If you have been in an accident, the first thing to do is to make sure that you and anyone else involved are safe and to seek medical attention immediately. However, it is also very important to document your accident for any future claims you may make. It is easy to forget when you are in the moment, but it is important to document any information about the injury and the responsible party when it comes time to file an insurance claim. Make sure to document the following if you are ever involved in an accident:

Pictures

One of the easiest ways that you can document your injury is to take pictures of everything! You can never have enough pictures of the scene of the accident or your injuries. Leave no stone unturned — or unphotographed.

If you were in a car accident, make sure to get pictures of every vehicle involved in the accident, including all of the damage from multiple angles and the license plates. If you can, take a picture of the other driver(s) as well. If the other driver(s) will let you, take a picture of their insurance cards and driver’s licenses.

If you are involved in a slip and fall or workplace accident, make sure to get photos of whatever caused your injury. Make sure to take photos of any other dangers or negligence nearby. If you can, take pictures of every employee you encounter including their name tags. If the property owner will let you, take a picture of any incident or accident reports that are completed. If it is a home, and if the homeowner will let you, take a photo of their homeowner’s insurance policy.

If you were attacked by an animal, make sure to get a picture of the animal that attacked you. Take several pictures of your surroundings showing where you were. If you can, take a picture of the animal’s home, including the street and house number if it is a pet. If the owner of the animal will let you, take a picture of their homeowner’s insurance policy and any paperwork they have for their animal.

For all cases, make sure to get photos of your injuries. Try to get photos of anyone else’s injuries if you can.

The best time to take pictures is immediately after your injury. Photos from right after the accident will be the most compelling. However, many people are not able to take pictures right away, especially if their injuries are severe or if their cell phone was damaged in the accident. If you are not able to take pictures, ask someone to take them for you, and send an email or text them to yourself. If you can, try to follow up soon after the injury and take your own photos. Do not trust that the responsible party will take good photos that will help your case.

Video

In some instances, your injury may have been caught on camera. In many situations, the video footage will belong to someone else. Don’t be shy about asking to have a copy of the footage, or to at least look at it for yourself — the worst they can do is say no!

If you are involved in a slip and fall or workplace accident, ask if the property owner will let you have a copy of the security footage, but don’t be surprised if they say no. You can also ask if they will let you view the footage — if they say yes, and if they let you, you can take of video of the footage yourself using your phone. If you were outside, there may be other cameras that caught the injury. Make sure to ask around at any other nearby homes or businesses that may have a camera that looks out onto the street and see if they will let you have a copy of the security footage.

If you were in a car accident, check to see if any of the cars have cameras. Nowadays, more cars have on-board cameras, and many drivers have dashboard cameras for recording accidents. If your car has an on-board camera, do everything you can to get the footage. Depending on where the accident happened, there may be other cameras that caught the accident, such as a nearby home or business. Ask around at any homes or businesses that may have a camera that looks out onto the street and see if they will let you have a copy of the security footage. Make sure to also check with the city to see if there were any public security cameras near the accident and ask if you can have a copy of the footage.

If you were attacked by an animal, check to see if there may have been a camera nearby that caught the attack. If it was at a home, ask the homeowner if they have any security cameras and if you can have a copy of the footage. If it was in a public space, ask around at any nearby homes or businesses that may have a camera that caught the attack and see if they will let you have a copy of the security footage. Make sure to also check with the city to see if there were any public security cameras near the accident and ask if you can have a copy of the footage.

Information about the Responsible Party

It is critical that you have as much information as possible about the responsible party — your attorney can’t sue anyone if they don’t know who is to blame! 

If you were in a car accident, make sure to get the name of the responsible driver and the name of their insurance carrier. Make sure to write down their license plate number as well. If they will let you, you should write down their driver’s license number, phone number, email address, home address, date of birth, auto insurance policy number, and vehicle’s VIN. Ask them if they own the vehicle, and if not, get as much information as you can about the vehicle’s owner.

If you were in a slip and fall or workplace accident, make sure to get the names and contact information for any employees you encounter, including any managers present. Make sure to ask for the property owner’s insurance information, including the name of their insurance carrier, a phone number, and their policy number. Make sure to get as much information as you can about whatever caused your injury. If they will let you, you should get a copy of any incident or accident reports that are completed.

If you were attacked by an animal, and you know who owns the animal, get as much information as you can from the owner. Make sure to get the owner’s name and home address, phone number, email address, and their homeowner’s insurance carrier and policy number. Get as much information as you can about the animal, including the animal’s name, breed, age, and vaccine status. Ask the owner if the animal has a history of aggression or if they have ever attacked anyone else, but don’t expect an honest answer.

Witnesses

If anyone witnessed the accident, make sure to get their contact information as well, including their name, phone number, email address, and home address. Ask them about what they saw and if they would be willing to testify about it if needed. If you can, get a recording or a written statement from any witnesses stating what they saw. 

Police 

If the police investigated the accident, make sure to get as much information from them as possible. Make sure to get the name and badge number of all officers that respond to the scene, as well as any incident or crash report numbers. If the responsible party won’t talk to you, ask the police if they can give you any information regarding the responsible party, such as their name, contact information, and insurance information. If a report was filed, make sure to follow up with the police to get a copy of the report.

So, to summarize:

• Take pictures of everything
• Get copies of any camera footage
• Get contact information from the responsible party
• Get the contact information for the responsible party’s insurance
• Get contact information from all witnesses
• Get copies of any incident reports or police reports

Follow up with an attorney
After you have completed documenting your accident, make sure to follow up with an attorney, like a personal injury lawyer from a law firm like Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC, who can review your documentation. Thoroughly documenting your accident will help your attorney to determine the best path forward for pursuing your claim.

Personal Injury Lawyer

When faced with an injury, you want to do everything possible to obtain the compensation you deserve. Someone who was negligent and caused your injuries should be held responsible. As you look at your options, you might consider a personal injury lawsuit against the liable party. What is the cost to hire a lawyer to help you with that? Are there other costs associated with such a lawsuit? The following breaks down some of the basics you should know about lawyer fees and other legal costs.

Lawyer Fees

In many personal injury cases, a lawyer will work on something called a contingency fee basis. This means he or she gets a percentage of your settlement, and payment is contingent upon you winning the case. If you don’t win, you don’t have to pay any lawyer fees. There are other types of lawyer fees, such as hourly or by-the-case, but many who deal with personal injury use contingency fees.

The percentage of your settlement the attorney will take is varied based on your attorney and your case, but many will charge somewhere between 33% and 40%. If your settlement were to end up at $70,000, and the fee was 33%, your lawyer would take $23,100.

Other Legal Costs

There are a variety of other costs associated with personal injury lawsuits. These are separate from your lawyer fees, and are charged differently based on how your attorney works. For example, one attorney may throw all those costs into the contingency fee and charge a higher percentage. Another may require you pay the costs as they come up. The following are a few examples of legal costs you’ll typically be required to pay.

• Administrative Costs – This could include postage, travel, research, copying and trial exhibits.
• Court Costs – This includes the filing fee, juror stipends and serving costs.
• Deposition Costs – This includes payment for the stenographer’s time and a copy of the deposition.
• Expert Witness Costs – This includes payment for the witness’s time in reviewing the case, preparing a report and providing testimony.
• Investigative Costs – This could include fees for obtaining police reports, hiring investigators and other means of gathering evidence.

Allowing a Lawyer to Explain Further

As you can see, there are a lot of things that go into how much it will cost to hire a lawyer and go through the process of a personal injury lawsuit. Your lawyer is better equipped to give you a closer estimate of how much you can expect to pay. Contact a personal injury lawyer, like from Davis & Brusca, today for further explanation.

Personal Injury Lawyer

In many divorce cases, the court may award spousal support, which is also called alimony, to spouses. Marital misconduct is not a factor in determining whether someone is entitled to alimony or in calculating the actual payment amount. Courts instead focus on each spouse’s financial needs and future earning capacity, among other factors, to determine whether maintenance is appropriate in a particular situation. Then, they apply a specific formula to set the amount and duration of payments.

State law explains the three different types of alimony that are available in most states:

Temporary maintenance: A spouse might be entitled to temporary support while the divorce is pending. You can petition for support when the divorce petition is filed and provide a financial affidavit that explains why this support is necessary. Any award of temporary maintenance ends when the divorce is finalized.

Fixed-term maintenance: As part of a divorce judgment, the court may award alimony for a specific period of time. After that time period ends, the court may consider whether to extend support for another fixed term or to extend it indefinitely. The court could also decide to terminate the alimony award at the end of the fixed term. In fact, if the marriage lasted less than 10 years, the court may designate the conclusion of the fixed term as a permanent termination of maintenance.

Permanent maintenance: The court may also decide that the spouse’s situation warrants permanent maintenance.

In both fixed-term and permanent, there are usually stipulations outlined that would cause the spousal support to end. Examples of these types of circumstances include if the receiving spouse should remarry or if the paying spouse retires. Events like these are considered events that will change the financial situation of at least one of the parties and warrant the end of the support.

Factors that Courts Consider in Determining Whether Alimony Is Appropriate

Aside from each spouse’s financial needs and earning capacity (both present and future), other factors that courts consider in determining whether alimony is appropriate include:

• The duration of the marriage.
• Each spouse’s income and property, including marital property distributed during the divorce, nonmarital property, and retirement income
• Whether the party seeking maintenance needs to go back to school or receive additional training to become self-supporting, the time it will take for the spouse to do that, and the support the spouse needs to make that happen
• The standard of living established during the marriage
• Each spouse’s age, health, and occupation
• Each spouse’s contribution to the marriage and to the other spouse’s career, including education and training
• The tax consequences that marital property division has on both spouses;
• Any prenuptial, postnuptial, or other valid agreement between the spouses
• Other equitable factors

An experienced divorce attorney can help collect the evidence you need to establish your alimony needs.

Let a Lawyer Help You with Your Case

If you are considering filing for divorce, contact a dedicated divorce attorney. A lawyer can help secure spousal support to cover your financial needs, as well handle other areas of divorce negotiations.

Personal Injury Lawyer

Each type of personal injury case will take on some unique measures. A construction site injury is no different. There are unique factors at play regarding construction site injuries, and you should have a lawyer by your side to ensure you are properly taken care of. The following are some things you can do following a construction site injury.

Get Medical Assistance

Taking care of yourself is the most important thing you can do. If you’re not around to fight your personal injury case, that would be devastating to a host of individuals. If your injury results in emergency care, take a ride in an ambulance, visit the emergency room and receive that emergency medical assistance you need. Your injuries might require surgery, prescription medication and ongoing care, and it’s important you never miss an appointment or a medication dose.

Seek Workers’ Compensation

If you were an employee at the construction site where you were injured, you may be able to seek workers’ compensation. You should report the injury to your employer so the process can begin as soon as possible.

If you were on the construction site as an outside party, but still there during the course of employment, you might still be entitled to workers’ compensation. For example, you might work for an electrician who was hired by the contractor. You might be delivering a contract to the site when you were injured there. You could possibly seek workers’ compensation through the electrical company you work for because you were performing your job at the time of your injury.

Consult With an Attorney

There could be other factors at play that you don’t realize could have an impact on your situation. For example, you might feel the injury was your own fault, so you don’t plan to seek compensation. Perhaps you were off the clock when the injury occurred so you feel you are undeserved of compensation. Your lawyer can help you understand how the process works so you can recover what you are legally owed.

If you were on the construction site illegally, your attorney can represent you against a lawsuit the construction company might file against you. Your personal health insurance may step in to cover the costs of your injuries in such a situation, so be sure to speak with your insurer.

Getting Started Today

There are a lot of issues at play when it comes to construction site injuries. If you’re wondering what you can do, set up a consultation with a personal injury lawyer, like the offices of Johnston | Martineau PLLP, get answers to questions about your case. 

Personal Injury Lawyer

After a car accident, you may wait on the other driver’s insurance to pay your medical bills. Meanwhile, the bills pile up. The doctors, hospital, and therapists want their money. What are your options? It would be nice if you could just explain to the healthcare providers that you’re waiting on the insurance, but that is not usually how it works. Here are some things that you can do.

Use Your Personal Health Insurance  

Since you are responsible for your medical bills after a car accident you can, and should, use your own health insurance to pay the bills. Even if the medical provider tells you that another insurance is primary, you should still have them file your personal health insurance. Make sure to save any bills you receive and track your co-pays. You will want to be able to verify your expenses later. Your health insurance company may expect to be paid back if you do receive a settlement from the other driver. Since nothing is guaranteed, this is the best option to make sure your bills are paid.

Check with Your Auto Insurance Coverage 

If you have PIP and live in a no-fault state, you may have coverage for your medical bills through your own auto insurance policy. It might also be called “Med Pay.” Check with your own auto insurance policy to know whether you should file with them to pay your medical bills. It might seem like a long-shot, but you may have coverage that you aren’t aware of.

Negotiate with Your Healthcare Providers 

If you don’t have insurance, your next option is probably to try and negotiate with the hospital or doctors. Most hospitals will send your account to collections if you aren’t dealing with it. You may be able make payments until the settlement comes in. As a last resort, you may want to sign an agreement with the healthcare provider that you agree to pay when you receive a settlement. This can keep your account out of collections and from hurting your credit.

Don’t Pay Anything 

Although this is an option, it isn’t your best one. You may be stressed out from dealing with the accident and its aftermath, but you should try to find a way to deal with your medical bills. Your lawyer may be able to help you negotiate with the providers and find options that fit your needs. Talk to a  lawyer, like a personal injury lawyer from Darrell Castle and Associates, PLLC, about your case to figure out what the next step you should take is. 

Personal Injury Lawyer

When someone is injured in an accident, he or she can typically seek compensatory damages to cover medical bills, property damage repairs, pain and suffering, and other losses. Sometimes a judge will award the plaintiff punitive damages as well. What are they and when are they awarded?

What Are Punitive Damages?

Punitive damages are a punishment for the defendant after he or she acted in a grossly negligent way. Most states will award a plaintiff punitive damages if the defendant showed intentional misconduct, acted with recklessness, showed gross negligence, or acted in deceit or malice. While the plaintiff may have already been awarded compensatory damages, he or she would be given an additional amount as a punishment and a statement to the defendant.

When Are They Awarded?

There are specific situations in which punitive damages are awarded. For example, if two people are in a car accident because someone failed to see a red light, causing a head-on collision, the at-fault party would more than likely owe compensatory damages. If the plaintiff’s lawyer is able to prove the at-fault party knew the light was red and took a chance anyway, punitive damages may be awarded.

Another example would include a faulty roof on a commercial building. If a portion of the roof fell and injured a customer, the owner of the building would typically owe compensatory damages. If an inspector had recently discovered damage and recommended a replacement, but the owner chose to ignore the recommendation, punitive damages may be awarded.

Are There Limitations?

There are some states that put a limit on how much a plaintiff can receive in punitive damages. For example, some states limit the amount at three times what the compensatory damages equaled. Other states have an actual amount, such as $500,000, and punitive damages cannot reach beyond that amount in any case.

How Strong Is My Case?

If you plan to sue for personal injury, and hope to receive punitive damages, you may wonder how strong your case is. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, as every case is different, but your lawyer can give you some answers after he or she has a chance to look over all the evidence. The more evidence you have against the defendant, the stronger your case will be. If you only suspect gross negligence, and have nothing to back up your suspicion, you may not end up with any punitive award.

Contacting a Lawyer to Get Started

If you’ve been injured in an accident, one of the best things you can do is get a legal professional on your side. Contact an attorney like a personal injury lawyer, at the law offices of Davis & Brusca, LLC, for more information.

Personal Injury Lawyer

Traffic signs and signals provide important information to pedestrians. Do Not Walk signals protect pedestrians from oncoming traffic. Hidden Driveway signs alert pedestrians to the possibility of a vehicle unexpectedly entering their path.

Signs warning of danger may alert pedestrians to broken sidewalks, missing guardrails, or pathways that are not intended for pedestrian use. Train crossing signs tell pedestrians that railroad tracks are actually in use.

Pedestrians risk serious injury or death when they ignore warning signs. But pedestrians are sometimes injured because they cannot see a warning sign. When signs are obstructed by overgrown bushes or tree branches, they fail to serve their cautionary purpose.

The state or local government that erects a warning sign has a duty to assure that the sign is visible. That duty is fulfilled by regularly inspecting signs and trimming away foliage that might obstruct them.

Unfortunately, governments with limited budgets tend to neglect routine maintenance. As a result, signs become hidden from view. Pedestrians are injured when the government neglects its duty to assure the visibility of warning signs.

A lawyer, like a pedestrian accident lawyer from Butler Law Firm, can help injury victims recover compensation for pedestrian accidents that are caused by the government’s neglect of its duty. Talking to a lawyer immediately after an accident makes it possible for the lawyer to have pictures taken of the obstructed sign.

Going to a Doctor After a Pedestrian Accident Caused by an Obstructed Sign

A lawyer can also advise pedestrian accident victims of important deadlines. Every state has a statute of limitations that sets a deadline for settling or bringing a lawsuit for injury compensation.

A shorter notice of claim statute requires victims of government negligence to give notice of a claim that might later be filed. Failing to abide by deadlines can make it impossible to recover compensation for accident injuries.

The law sets no deadline for visiting a doctor after a pedestrian accident. It is nevertheless important to see a doctor promptly.

Pedestrians who have serious injuries will typically receive emergency or urgent care. Whether an injury is serious, however, is often a judgment call that a doctor should make. Internal bleeding can be fatal but it does not always cause immediate or intense pain. The same is true of brain swelling after a blow to the head.

Accident victims sometimes try to live with an injury, only to find that their condition worsens. Damage to muscles, ligaments, and tendons might not heal if the pedestrian tries to resume normal activities. In fact, those injuries might become more serious if they are not treated. An injury that might be treated with rest or immobilization of a joint could eventually require surgical repair if the injury is ignored.

Settlement Benefits of Seeing a Doctor After a Pedestrian Accident Caused by an Obstructed Sign

When a pedestrian brings a claim against the government for injuries caused by an obstructed sign, the government will scour the pedestrian’s medical records for evidence it can use to deny or minimize the payment of compensation. Any delay in seeing a doctor will be viewed as proof that the injuries were caused by an event that occurred just before treatment began. 

Failing to follow through on treatment recommendations is also viewed with suspicion. The government will argue that the accident victim stopped treating because the injuries healed. Any later treatment will be attributed to a new and unrelated injury.

The government’s suspicions do not need to be true. The mere fact that a jury might believe them reduces the settlement value of the injury claim. To protect the opportunity to receive full value for accident injuries, it is important to see a doctor immediately and to follow the doctor’s instructions faithfully until discharged from treatment.

Personal Injury Lawyer

It’s been about two weeks since you’ve been involved in an accident and now the insurance companies are saying that you are partially at fault for the accident. How is it determined when you are at partial fault? Are you able to even receive compensation for your medical bills? Contact a car wreck lawyer, like a car wreck lawyer in Arlington, TX, if you need representation. 

Liability

Determining by law who was the negligent party in the accident and responsible for the damage is important. The individual who caused the accident is often responsible. All insurance companies that represent parties in an accident should be made aware of the accident and from there will help to gather information for investigating liability.

How is liability determined if you were deemed partially at fault for the accident?

If one person was more careless than another, then the majority of fault would lie on them. This does not mean that the person who was maybe to a lesser degree liable but still injured, will get full compensation for all medical bills. This will just be broken up into a percentage of what each negligent person is responsible for. If a person is in an accident at work and the accident is caused by a negligent party, the employer would be the liable party. What if the injured party was in a location that they were not supposed to be at? The individual who is at fault may not be liable for the accident since the injured party was in a place that was not authorized for them to be there. Did the defendant owe the plaintiff duty to care and fail to do so? The injured party would not be held at fault. 

Comparative Negligence

This is a law that was put into place to help determine the responsibilities for damages that occurred by every negligent person in the accident. This means that more than one person was at fault and the parties who are at fault will need to come to an agreement amongst themselves to compensate the non-negligent parties.

Depending on where you live, you may be able to recover damages for any amount of liability in an accident. In a lot of states there are restrictions that will not allow you to recover if you are over fifty percent liable for the accident, and even more strict states only allow compensation if you are only deemed “slightly” at fault for the accident. If a partially at fault person has $10,000 in damages but was found 50% at fault, he or she would only get a 50% recovery in the damages equalling $5,000.

There is no linear way to come to an agreement on comparative negligence. This will be determined through conversations with an attorney or through an insurance company and any investigative measures that are taken to gather more information. 

Thanks to Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC for their insight into what comparative negligence is and how liability is determined in an accident. 

Personal Injury Lawyer

When you send a child off to college, you’ll probably have many worries and anxieties. You’ll be concerned about how your son or daughter will cope with life on his or her own. You may stress out over how your loved one will fare with coursework and with the added burden of more responsibility. One thing you shouldn’t have to fear is whether your child is at risk of dying. If someone close to you dies while on a college campus, many factors could have caused the incident. If you suspect administrators at the school are to blame, you should speak with a personal injury lawyer in Trenton, NJ.

Types of Wrongful Death Claims on a College Campus

Like anywhere else, accidents can happen on campus. Before you get too serious about filing a lawsuit, it will be helpful to understand which scenarios may implicate the school itself. If your loved dies because of structural or mechanical failure in a building, you may be able to prove that school officials knew of such conditions but didn’t do anything about them. Another example may be if campus police of security failed to respond to a complaint or tip about suspicious activity on campus. If this oversight led to your loved one’s death at the hands of someone else, a wrongful death lawsuit may be valid. You may also sue if your lawyer determines the school had insufficient safety protocol in the event of an emergency. Or, you could file a lawsuit if your child died after exposure to a chemical or material in class, and the school didn’t provide the essential equipment.

Determining Fault

To successfully win a wrongful death lawsuit, the burden of proof is on you and your attorney to show that the school is liable for the loved one’s passing. Your lawyer will work to show that school officials acted with negligence through poor judgment or wrongdoing. You may even find that college officials deliberately covered up facts or intended to bring harm to your loved one.

Damages to Recover

In your lawsuit, you will seek damages for medical bills. Those costs may fall upon you as a surviving family member. You can sue for damages to pay for hospital stays, medication, surgeries and medical equipment. Your damages may also include wages your loved one lost or the pain and suffering you have felt due to this loss. You may even seek punitive damages, which would punish the school administrators for their actions or inactions.

A wrongful death lawsuit is a serious complaint. Your lawyer will make sure you pursue this correctly and get the help you need.

Thanks to Davis & Brusca for their insight into personal injury claims and wrongful death claims involving college students.

Personal Injury Lawyer

Unfortunately, violence is an neverending problem. Innocent victims of robberies and random shootings too often suffer life-changing injuries. Paralysis, brain injuries, and organ damage are among the most severe consequences of a shooting that the victim survives.

While some shootings can be random and unpredictable, the fact that a shooting might occur is often foreseeable. Owners of apartment complexes are often aware of the risk of violence that tenants and visitors face. A security negligence and shooting lawyer will help hold the owner accountable for failing to take appropriate security precautions.

Installing and repairing security locks on exterior doors is an obvious example for a property owner to create a safer environment. Tenants depend on locks to protect them from threatening individuals. Too many shootings occur inside apartment buildings that the uninvited shooter should never have been able to enter.

Poor lighting in common areas and parking lots also encourages violent crimes. Criminals act under the cover of darkness. Building owners who fail to install or maintain adequate lighting contribute to the risk that a shooting will occur on their property.

What Apartment Building Shooting Victims Should Do First

The first step for any shooting victim is to obtain medical care. If the wound is serious, call 911 and ask for an ambulance. Don’t worry about the cost. If you have no insurance, you might be billed later, but every emergency room is required to stabilize victims of life-threatening wounds. Even if the wound seems minor, it is important to obtain medical attention. A minor wound can still lead to a deadly infection. Prompt and professional wound treatment may save the victim’s life.

Following through on recommended medical care is essential for a few reasons. First, gunshot injuries heal more quickly when a victim follows a doctor’s treatment recommendations. Physical rehabilitation programs may be painful and time-consuming, but completing the program improves the odds of making a full recovery.

Second, insurance claims adjusters are more likely to make a fair settlement if the shooting victim follows through on recommended treatment. When victims discontinue their treatment, insurance adjusters argue that the injury must have healed. The fact that a victim didn’t want to take time away from work to keep an appointment will not persuade the adjuster that the victim was still in pain. Medical records provide essential documentation of injury claims. That’s why seeing a doctor and following the doctor’s recommendations is so important to obtaining a fair settlement.

Health insurance should cover gunshot wound treatment, but uninsured victims should make every effort to obtain the healthcare they need. Medicare, Medicaid, and VA insurance are among the sources that may help uninsured gunshot victims obtain medical care. Some doctors will also agree to provide treatment in exchange for an agreement to pay for treatment out of injury settlement proceeds.

What Apartment Building Shooting Victims Should Do Next

After obtaining emergency health care, a shooting victim should report the shooting to the police. Failing to cooperate with a police investigation might make it more difficult to make a successful legal claim against the building owner.

Prompt consultation with a crime victim lawyer is also important. Successful claims for inadequate security or unsafe premises are built on evidence. Your lawyer will want to gather that evidence quickly. Witnesses need to be interviewed before memories fade. Broken lights need to be photographed before the owner replaces them. A lawyer can also help the shooting victim deal with insurance adjusters. Saying the wrong thing to an insurance company can jeopardize a fair settlement of the insurance claim.

Finally, a lawyer can protect the victim’s rights by making sure that the limitations period does not expire. The victim will lose the right to collect compensation if a lawsuit is not filed, or the case is not settled, before the deadline imposed by a statute of limitations arrives. A security negligence lawyer can advise the shooting victim about all the steps that need to be taken to protect the victim’s right to obtain full compensation.