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Important things to know about personal injury lawsuits

Personal injury lawsuits are filed after all kinds of injury-related incidents such as auto accidents, dog bites, medical malpractice and many more. Once you are injured, you enter a whole new world, and there are some important facts you should know when filing a personal injury lawsuit.

Most insurance carriers are looking to negotiate a deal without having to go to court. While they may talk a big game, their goal is to cut you a check without having to appear before a judge.

Mediation and arbitration are two stops on the negotiation process that may keep your case from going to court. This is an alternative to having to argue your case in a courtroom. Mediators and arbitrators aim to settle these matters, although it is extremely helpful to have your own Providence personal injury lawyer by your side.

Remember that those offering you a settlement work for the insurance carrier and not you. Their mission is to offer you as small of a settlement as possible. Your lawyer is the one working to get you a larger payout.

Several factors weigh in on how much of a settlement you will ultimately receive. There is a need to compensate for medical bills, physical therapy, pain and suffering, lost wages and financial hardship. There are also ongoing factors to consider such as a reduction in earning potential as a result of the injury, as well as permanent physical impairment.

Once a settlement is reached, there comes the reality of having to pay taxes. When a settlement covers physical injuries, it is not viewed as taxable income. However, any punitive damages received are taxable. That also holds true for any compensation you received as a result of pain and suffering.

Collecting your compensation is much easier when dealing with an insurance company. When a settlement is reached, insurance companies will just write you a check, and you can be on your way. But when it comes to dealing with an individual defendant, there is no guarantee of an immediate payday.

If the defendant does not have many assets, you may not see much in the way of compensation. Winning a judgment is one battle, but getting your compensation from an individual defendant is another battle altogether.

If you have recently suffered a personal injury in North Kingston or Providence, an attorney at Calvino Law Associates can see you through your case. One of our lawyers will be there to provide you with all the information you need to know from start to finish. Contact us today for a free consultation.

What You Need To Know About Slip and Fall Accidents in North Kingstown

One of the areas of the law that has received a lot of press lately is the slip and fall accidents in North Kingstown. These types of accident that involve slipping or tripping are an area liability of that can fall to the property owner and their insurance.

Why Are Slip and Fall Accidents the Owner’s Responsibility?
The owner has a duty to keep their property in a matter that is safe. If they have know about a condition that is unsafe or if they should have know about the condition then they can be found liable. An example would be a spill that causes a floor to become slippery that is not cleaned in a reasonable amount of time. It is important that you contact an attorney if you have been involved in a slip and fall accident in North Kingstown.

Are Only Spills Covered By This Liability?
Not at all, anything that causes you to slip or trip that should have been fixed or had a warning sign to indicating the danger. This can be a carpet that has come up and causes a tripping hazard or light that has not been replaced make a step difficult to see. The main determining factor is that the hazard should have been fixed or warned against.

Where Do Slip And Fall Accidents Happen?
They can happen anywhere are anytime but the most common places that are involved are business premises, companies and government offices. They can even happen on the sidewalk or in a car park. It is important that the property owner quickly takes action to protect people from the hazard and repairs or replaces the hazardous area as soon as practical.

Can I Be Excluded Because Of An Existing Condition?
The only lawful exclusion is for someone that is trespassing on the property. Elderly people that may be prone to tripping or people that have a mobility impairment that made then less able to recover from a slip are not excluded. If the property owner has been negligent then they will be held liable. It is important that you consult an attorney if you have had a slip and fall accident in North Kingstown.

What to Do After an Animal Attack Incident in North Kingstown

The huge increase in pet ownerships has seen an increase in animal attack incidents in North Kingstown. While the majority of attacks are minor there are a large number that require treatment that is expensive. These incidents can leave physical and emotional scarring and can be particularly devastating if children involved.

What Can You Do If You Are Attacked By An Animal?
The law is very clear the owner is responsible for the animal and ensuring that it is kept in a secure environment. If you have been the victim of an animal that has escaped its home or that the owner has not been able to control then you may have a case under personal injury law. The best way to review your rights and remedies is to make an appointment with a lawyer.

Which Lawyer In North Kingstown Should I Choose?
It is important to have an attorney that is skilled in personal injury claims and has experience in animal attack incidents in North Kingstown. This will ensure that you get the best possible person working on your case with local experience that can help to get you a positive result.

Questions To Ask an Attorney about Your Animal Attack Case
When you are at your first consultation you will have many questions for your attorney. You can help to keep your thoughts in order by writing down a list of questions so that you get all the information that you need when you are at the consultation. It may also help you to clarify the incident by writing down some points so that you are clear about the events when you are relating them to your attorney.

Here are some questions that you might like to consider adding to your list if you have not already included them.

• Have you worked on animal attack incidents in North Kingstown previously?
• Do you think to case is viable?
• What fees and charges will be involved and when will we be required to pay them?
• Is the case likely to be worth pursuing?
• Do you believe that the case can be settled or will it need to proceed to trial?

What to Ask a Personal Injury Attorney in North Kingstown

It is important when you are considering going to a personal injury attorney in North Kingstown that you have both all of the information about the case and a list of pertinent questions to ask. This is important because once you get caught up in talking about the case it is both very easy to forget key details and to forget to ask questions about the attorney and about the case.

In most cases you can obtain an initial consultation for free or at a low fixed cost. It is important to quickly explain the situation using facts and objective language. This will help the attorney to understand the circumstances. Remember that it is always best to start the process as soon as possible as there are many circumstances that can limit your ability to make a claim and to successful be paid out if you are found to have a case.

Is The Case Viable?
This is the crux of the matter, do the facts as you have presented them make a case that will be able to be argued in court. Your attorney can explain to you about negligence and whether they believe that they can make an augment that your injury was because of this negligence.

How Should Your Personal Injury Attorney Proceed?
Once your personal injury attorney in North Kingstown believes that the case has merit then the next question is how to proceed. It is up to you and your lawyer to prove on the balance of probabilities that your injuries resulted from the negligence of the other party.

There are two judgments to be made. The first is if the money you could claim would pay for the prosecution of the case and a worthwhile payment. The second is can the business or individual pay the possible judgment and do they have insurance.

Does Your Attorney In North Kingstown Think Settlement Is An Option?
One of the most likely outcomes if the person has insurance or if the amount is not too large is a settlement. This is a judgment that the cost of fighting the case in court would be more expensive than making a settlement to close the matter. It is very important that you consider the matter very carefully because while a settlement may be a smaller amount it is obtained without a costly legal case.

The Process Your Injury Attorney from North Kingstown Will Use For Your Claim

When you have decided to seek legal advice from an injury attorney in North Kingstown then this will begin a process that you might be unfamiliar with if you have not previously been involved in a civil case. The process can be confusing because the legal environment involves a number of steps that need to be gone through to both insure fairness and to schedule to time to have the case heard.

Settlement Negotiation with Your Injury Attorney
It is very likely that if you have a case that your attorney believes will be successful that they will attempt to discuss a settlement. A settlement is an offer to finalize the matter usually without a finding of wrong doing. There are many factors including the cost, reputation of those involved and the insurance company’s attitude.

Costs
The prime reasons both sides will consider settlement are the costs involved. The insurance company is charged with providing the best defense possible which usually translates into expensive attorneys. Your cost either paid as the case progresses or on a contingency basis can also mean a long drawn out case is not in your best interests.

If Your North Kingstown Attorney Takes The Case To Trial
If settlement is not possible then the case will then proceed to be filed and dates will be set for depositions and hearings. This can take some time and it is important that you stay in touch with your injury attorney from North Kingstown. They will likely need to schedule you for several meetings to get detailed information about the circumstances, witnesses and their details.

Be On Your Best Behavior
One of the vital things that you should be aware of during the period between your injury attorney in North Kingstown filing the suit and it being heard is that anything negative you are involved in could prejudice your case. This means you should be particularly careful of involvement with the police.

No Guarantees
It is important that you understand that there are no guarantees in how the case will turn out. Even a strong case can be found not sufficiently proven and conversely a week case can present enough evidence to overcome the burden of proof.

The Laws Affecting Premise Liability in North Kingstown

This area of law is mostly used by people that have had accidents in areas owned by private business, companies or a public institution. Premises that have visitors must ensure that the all of the potential risks are made safe. If a person is injured and they are found not to have properly made a risk safe then they will be liable under the law. The most common cases of premises liability in North Kingstown are so called trip and fall or slip and fall cases. This is where a person has slipped or tripped and fallen on a hazard that the owners have not adequately protected them against.

Are There Any Properties That Are Not Covered?
The law covers any sort of property including areas such as the pavement in sidewalks and carpet or rugs in an office. There is a duty of care that the property owner must make the property as safe as possible for visitors. The only provisions this would not cover are people that are on the property unlawfully.

What Determines The Premises Liability Claim?
If you are injured because of the negligence of the owner of the property then you can employ an attorney that has experience with premises liability in North Kingstown. They will then be able to advise you on the likelihood of your claim succeeding and what you can claim in compensation for your injury. This may include pain and suffering, time off work and compensation for long term disability or loss of function.

Who Will Pay My Claim?
While you will be claiming on the property owner in almost all cases the insurance company that they have liability insurance with will be defending the case. It is important that you have an experienced attorney when you file a claim for premises liability in North Kingstown. It is common for cases of clear fault to be settled and an experienced attorney will ensure you obtain the best settlement possible.

This can greatly reduce the fees you will be charged and also allow you to obtain the payment immediately instead of waiting for the case to go through the full legal process. This is always your decision but it needs to be carefully weighed and you attorney will have the experience to be able to advise you on the best course of action.