Personal Injury Lawsuits in Philadelphia

When you contact Morgan and Morgan either by phone or through email, the first item of discussion regards the type of personal injury incident that caused your injuries. Knowing the type of personal injury incident allows us to assign an attorney who specializes in handling your type of case.

Hunting Accidents

Hunting is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the Keystone State, and it is also one of the most common causes of personal injury incidents. From an accident at a local range to an incident that occurs in one of the state’s wilderness areas, hunters are highly vulnerable to Murphy’s Law. Both range owners and the caretakers of state and federal parks are responsible for protecting the health of customers and visitors.

Car Accidents

Philadelphia is home to some of the most congested roads and highways of any other city in the United States. Reckless driving is an especially common cause of vehicle collisions, which can result in injuries such as whiplash, fractured bones, and spinal cord damage. The key to getting an insurance claim approved for a car accident involves submitting persuasive physical evidence, such as traffic camera footage.

Slips and Falls

Businesses owe a duty of care to customers by providing a safe shopping environment. One of the most common causes of accidents at area businesses is slip and fall incidents, which occur most often at businesses such as restaurants, shopping malls, and grocery stores. Beverage spills that do not receive prompt attention from a staff member cause most slip and fall incidents. The injuries most commonly associated with slip and fall incidents include a fractured wrist and damaged knee ligaments.

Medical Malpractice

When you receive medical care, whether it is in the form of a regular checkup or an intricate surgical procedure, you expect the healthcare provider to heal what ails you. However, some healthcare providers breach the duty of care doctrine by committing one or more acts of medical malpractice. Some of the most common types of medical malpractice cases include misdiagnosis, surgical errors, and incorrectly prescribed medications.

One of the most important legal services provided by personal injury lawyers in Pennsylvania is to file all the proper legal documents for a civil lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Every state sets a deadline for filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Most states have established the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit between two and four years, although a few states have created a deadline as long as six years or as short as one year for plaintiffs to take legal action. Pennsylvania gives plaintiffs two years to file a personal injury lawsuit. The clock typically starts ticking for taking legal action on the day of a personal injury incident. However, some personal injury incidents do not cause injuries that show immediate symptoms. For delayed symptom cases, the clock starts ticking on the day when a plaintiff received a diagnosis confirming the development of an injury.

Two years gives your attorney more than enough time to collect evidence and interview witnesses, but you should file a personal injury lawsuit as quickly as possible after an accident. You can expect to be responsible for paying off debts such as medical bills and the costs associated with repairing property damage. Filing a personal injury lawsuit as soon as possible after an accident helps you recover financial losses faster than if you wait until right before the expiration of the statute of limitations. In addition to recovering financial losses, personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia prefer to interview witnesses right after a personal injury incident to receive the most accurate information.

If you do not meet the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit, the court clerk processing your case has the legal power to remove it from the judicial docket.

Most personal injury cases do not reach the trial phase of the litigation process. Instead, the attorneys representing both parties try to work out a settlement. One of the personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia from Morgan and Morgan can help you avoid a costly and time-consuming trial by following three important steps.

Calculate a Reasonable Settlement Value

Calculating a fair settlement value requires your personal injury attorney to consider two primary types of compensation. First, your attorney calculates a value for economic damages that factors in the value of medical bills, receipts for property damage, and timekeeping records that demonstrate the value of lost wages. Your lawyer also considers non-economic damages, which do not come with a price tag. Non-economic damages include emotional distress issues like fear and anxiety. Calculating the value of non-economic damages involves using a formula that factors in the value of economic damages.

Send a Demand Letter

One of the personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia from Morgan and Morgan sends a demand letter to your insurance company and/or the attorney representing the defendant in a personal injury case. A demand letter presents your proposed settlement value, as well as how your lawyer calculated the settlement value. Your attorney considers the evidence and witness accounts to present a thorough description of what transpired before, during, and after the personal injury incident. After mailing the demand letter via certified mail, the other party has 30 days to respond to it.

Negotiate a Settlement

One of the personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia from Morgan and Morgan submits an offer through a demand letter. The other party can either accept or reject the initial offer, or send back a counteroffer. Your lawyer can accept the counteroffer or submit another counteroffer, which can lead to a series of counteroffers until both parties either agree to a settlement or decide to move to the trial phase of the litigation process. Negotiations can occur at any time during the legal process, but they unfold most often during discovery. The discovery phase of the litigation process allows both parties to share evidence and witness statements. Sometimes, a judge orders both parties to try to negotiate a settlement.

After you sustained one or more injuries as a result of a personal injury incident, contacting one of the personal injury attorneys at Morgan and Morgan helps you file a persuasive insurance claim, as well as a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. The question is not whether you should hire a qualified personal injury attorney, but what qualifications should the lawyer you hire have before taking legal action.

Proven Record of Success

Although experience matters when choosing the right personal injury attorney to represent you, it is not strictly the number of years that defines success. The personal injury attorney that you hire must be able to demonstrate a record of success in gaining approval for insurance claims and winning favorable legal judgments. Morgan and Morgan can show you our record of success which dates back to the opening of our first office in 1988.

Specializes in Handling Your Type of Personal Injury Case

Each type of personal injury case requires the legal support of a specialized litigator. For example, if you sustained injuries caused by a defective product, you should hire one of the personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia from Morgan and Morgan who specializes in handling product liability cases. Each type of personal injury practice requires specialized legal skills, particularly when it comes to collecting and analyzing physical evidence.

Responsive Communicator

Taking legal action and filing an insurance claim usually produces considerable stress, most of which develops because of the frustration generated by delays and requests for more information. The last thing you need is for your attorney not to return emails, phone calls, and text messages. Staying informed about the status of your case represents one of the most important criteria you should search for in the best personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia.

The personal injury lawyers from Morgan and Morgan quickly return all forms of communications, if not the same day, then no later than the first thing the following morning.

Schedule a free case evaluation today with one of the personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia from Morgan and Morgan.