When Should I Hire a Personal Injury Attorney in Connecticut?

To prove negligence for a personal injury case, we have to first determine the cause of an incident that caused you harm. Four types of personal injury cases dominate the court dockets in Connecticut.

Auto Accident

Auto collisions represent the most common type of personal injury case. The number of cases in Connecticut, as well as throughout the United States, has increased significantly since the introduction of digitally-operated communication devices. Driver distraction sits at the top of the list of reasons why many car accidents happen. Although driver distraction does not constitute intentional negligence, it does define unintentional negligence. The key to proving negligence in a car accident case involves collecting evidence, which might include video footage shot from the cameras installed at intersections.

Medical Malpractice

A recent study released by John Hopkins Hospital states more than 250,000 people in the United States die each year because of medical errors. Medical malpractice ranks as the third leading cause of death. From surgical mistakes to lack of training, medical facilities and the professionals that work there can be held legally liable for committing one or more acts of negligence. If you suffered injuries caused by a medical error, you should contact Morgan & Morgan as soon as possible after the medical procedure.

Product Liability

Product liability lawsuits can turn from individual cases to a lawsuit filed by a class of plaintiffs. The compensation for a product liability lawsuit typically is higher than the compensation awarded for other types of personal injury cases. This is because judges and juries award plaintiffs compensation for punitive damages, which can be higher than the damages awarded for economic reasons. Morgan & Morgan has successfully litigated dozens of product liability cases that paid out a considerable amount of money for our clients.

Premises Liability

Unless you are a trespasser, getting hurt on another party’s property might qualify you for just compensation to treat and rehabilitate your injuries. Public and private property owners assume a legal responsibility called duty of care, which means they must take steps to protect most of the people that visit their properties. Premises liability cases include poor security, trip and falls, and falling objects. If you suffered injuries while on another party’s property, one of the CT personal injury attorneys at Morgan & Morgan determines whether the other party breached the duty of care doctrine.

Although filing an insurance claim is a straightforward process, the same cannot be said for filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. During the free case evaluation you schedule with one of our CT personal injury attorneys, you will get a better understanding of what it takes to navigate the personal injury process.

Send the Other Party a Demand Letter

Sending a demand letter to the other party starts the legal process. The lawyer representing the other party receives the demand letter, which contains information such as your name and contact information. Your attorney describes why you have sent a demand letter by thoroughly explaining the events that unfolded before, during, and after the personal injury incident. After explaining the events that occurred, your lawyer submits a value for the monetary damages you seek. The other party’s attorney can either agree to the terms listed in the demand letter, refuse to pay the proposed value of your monetary damages, or not respond to the demand letter.

File a Lawsuit Seeking Monetary Damages

If the other party refuses the terms of your demand letter or does not respond to it, the next step of the legal process involves filing the paperwork required to initiate a civil lawsuit. Although one of our highly-rated CT personal injury attorneys can negotiate with the other party during the process of filing a civil lawsuit, the best time to negotiate a favorable settlement is during the discovery phase of the legal process.

Discovery

Discovery requires the legal representation for both parties to meet and exchange information that is relevant to the personal injury case. Each attorney shares information such as physical evidence, witness statements, and the statements made by experts in a related field.  For example, if you sue an auto manufacturer for designing a defective engine, statements made by expert witnesses like certified mechanics can boost the strength of your case. After discovery, you either reach a settlement or continue to prepare for trial.

Going to Trial

If the discovery phase of the legal process fails to resolve your case, then one of our CT personal injury attorneys prepares you for trial. You need to understand the types of questions you can expect to answer from both your legal counsel and the attorney representing the other party. A favorable judgment provides you with the financial resources to take care of economic losses, such as medical bills and the cost to repair property damage.

How does a judge or jury determine legal liability for a personal injury case? Connecticut law requires judges and juries to follow the comparative fault rule, which assigns a percentage of blame for a personal injury incident to each party. However, some personal injury cases result in the defendant assuming 100 percent of the fault.

Connecticut operates on the modified comparative fault principle, which means a plaintiff receives monetary damages only if the fault assigned to the plaintiff for causing the personal injury incident is lower than 50 percent. For example, if a judge or jury awards you $50,000 in monetary damages and assigns you 40 percent of the fault for causing the personal injury incident, your net compensation comes to $30,000. If a judge or jury assigns you 60 percent of the fault, you receive nothing in monetary damages because Connecticut prohibits plaintiffs from receiving compensation if they contributed to 51 percent or more of the fault.

The statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit in Connecticut is a bit confusing. Most personal injury lawsuits, such as a car accident or medical malpractice lawsuit, require the plaintiff to file a personal injury lawsuit within two years from the date the plaintiff suffered injuries caused by a personal injury incident. However, you have three years to file a civil lawsuit for a product liability case.

Regardless of the type of personal injury case, you should file a civil lawsuit as soon as possible after the incident that caused your injuries. First, you need to pay off expensive medical bills and if you lost your job because of your injuries, you have to bridge the gap between expenses and a substantially reduced income. Second, filing a lawsuit as close to the date of the personal injury incident as possible ensures the judge or jury hearing your case gets the most accurate accounts of the incident from witnesses.

Hiring one of the best CT personal injury attorneys gives you the best chance to recover from financial losses. Economic damages represent the costs that are directly related to the personal injury incident. You should request compensation for medical bills like diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and physical therapy sessions. Economic damages also cover the money you lost in wages, as well as the cost of repairing property damage.

Non-economic damages cover non-tangible costs such as acute anxiety and mental anguish. One of our CT personal injury attorneys calculates a value for pain and suffering based on the amount of money requested to cover the cost of economic damages. The judge or jury also might award you punitive damages, which does not cover the cost of economic or non-economic damages. Punitive damages send a message to the defendant not to commit one or more acts of negligence again.

To learn more about the talented team of litigators at Morgan & Morgan, read the reviews left by our clients on Yelp and Facebook. You should discover common themes, such as how we conduct business with integrity and transparency. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has given us its highest reputation rating of A+ for fulfilling our commitment to helping our clients receive the compensation they deserve.

Schedule a free case evaluation today to start the legal process for a personal injury claim.