What You’ll Need To Know Along The Way

Prioritizing Healing: Implications For Your Case

It’s not uncommon for people to decline ambulance service at the scene if they’re not critically injured. Understandable as this may be, it is still essential to get treatment as soon as possible. Doing so will not only help ensure your most prompt recovery, but it will also help you find the best possible outcome in your personal injury claim.

If you indeed decline an ambulance only to go home and realize a few hours later that you are not well, seek medical care immediately, whether in an emergency room or at an urgent care facility. Your physical well-being is of the utmost importance. Beyond that, being proactive in these matters has great implications for your case: getting early symptoms and complaints documented by a healthcare provider can give your case greater value and strength.

Afterward, follow up with your treatment and care as you were instructed. For example, if you have been discharged from the hospital and are told to see a doctor, you should do so immediately and get a suitable treatment plan. If you need physical therapy, be consistent and avoid allowing any gaps in your treatment to arise. Doing so can add fuel to the fire that the insurance company will use against you later.

Documents Your Healing Journey

One of the most important things you can do when involved in an accident is take photographs or videos of how you were at the time of the accident. The body heals itself – and this can happen relatively quickly depending on the injury – so you need to act fast before you lose valuable evidence.

Be thorough in documenting your condition: describe how you felt, what you looked like, how it impacted you at the time, and what you could or couldn’t do. Record these things in a daily, weekly, or monthly journal if you have to. Beyond this, be sure to keep all of your receipts from out-of-pocket medical expenses. It may seem strange at first, but all of this information can make a big difference later on in your case.

Preserve The Evidence

If you have a personal injury attorney representing you, one of the steps they should take is to send a preservation of evidence letter to all relevant parties. This letter plays a vital role in gathering and preserving essential documentation for your case. It instructs the wrongdoer and all involved parties not to destroy any evidence related to the incident, giving you and your attorney the opportunity to inspect everything thoroughly, ensure that nothing critical is overlooked, and build a strong defense.

This is particularly important in cases where there is video surveillance footage, which can be crucial in establishing liability and providing a clear account of what happened. Typically, this is available when the accident occurred in a public place or in a business with security cameras.

What’s more, filing this letter makes it so that failing to preserve evidence (or intentionally destroying it) can have severe consequences for the other party. If they don’t take the proper steps, it can lead to accusations of “spoliation”, which may result in negative inferences being drawn against them during the legal proceedings later on.

Limits When Filing A Claim

In Pennsylvania, personal injury claims typically have a statute of limitations of two years from the date of injury. This means that you only have a two-year window to file a claim after sustaining the injury due to someone else’s negligence.

However, if you weren’t immediately aware of your injury or you didn’t know who was responsible for it, the statute of limitations may begin from the date when you knew or should have known about the injury and/or the party at fault.

The most important thing to keep in mind here is that failing to file a claim within the statute of limitations can seriously affect your ability to seek, let alone obtain compensation for your injuries. In fact, if the deadline passes, you may lose the ability to pursue legal action and hold the negligent party accountable for their actions permanently. Because of this, it’s crucial to reach out to an attorney as soon as you believe you might have a claim for compensation.

Being Partially At Fault

When we initially meet with a potential client, we thoroughly examine the circumstances of their injury to assess the level of fault involved and determine the best possible outcome for their injury claim. Pennsylvania follows a comparative negligence system, meaning an injured individual can seek compensation as long as they are deemed 50% or less at fault for the accident.

However, their recovery may be adjusted to account for their own actions that contributed to the injury. For instance, if an individual is involved in a car accident and found to be 50% or less at fault, they can still pursue a claim for compensation, but any settlement or award received would be reduced by 50% – the percentage of fault attributed to their actions.

A Quick Note On Accidents Involving Trucking Companies

Successfully navigating damages in a trucking accident injury claim can be challenging but rewarding if accomplished successfully. This is because of the access to resources trucking companies have: most companies typically carry a million dollars in coverage at a minimum. On top of this, they generally have an umbrella or general operations coverage policy that you may be able to tap into as well.

For more information on Getting The Best Possible Outcome In A Personal Injury Claim, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (717) 832-9824 today.