A personal injury lawyer can help you if you’ve been seriously injured. Most people only think of personal injury lawyers when they think of car accidents, but the fact of the matter is that a personal injury lawyer can cover far more cases—slip and falls, medical malpractice, defective products, nursing home abuse, and even a dog bite. Your best bet, if you’ve been injured, is not to assume that a personal injury lawyer won’t cover your case, and instead, just ask if they do. A competent personal injury lawyer can help you by protecting your legal rights, creating a barrier against antagonist parties, and intervening on your behalf to collect the compensation you deserve. They will help you negotiate the best settlement options with the offending party or its insurance company (or yours) and they’ll advise you to pursue litigation if the settlement offer does not match what you deserve. When you experience a personal injury, you want to focus on your recovery and seek the appropriate medical attention you need to get back on track. Medical bills can begin to pile up, especially if surgery, medication, or ongoing therapy is involved.
Without a personal injury lawyer to help you navigate this difficult time, you might miss out on a settlement opportunity or pass on pursuing litigation that could defray your costs—both those incurred by medical treatment and others such as lost wages. If a case goes to litigation, you will need to prove that the offending party exhibited negligence—acting in an irresponsible or careless manner. Though their negligence may seem like a foregone conclusion to you, it can be extremely difficult to prove in court. That’s where a competent personal injury lawyer can help you assemble the details into a convincing case. In New Jersey, there is a two-year statute of limitations regarding most cases of personal injury, so if you’ve been injured, it’s important to speak with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.