Legal Assistance After a Personal Injury Accident
Personal injury cases can be particularly difficult because there are often strong emotions and feelings behind them, and our Dayton, OH personal injury lawyer is here to help you. When someone is involved in an accident, they are dealing with the aftermath that comes along with it. Accidents can leave someone with life-lasting pain, emotional trauma, and even disabilities that will never go away. Personal injuries can happen in an accident, due to negligence, lack of safety warnings, machinery work, furnace work, and more. However, personal injuries can also be intentional. An example of this would be a personal injury due to an attack such as a mugging, or a robbery that ends in severe injury, and more. Attorney John Hilgeman helped form our law firm in 1994 and has been protecting clients’ rights ever since.
It is important if you or a loved one is ever involved in an accident due to the negligence of someone else to contact a lawyer from Cowan & Hilgeman right away. There is a statute of limitations that exists in every single state, and if you miss it, you will be unable to file in the future.
Table of Contents
- Legal Assistance After a Personal Injury Accident
- Common Types of Personal Injury Cases
- Dayton Personal Injury Infographic
- Dayton Personal Injury Statistics
- Dayton Personal Injury FAQs
- Cowan & Hilgeman, Dayton Personal Injury Lawyers
- Contact Our Dayton Personal Injury Lawyer Today
Mistakes to Avoid When Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer
If you have been hurt in an accident caused by another party, it is important to have our skilled lawyer on your side. He or she will help you pursue compensation and protect your legal rights. However, you don’t want to hire the wrong lawyer. Here are some common mistakes to avoid when hiring an attorney to help with your personal injury claim.
Do not hire a lawyer without the proper experience. Not just any lawyer can successfully handle a personal injury case. It is important to work with a lawyer who specializes in injury cases. In addition, you should try to hire an injury lawyer who has experience with your specific type of accident. If you, for example, suffered harm while under a medical professional’s care, you’ll want to work with a medical malpractice lawyer.
Do not select a lawyer without trial experience. Most personal injury cases get settled out of the courtroom. However, if the insurance company is not willing to offer a fair settlement and you have to go to court, you will want to work with an injury lawyer with trial experience. If the insurance company finds out that your lawyer does not have trial experience, they may try to take advantage of you.
Additionally, you do not want to choose a lawyer who promises you the most money. When you’re dealing with medical bills and other expenses from your injury, it may be comforting to hear a lawyer promise you a lot of money. However, an injury lawyer can’t accurately tell you how much your case is worth before gathering all the facts. If a lawyer promises you a lot of money during the first meeting, you may want to look for a different lawyer to represent you.
Common Types of Personal Injury Cases
- Car Accidents
Car accidents can happen anywhere. Most people need to drive to get to work, take children to school, go grocery shopping, and do other everyday activities. Because of the frequency of car accidents, you or a family member will likely face one at some point in your life. Moreover, car accidents happen, because people on the road are unpredictable. On the road, the driver behind the wheel could be inexperienced, they may be in a hurry and try to jump ahead of people, they may be known for being aggressive and getting away with nearly causing accidents, and more. It is always important to seek compensation for a car accident as soon as possible. You should speak with our lawyer rather than settling with insurance because insurance agents are trained to give you the least amount of damages possible for your case. After all, they are a business and depend on making more money than spending.
- Slip and Fall Cases
Slips and falls or another very common type of personal injury case, as they can happen anywhere. It can be a little more complicated to determine fault because you need to be able to prove that, without a doubt, there was negligence involved in your case. If the environment was unsafe, causing you to slip at all, this is good proof that another person was at fault for your accident. This is especially true when it comes to wet floors. While often wet floors at stores do have warning signs, sometimes they do not, and when this happens, the individual who is at fault and may have to pay compensation, based on the injury, maybe the store owner. You should always take pictures of the scene of the accident the day your injury occurred so that you have evidence to offer in court if needed.
- Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice lawsuits can be particularly complicated because you need to prove that whatever happened to you was due to the negligence of a medical professional, not something that would have happened on its own anyway. An experienced personal injury attorney will know how to offer useful proof in your case.
- Dog Bite Cases
If you or someone you care about was bitten by a dog, you may be entitled to compensation from the owner or handler, depending on the circumstances. You will be more likely to have a strong case if you were injured on public property, as private property cases with dog bites can be more complicated. A dog owner is expected to be able to control their pet. At the same time though, dogs are still animals, and sometimes, they can be unpredictable and bite strangers. This may be especially true if one’s dog has a reputation for doing so due to them being afraid of strangers or because they grew up in an abusive home. This is not excusing the behavior, but it is saying that an owner should be able to discipline their dogs, while also being aware that sometimes dog bite cases may happen, and they should be atoned for.
Dayton Personal Injury Infographic
Dayton Personal Injury Statistics
According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, there were 249,652 total car accidents in Ohio in 2022. In 5,831 of these, there were serious injuries involved. Our car accident lawyer will be able to help you with the investigations that are required to find out exactly who was at fault for the accident and how to recover damages. You might even have the opportunity to be awarded non-economic damages for pain and suffering, emotional distress, or loss of companionship. All of these are things that our legal team can help you further investigate and discover to ensure that you receive what you are owed in compensation for the accident. With all this being said, reaching out to our experienced lawyer who has recovered more that $25,000,000 in settlements for clients, as soon as you can after your accident is likely your best next step.
Dayton Personal Injury FAQs
What Evidence Do I Need?
In the aftermath of a personal injury accident, it will be imperative that you gather as much evidence as you can. If you were in a car wreck, then our lawyer will need the other driver’s details, photos and video of the scene, medical documentation for your injuries, names of witnesses, a copy of the police report, and anything else relevant to your case. The more evidence you have for our lawyer to work with, the better they can intervene to guide you.
Who Can Be Witnesses For My Case?
Many people can be useful witnesses for your case, including family members, friends, work associates, bystanders, and medical professionals. Whether these people were there or not, they can still be helpful. For instance, your significant other can be a witness who talks about how your daily life and health has been adversely affected since the accident. Or, maybe you had friends in the car with you as passengers when the car crash happened. They can support your side of the story in how the collision unfolded.
How Do I Know I Have a Case?
What turns an everyday accident into a personal injury case is when someone was seriously hurt and there is an individual, business, or another party who was at fault. Of course, accidents happen all the time in daily life and it’s not something we can always prevent. But when someone acts without regard for the safety of others and causes an accident because of it, they can be held accountable by law.
When Is The Right Time To Call a Lawyer?
To put it simply, if you have asked yourself whether you should call a lawyer, then the answer is probably yes and to do so right now. At a minimum, we can let you know if you have a case and what your options are moving forward. From there, you can decide what you want to do.
What Else Should Victims Know?
Many people do not realize the extent of their rights and compensation eligibility after a serious accident that someone else caused. Too many innocent people suffer physically and financially because they are being taken advantage of by money-hungry insurance companies and others who don’t have their best interests at heart. But we do, and we hope that you call us immediately if you have pressing questions that need answering. You may be entitled to so much more than just the insurance settlement you are being offered. Let our Dayton personal injury lawyer advocate for you from here on out.
How Will My Settlement Be Calculated?
Upon further evaluation of your case, your lawyer can let you know what your potential monetary award would be if you pursued a legal claim. Some of the most important things that your lawyer will need during the consultation are evidence and supporting documents based on your injury, damages, and loss. The more information that you have for your lawyer at the time of your appointment, the more readily they can help you and calculate an accurate estimated settlement.
What Shouldn’t I Do?
After notifying your insurance company about the accident, you may be contacted by an insurance adjuster. This person may come off very friendly and be curious about how you were feeling, but they are hoping you will make certain statements so that your claim can be greatly reduced or denied altogether. What you should not do during this time is provide a recorded statement to an insurance adjuster and then close your claim. By doing so, you could be hindering your chances at restitution and abandoning your ability to pursue further compensation if you need it in the future.
Why Do I Need To See The Doctor Right Away?
The reason why it’s so important to see a doctor after an accident even if you were not injured, is that you could still have sustained injury that needs medical attention. Furthermore, to have a strong personal injury case, you will need a paper trail that shows the extent of your injury. Medical documentation will be a key part of your claim if you decide to move forward. Not only is it for the betterment of your claim to see a doctor but also for the betterment of your health and recovery.
Who Can I Rely On For Legal Advice?
During this time, you may have friends and family who want to give you advice on what to do next. But the truth of the matter is that unless they are legal professionals, they are not going to be fully attuned to the nuances of your situation. Even if someone you know was also in a personal injury case, their circumstances are going to be different than yours. Our lawyer is someone who understands the legal system and can offer advice based on your situation. Be wary of lawyers that tell you they can guarantee a certain outcome for your case. There is no way to confirm that a desired verdict will happen, however, our reputable lawyer will work relentlessly for your behalf. Contact our team now for help.
Cowan & Hilgeman - Dayton Personal Injury Law Firm
12 W Monument Ave #100
Dayton, OH 45402
Contact Our Personal Injury Lawyer Today
When involved in an accident, it can be very detrimental and confusing. Making sure that you seek medical attention for any injuries is one of the most important steps, but the next is reaching out to our personal accident lawyer to better understand how you can receive compensation from the accident to ensure that everything that you lost is recovered. We know how challenging it can be to understand the laws and deal with insurance companies.
Filing a claim against the at-fault party will be your next step in regaining your life and ensuring that you are fully compensated for all the damages from the crash and how they could affect your life in the future as well. The best time to act after an accident should be immediate. Of course, after you have recuperated enough to reach out to our lawyer. Our attorney will help you figure out who was responsible for the accident. Some states use comparative negligence to determine compensation for the plaintiff when he or she could be partially at fault. This could result in your final settlement being reduced by the percentage of fault that you hold for the accident. We have been providing legal services to clients in Dayton for over 20 years. Call Cowan & Hilgeman to schedule an appointment with our personal injury attorney in Dayton today.
Client Review
"Very professional, definitely goes above and beyond!! Jack was always available to answer questions and explain things. Would definitely recommend!"
