Bethlehem Personal Injury Lawyer
Getting compensation for an injury can be challenging without a lawyer. Insurance companies frequently undervalue claims and seek to push unrepresented victims into early settlements to end cases quickly.
Our lawyers can search for evidence, present a strong case, and negotiate for a fair settlement. If we cannot reach a fair settlement, we can also take your case to court before a judge and jury.
For a free case review, call the personal injury attorneys at Cardamone Law today at (267) 651-7945.
When to Call a Lawyer After an Accident
Our personal injury lawyers represent victims of all sorts of accident cases. Whether you were hurt in a car accident, a slip and fall, or any other accident, call us right away to get help.
Your case is “worth” calling a lawyer whenever you face serious injuries that were someone else’s fault. If you have high-dollar medical bills, lost earnings, and pain and suffering, it becomes all the more important to have an attorney on your side.
You should also call as soon as you can to avoid any trouble with lost evidence or filing deadlines. While you typically have 2 years to file your case, some claims involve much earlier notice, especially when filed against government entities.
Additionally, it takes time to build a strong case, and you should give your lawyers as much time as you can to collect evidence and bring the case before a judge.
Do I Need to Go to Court for My Personal Injury Case?
While the vast majority of cases ultimately settle, you might still need to file in court.
Insurance claims essentially leave the decision of whether to pay or not up to the insurance company. If they refuse to pay or undervalue your claim, our lawyers can negotiate for a better deal, but taking them to court is the only way to force compliance.
In court, a neutral judge and jury decide the case, and they may be more willing to rule in your favor. Jurors can often put themselves in your shoes or have friends and family who have faced similar tragedies in the past, making them sympathetic to your case.
Once the case is in court, however, you can still settle. You are not required to go all the way to trial. Insurance companies will try to settle as quickly as they can to avoid ongoing trial costs, potentially getting you to a settlement faster because you went to court.
What Evidence Do I Need for My Injury Claim?
When filing an injury claim, our attorneys need as much evidence as we can get. However, the following pieces of evidence are some of the most important:
- Your testimony and testimony from other eyewitnesses
- Photos and video of the accident or the aftermath
- Records and reports detailing the accident
- Medical records and doctor’s reports detailing your injuries
- Pay stubs and other financial records detailing expenses and lost wages
- Expert testimony.
Many cases rely on each side coming to court and saying what happened to them, with other evidence – like photos – backing up their stories. However, when you have outside witnesses who corroborate what you say, your case is much stronger.
Records and reports can sometimes be introduced as evidence, but they are sometimes hearsay and cannot be admitted. When they are inadmissible, we can still use them to locate other evidence or witnesses.
The strongest evidence, however, is often security camera footage of the accident itself. This helps prove slip and falls, other property injuries, and even things like defective product injuries caught on a household or doorbell camera. If you were in a car crash and had a dash cam recording, that is also vital.
Do I Need to Get Records for My Injury Claim?
Our attorneys can seek out copies of most records and reports you might need. For example, we can send requests to your doctors for copies of all relevant medical records, and we can submit requests with the Bethlehem City or Bethlehem Township police for police reports.
If there are any records, bills, receipts, settlement offers, or other communications that go straight to you, please save them for your attorney.
We can also help you set up other assessments that might go toward your evidence, such as appointments with specialists, appraisals of property damage, and meetings with financial experts to analyze future lost earning potential.
Who Can Sue for an Injury Case in Bethlehem?
Usually, the victim sues in their own right for an accident. However, cases involving an injured child or a victim with mental disabilities can be filed on their behalf.
If you were partially at fault for your own accident, you can usually still file a claim under Pennsylvania’s comparative negligence laws. However, your damages are reduced by your percentage of fault, and you are blocked from recovery if your fault is higher than the defendant’s fault.
Spouses can also sue along with their injured spouse for the “loss of consortium” damages they face. This includes things like lost intimacy, lost household services, and other harms the spouse suffers because of the accident.
Lastly, the family of a deceased accident victim can also sue on their loved one’s behalf. Wrongful death lawsuits in Pennsylvania often have two parts: one representing the family for their own losses and one representing the deceased victim’s estate.
Who Do You Sue for an Accident?
Most accident cases have a clear at-fault party. For example, consider that in a car accident, you can see and identify the driver who hurt you. However, you may be able to sue more than just the driver, such as suing their employer if they were working when the crash happened.
Others have a less clear defendant. For example, if you were injured by a defective product, you might sue the manufacturer or the store. If you were injured on someone else’s property, you would sue the property owner, but if there is a store operating in a rented commercial space, you might sue the store instead.
We will examine the facts of your case to determine the right parties to sue.
Bethlehem Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help
For a free case evaluation, call Cardamone Law at (267) 651-7945.
