Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are injured in accidents that happened because of carelessness, negligence, and malicious acts. The resulting injuries can be mild to moderate, severe, or life threatening. Unfortunately, thousands more will lose their lives. Our Salt Lake City, UT personal injury lawyer is passionate about securing meaningful financial settlements for victims and their families who’ve been impacted by wrongdoings. In addition to physical recovery, you also have to deal with the financial burden, which includes medical expenses, reduced income, and more.
Although we can’t reverse the clock, we can help you seek compensation that will cover the financial losses as well as certain non-economic damages like pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. Having the right legal assistance can make all the difference. Choose our lawyer to help you work through your legal situation and find the right solutions. We can help you resolve your case successfully as well as provide you with emotional support as you navigate your difficult experience. When you’re ready to discuss your case and options for pursuing justice, contact us at Rasmussen & Miner to schedule a free consultation.
As an injured victim, it may feel overwhelming to choose a personal injury lawyer when there are many choices. Like with any major decision, it’s important to do your research when you are considering hiring a lawyer to assist you with your scenario. You should only work with lawyers who have experience assisting clients who have been in similar situations and have successfully earned them compensation for damages.
At Rasmussen & Miner, we have decades of experience in offering superb legal advocacy to Salt Lake City residents in times of dire need. Our clients come first, and we always make sure that our clients’ needs are being addressed. We pride ourselves on being outstanding listeners who investigate all of the finite details in a case.
Rasmussen & Miner has helped accident victims recover their damages for decades. As an experienced legal team, we have assisted many clients who have gone through some of the most difficult experiences of their lives. We understand how stressful it can be to make the right decision and determine the best course of action after such a life-changing and traumatic event. Suffering a personal injury. We are experienced in settling cases for maximum compensation as well as taking cases to trial.
What Sets Us Apart:
Decades of proven, results-driven experience.
We’ve recovered millions in damages.
We have a reputation for being fierce and relentless.
Leading trial lawyers for personal injuries.
Extensive knowledge of the court system.
Our firm has established solid relationships with some of the foremost expert witnesses and investigators in the area. This enables us to assess each case more accurately and results in a more refined approach that allows us to efficiently discover case details and find answers to crucial questions. Clients who choose us to represent their case can feel confident in knowing that a personal injury lawyer will be handling the matter, and not just a paralegal. They have the particular skills and specialized experience that is necessary in order to help clients at each stage of the case. Each client can take comfort knowing that they have our undivided attention. Everything is carried out with precision and skill, and it is this strategy, combined with our excellence, that gets results.
Preparing For A Personal Injury Consultation
There certainly is no harm in consulting an attorney to see if they might be able to help you, but once you know for sure it is time to hire professional help you need to come prepared for your meeting. The following information will help you be ready for your first meeting withour Salt Lake City personal injury lawyer:
Medical Information
One of the key areas of information you need to have organized is your medical information. If you are seeking legal assistance for personal injury issues you need to have all your information on your injuries and how they were treated. Getting copies of doctors’ reports, medical bills, and any insurance claim receipts will help us get a grasp on just how extensive your medical issues have been. Don’t be shy in having documentation read, the more you have on hand the better and easier it will be as the attorney develops your case.
Accident Reports
Another item you want to have with you are any accident reports. This could be car accident reports from the police or any other related reports. If your incident happened at work, normally there would be a report filed with the corporation about what happened. If it happened at a store or public facility, there also might be an official report you can obtain. Don’t just stop at official reports, as you also might have taken your own photos or other evidence from the accident. Bringing all of this information to your initial consult will make the next steps of compiling your case much simpler.
Documentation Of Your Losses
The last key area of information you need to have compiled and bring to our Utah injury attorney is proof of your losses. This proof could be your previous year’s W2 form and then a list of your missed days of work due to your injuries. Lost wages are a huge part of what you may be entitled to because of your accident. If you have had property damaged or other losses because of your accident, just bring evidence of that loss for the attorney to review. Having all these documents together and compiled will make getting your compensation handled much more swiftly.
Salt Lake City UT Personal Injury Infographic
Our Personal Injury Practice Areas
Personal injury cases cover a broad range of accidents and illnesses. At Rasmussen & Miner, we have recovered damages for clients who have suffered harm in a broad range of accidents. If you’ve been injured in any of the following accidents, please contact our Utah injury law firm as quickly as possible:
When a client retains our legal services, we commit ourselves to providing exceptional advocacy, attentiveness, and support from start to finish. We want the best for our clients, and we will go out of our way to ensure that they receive the best legal advice and representation. As a team of personal injury lawyers, we truly care about each and every person we represent and are ready to take care of legal matters while they focus on their recovery. Some benefits to consider, include:
We offer superior legal advocacy and representation.
Our entire team of staff is compassionate and supportive.
We have a network of medical experts and other professionals.
All communication between insurance companies can be taken care of by us.
We only settle when we get maximum damages.
We are resilient, and fearless, and have recovered millions in damages.
Choosing the correct Salt Lake City personal injury can be difficult when there are so many available. We offer the following tips on choosing a personal injury lawyer:
Select an attorney who practices personal injury law.The National Law Review reports that in 2011, the United States had 1,225,452 licensed attorneys. Many of those attorneys have never tried a personal injury case or negotiated a fair settlement for an injured client. To help narrow down your choices, ask attorneys these questions:
Do you have experience representing clients similar to mine?
For how many years have you represented personal injury clients?
Can you provide references or testimonials from previous clients?
Request a personal injury lawyer referral from family members, friends, colleagues, your physician, and others whose opinions you trust. Referrals can be an excellent way to find a qualified personal injury attorney. A good personal injury lawyer Salt Lake City UT accident victims turn to for assistance can often be found through word of mouth. One may also find referrals online by searching for local reviews of attorneys and legal firms.
When choosing a Utah personal injury lawyer in Salt Lake City, confirm that they do not earn a fee unless you win your case or a settlement is reached. Though this contingency fee arrangement is common, make sure the attorney doesn’t have an alternative fee structure. Some attorneys require that clients pay upfront or require fees, even if they do not help you recover your damages.
Ask questions. Before you meet with an attorney, write down your questions and leave room to quote their answers. Later, you could review each attorney’s response to help you make your choice. Here are some example questions to ask a personal injury lawyer:
Do you have the resources to handle my injury case?
Will you be the primary attorney handling my case or will you assign it to a junior associate? If someone else will be mostly handling it, what is their level of experience with cases like mine?
Do you work on a contingency fee basis, or will you charge me regardless? What is your fee or rate schedule?
How often will you communicate with me, and will it be by phone, email, letter, or in person?
Meet with the lawyer for a free case review.After you have narrowed your choices down to three attorneys or fewer, schedule a consultation with each one. Most lawyers won’t charge for an initial consultation but confirm this with their legal firm when making the appointment. During this meeting, present your list of questions and be prepared to take notes. If you have documentation regarding your injury, such as medical receipts and physician reports, bring them to your meetings.
Choose a lawyer with whom you’re able to communicate and mutually respect.You need to be able to trust the attorney you hire to look out for your best interests. When hiring a personal injury lawyer for legal assistance, you should feel confident in their ability to do their job well.
One of the most common topics that clients ask about during a consultation is the worth of their claim. A lawyer will assess your situation and make a list of your total damages to get an idea of how your claim should be valued. Although it is impossible to give you an exact value of your claim’s worth, the more serious the injury is, the more likely you are to recover an ample amount that covers losses, such as:
Medical care
Future medical care
Medication
Therapy
Rehabilitation
Home modifications
Lost wages
Loss of income
Transportation costs to and from appointments
Child care
At home nursing care
Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Loss of consortium
In cases that involve gross negligence or a malicious act, a personal injury lawyer might pursue punitive damages which are meant to punish the liable party for their actions. These are applied in special circumstances, so not every personal injury case may involve punitive damages. If you lost a loved one to that wrongdoing of another person, you may recover losses similar to that above as well as others that are not listed.
Common Injuries Addressed by a Personal Injury Lawyer
When you leave your house in the morning, you probably do not expect to get hurt. Unfortunately, you can suffer serious injuries in a motor vehicle accident, a workplace accident, or even a physical assault. Of course, you need to see a doctor as quickly as possible. Then, do not forget to reach out to a personal injury lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT, such as a lawyer from Rasmussen & Miner: Personal Injury Attorney, who can help you. What are some of the most common injuries a personal injury lawyer may address?
Back Injuries
One of the most common injuries that people suffer in an accident is a back injury. Some of the most common examples of back injuries include pinched nerves, herniated discs, and even compression fractures. Some of these injuries might require surgery. Even though many back injuries heal with time, some of them can lead to permanent complications.
Head Injuries
Head injuries can also be common in an accident. For example, you might be involved in a car accident where you strike your head on the steering wheel, dashboard, or window. Following an accident, you could be diagnosed with a concussion, a skull fracture, or a cerebral contusion. If you are left with permanent complications, your medical bills can be expensive. That is where a personal injury lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT can help you.
Knee Injuries
Knee injuries are also very common in accidents. You might be diagnosed with a sprain of the MCL, ACL, or PCL. In a particularly serious accident, these ligaments could be torn, which might require surgery. Then, you may have to go through many months of physical therapy, which could make it difficult for you to return to work. After seeing a doctor, you should contact a personal injury lawyer who can review your case.
Other Injuries That May Be Compensated:
Broken bones
Bruising
Burns
Cognitive impairment
Disability
Disfigurement
Internal bleeding
Lacerations
Loss of limb
Loss of any of the 5 senses
Paralysis
Scarring
Soft tissue damage
When Someone Dies Due To Negligence
If someone loses their life due to the actions of another person, it may be considered a wrongful death. These cases are part of personal injury law and should only be handled by a personal injury lawyer who has vast experience. Compensation for wrongful death may include medical care prior to the death, funeral, and burial costs, pain and suffering, loss of income, and more. The statute of limitations for wrongful death cases can vary depending on different elements of the case. The sooner you consult a personal injury lawyer, the better.
Trust a Lawyer To Help You
These are just a few of the many examples of injuries that a personal injury lawyer may address. Remember but you should always see a doctor following an accident, no matter how well you might feel. There could be injuries underneath the surface. Then, do not forget to ask for a copy of your medical records. You might need them if you contact a personal injury lawyer in Salt Lake City, UT, such as a lawyer from Rasmussen & Miner: Personal Injury Attorney. You deserve to have your rights protected.
Errors To Avoid During Your Personal Injury Case
When you are injured in an accident caused by another person, the recovery process can be frustrating. Not only are there the physical and emotional aspects to deal with, but quite often victims face financial difficulties as well due to being unable to work while they recover.
Utah law allows victims to pursue damages for the losses they suffer against the at-fault party. A personal injury lawyer can evaluate your case and determine what compensation you may be entitled to. Call the office of Rasmussen & Miner for a free consultation.
When you are involved in a personal injury case, there are certain things you want to avoid as these can have a negative impact on your case. The following are some of the most common:
Failing To File A Police Report
There are different types of incidents that require police reports to be filed, such as a vehicle accident or assault. When a victim fails to contact police to report an incident, this can cause a huge hole in proving their case. Take, for example, a vehicle accident. If you are physically able, you should call the police at the scene of the crash. The responding officer will collect evidence, interview witnesses, and get whatever other information is required to complete their report. Depending on the circumstances of the crash, they may even issue a traffic violation citation against the at-fault driver.
If you do not call the police and there is no police report, how do you prove that the other driver was at fault? In fact, without a police report, you may not even be able to prove there was an accident that caused your injuries.
Not Getting Medical Attention Right Away
When you have been in an accident, it is important to seek out medical assistance, even if you don’t think you have been injured. It is not uncommon for there to be a delay in symptoms for many different types of injuries. For example, it may take several hours or a day or two before symptoms of a concussion show up yet delay in diagnosis can be very dangerous. The same goes for internal injuries.
Secondary to how important this is to your health, it is also important for any personal injury claim you may file against the person who caused the accident. Not only does immediate medical treatment confirm you were injured, but it will also confirm that the injury was sustained in the accident. If you wait for days before seeing a doctor, the insurance company could accuse you of being injured after the accident and file a false claim.
It is also important to follow through with the treatment plan that your doctor develops for you. If you fail to adhere to all of the doctor’s medical instructions, the insurance company could also use this to deny your claim or at least decrease the amount of money they offer in a settlement.
Fumbled Communications With The Insurance Company
Another big mistake many victims make is agreeing to give the insurance company a statement without first talking with a personal injury attorney. Remember that insurance companies are in business to make a profit and when they pay out a claim, that cuts into their profit. Insurance adjusters have been trained to ask questions in such a way to elicit responses from victims that can later be used against them to deny their claim.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
After a review of your case, our personal injury lawyer can determine if your distress meets the legal standard for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Generally speaking, it must include reasonable proof that the perpetrator intentionally acted in such a way that their victim sustained tremendous emotional trauma. When this occurs, the victim has the legal right to recover their damages from the person who caused them.
Before pursuing this path, it’s a good idea to consult an experienced personal injury lawyer who can determine if the case has legal merit. If you have suffered severe emotional distress because of another’s actions, contact Rasmussen & Miner.
To be eligible for compensation, the distress you have suffered must meet certain criteria for a court to recognize it as damages that are measurable to a personal injury lawyer as well as a Judge or jury.
In other words, though someone may have treated you with rudeness or disdain, or consistently been offensive toward you in your interactions, these behaviors do not necessarily constitute severe emotional distress. Their behavior must be directed tied to the damage you sustained and that damage must be measurable or quantifiable in some way. Here are two examples of victims who might have a valid claim against the perpetrator:
While someone is driving, another driver intentionally forces them off the road or intentionally hits them. This is not an uncommon type of road rage incident. Whether or not the victim was physically injured, they may have suffered mental or emotional injuries. If one or more of those non-physical injuries prevents them from being able to drive and thus is unable to commute to work, these are measurable damages. It may result in lost wages, severe depression, shame, embarrassment and problems. A personal injury lawyer could pursue compensation for them from the road rage driver.
A fellow employee covertly harasses someone and makes threats against their safety. The employee reports this behavior to their employer, but the latter takes no action to remedy the situation. As a result, the victim takes time off from work, losing wages as a result and is constantly feeling extremely anxious which has greatly affected their quality of life. With the help of a lawyer, the victim may have a valid personal injury claim against their employer as well as their colleague.
If you believe you are the victim of emotional distress, contact us at Rasmussen & Miner today to schedule a free consultation with our personal injury lawyer.
An insurance adjuster may also try to get you to sign documents. Don’t ever sign anything without first having a personal injury lawyer look it over. Victims have unknowingly signed away their right to compensation because they didn’t have a personal injury lawyer to deal directly with the insurance company.
Injury Statistics And FAQs
According to data compiled by the United States Bureau of Justice, there are more than 400,000 personal injury claims each year, yet only 16,000 of those cases – 4 percent – actually go to trial. The majority of the remaining cases are resolved through settlements with the at-fault parties’ insurance companies. This is why it is critical to have a personal injury lawyer advocating for you.
Who Would Be Liable For My Injuries After A Truck Accident?
Any experienced Salt Lake City, UT Personal Injury Lawyer would likely tell you that truck accidents, more than any others, are likely to result in catastrophic injuries and death. The sheer size and weight of semi-trucks make even “minor” accidents likely to have serious consequences for occupants of smaller vehicles.
When the attorneys at Rasmussen & Miner take a truck accident case, we commonly name at least three parties as defendants: The truck driver, the truck driver’s employer, and the insurance company that offered the commercial insurance policy. The truck driver likely caused or greatly contributed to the crash. Because they are professional drivers and are driving the largest vehicles on the road, they should be held to a higher standard than everyone else.
Whenever a truck driver is at fault, the driver’s employer is also liable. They are responsible for hiring, training, and monitoring the driver, as well as overseeing vehicle maintenance and ensuring that repairs are made before they result in an accident.
Finally, the commercial insurer is liable because they agreed to do business with the trucking company.
How Is Someone Else Responsible For My Slip And Fall?
Accidents happen every day, and some are unavoidable. Certainly, when you have a minor slip or trip while walking, you likely just assume that it was your fault for being clumsy. But some slip-and-fall accidents can result in serious injuries, and they are sometimes caused by the negligent actions of property owners.
If you were injured this way, our attorney can help you pursue compensation under a type of personal injury claim known as a premises liability lawsuit. Property owners are responsible for ensuring that their property is reasonably safe for guests. That means known hazards are addressed, and guests are warned about hazards that can’t be fixed.
Let’s say you slipped and fell at a Utah grocery store because a freezer was broken and leaking water on the floor. You suffered a traumatic brain injury as a result of the fall. If the freezer had just started to leak and no one knew about it, the grocery store might not be responsible for your injuries. However, if the freezer had a history of leaking and/or employees knew about the spill for several hours but failed to clean it up, the store could be held liable.
Could I Sue A Company After Getting Hurt By A Defective Product?
Yes, you can. This is a subset of personal injury law known as product liability. If you were harmed by a product that suffered from a design defect or manufacturing defect, you could seek compensation from the manufacturer and perhaps the retailer you bought it from.
These types of cases can be quite complicated, as the companies who make and sell products typically have the resources to have strong attorneys advocate for their defense—which is all the more reason to hire our skilled and aggressive attorney at Rasmussen & Miner.
Call Us For Skilled Personal Injury Representation
When you need representation from a personal injury lawyer, call Rasmussen & Miner. We are ready to evaluate your case and do everything we can to bring you justice. Our firm knows how to be strategic so that our clients have the highest chance at maximum compensation.
The only way to know whether you have grounds for a personal injury case is by speaking with a reputable lawyer. Not all law firms are the same. We have built a reputation in the Salt Lake City area for being a team that shouldn’t be fooled within the courtroom. If we represent you, you can trust you are in good hands. Call us today to speak with our Utah personal injury lawyer about your case during a free and confidential consultation.
Rasmussen & Miner – Salt Lake City Personal Injury Lawyer
1334 2nd Ave, Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Client Review
“Had a great experience with Rasmussen & Miner. Robert did an excellent job working through a very complex accident process with numerous insurance companies and medical providers. Extremely happy with the level of professional and personal service and the ultimate outcome. Highly recommend Robert and the firm!!” Daemon
I STRONGLY recommend Robert C. Miner to be your Attorney. I did a lot of research and worried a ton about the decision of whom to retain because of sheer number of options, however I could not be any happier that I chose Robert. The very first time we met in person, he spent a…
John Shepherd“
When I reached out to Mr. Miner, I was devastated at what I was experiencing. He was so kind and compassionate. I had reached out to a few other attorneys and felt that Robert Miner was the best fit for me and I am SO happy I made this choice. Not only did he communicate…
Kristi“
I was in a really tough spot, but my boy Rob literally brought me back from the dead. My legal disputes had created a tough tunnel to dig my way out of, but I was referred to Rob by my closest person to help power through what laid ahead and bring me back to the…
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I have used Robert twice and both times have been very happy with his performance, knowledge and professionalism. Both cases that he represented me in I was very pleased with outcome. He was understanding and represented my case very well. You get what you pay for and even though he was more expensive than other…
Very happy with his representation“
We are currently clients of Mr Miner and are very pleased at this point, we deffintly would reccomend Rob to anyone so thank you Mr Miner…
More than we could have hoped for“
After calling a number of “criminal defense” attorneys I was frustrated and scared. Every attorney I had spoken to seemed callous and unsympathetic towards my situation. Then I called Rob. After a brief phone conversation I knew this man had decades of experience. He was calm and direct. He let me know what to expect….
I needed a criminal defense attorney in a FEDERAL CASE… This was the best call I made!