Somerset Personal Injury Lawyer

Getting hurt because someone else acted recklessly or carelessly around you can be a uniquely frustrating experience that disrupts every part of your life. Unfortunately, filing suit over a personal injury can be challenging and aggravating in its own way, and even a single mistake, omission, or misunderstanding of state law could lead to you missing out on much-needed compensation.  The laws and rules of court apply equally to attorneys and unrepresented individuals, so it is important to get sound legal advice from an experienced personal injury lawyer.

Whether you just need help getting short-term medical bills reimbursed or need to recover for the effects of permanent disfigurement or disability, a Somerset personal injury lawyer could provide the assistance you need to reach a positive case outcome. Even if you are unsure whether filing a lawsuit is the best path forward, a conversation with a qualified attorney could give you clarity about your options and confidence about your next steps.

How Negligence Can Cause Personal Injuries

In some situations, someone may hold “strict liability” for injuries sustained by someone else, meaning that the second person does not necessarily need to prove the first person was reckless or careless in a specific way to hold him or her accountable for the effects of an injury. Most of the time, though, personal injury litigation in Pennsylvania is built around the theory of “negligence,” which allows those injured in accidents to demand financial recovery from the party who causes him or her harm through some kind of irresponsible act.

More specifically, someone is negligent—and may therefore be liable to pay civil damages—if all the following conditions apply to his or her situation:

• He or she owed a “duty of care” to another person, which required him or her to act responsibly;
• He or she “breached” the duty by doing something specifically reckless, careless, or illegal;
• That breach of duty was the primary and direct cause of an accident involving another person; and
• That accident directly caused “compensable losses” to that person, at least one of which being a physical injury requiring professional medical care.

Help from a seasoned Somerset personal injury attorney could play a vital role in building a strong civil claim around the appropriate legal theory.

What Does State Law Say About Personal Injury Lawsuits?

Importantly, state law does not give people injured in accidents unlimited time to file suit over their injuries. 42 P.S. § 5524  allows just two years after an injury occurs for the injured person to formally file suit, regardless of how long that injury is expected to last.

Further, 42 P.S. § 7102 allows courts to assign a percentage of “comparative fault” to an injured person who bears some amount of blame for causing his or her injuries through their own negligence which then reduces the total compensation available to that injured person, or even bar making a recovery altogether.

Guidance from a skilled personal injury lawyer in Somerset can be crucial to understanding and navigating possible legal roadblocks like this.

Talk to a Somerset Personal Injury Attorney About Your Legal Options

Any time someone causes an accident by acting irresponsibly, anyone who gets hurt may have grounds for civil litigation. However, having the right to file a lawsuit and getting actually getting a positive result from that lawsuit are two very different things.

Support from a tenacious Somerset personal injury lawyer at Marcus & Mack could dramatically boost your chances of reaching a favorable case outcome and obtaining the monetary damages you deserve. Call today for a free consultation.