This is because an individual cannot necessarily be charged for a simple accident. For example, if you get into a car accident because of poor road conditions, the other person may not be legally responsible if they were driving responsibly. They did not neglect their job as a driver, but rather a simple accident occurred. You will not get the same caliber of settlement from a mere accident. To receive significant compensation for your personal injury, negligence or malice must be undeniably determined.
It is important to remember, however, that if you share fault with a defendant for causing your claimed damages, it will diminish your recovery under Colorado’s pure comparative negligence law. This law states that if a plaintiff is less than 50% at fault for a personal injury, they can still recover compensation from the defendant. However, their case award is reduced by their fault percentage, so 10% fault results in losing 10% of the total case award.
If a plaintiff is found 50% or more at fault, they cannot claim compensation from the defendant and will be personally responsible for their damages. It’s relatively common for defendants to attempt to assert comparative fault to diminish their liability for the damages they caused, but a good attorney can help address any such issues that arise in your case and preserve your claim for compensation.
What to Expect From Proven Westminster Personal Injury Attorneys
Many people have never faced a personal injury case before and do not understand what they can expect of their legal representation. It may surprise you that your attorney can be held to a high standard; after all, you are employing them, not the other way around.
When choosing a personal injury attorney, find someone experienced in the specific field who has a good track record with personal injury cases. You should also consider any values that are important to you and find an attorney who reflects them. In general, it is important to ensure that your lawyer is:
- Compassionate
- Considerate
- Patient
- Tenacious in court
- Communicative
- Trustworthy
Remember, you will have to discuss important issues with them, and you need to make sure that you feel comfortable doing so.
Contact Our Westminster Personal Injury Lawyers Today
Here at the Law Offices of Jeremy Rosenthal, we believe in straightforward, honest communication. We have practiced it for years and understand that it is the backbone of an honest and trustworthy lawyer/client relationship. We focus on personal injury law because it is crucial to making the world a fairer and more just place. We also understand the impact that compensation and settlements can have on families in the Denver area.
If you are worried that you cannot afford to hire an attorney, the Law Firm of Jeremy Rosenthal takes personal injury cases on contingency. This means we only collect a fee from our client after winning their case, and their fee is a percentage of the total we recover. There is no fee at all if we cannot obtain a case award for you.
You have a time limit for filing a personal injury case, and the sooner you connect with a Westminster personal injury lawyer, the more likely you are to succeed with your recovery efforts. The Law Firm of Jeremy Rosenthal has the experience and resources you want on your side for your impending personal injury claim. For more information or to schedule a consultation, please contact us via our website today.