Posted on April 18, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
For you to be able to file a personal injury case, you need to show the “smoking gun” – to put the fault and responsibility of the injuries and damages you sustained squarely on the court of the party you are suing. Proving the other party’s liability is the very foundation of a personal injury lawsuit. If you and your lawyer can’t prove how the other person is responsible for the pain, suffering and damages, then you can’t expect to claim for personal injuries.
What is liability?
For someone to be considered liable, it must be proven that:
- There was a duty of care that the party owes you, the complainant
- That duty was violated/breached by the other party
- There is a direct relationship to this breach of duty and injuries suffered by the complainant
- You suffered from damages and loss because of the injuries
Legal Duty to Use Care. The relationship between the complainant and the defendant must be that the defendant has the responsibility to ensure the safety of the complainant by virtue of their “relationship”. For instance, a doctor has an oath to do his patients no harm – the medical world has stringent standards of service and a doctor can lose his license for serious breaches of duty of care. A manufacturer has the obligation to ensure that products sold will not cause injure its buyers. A driver has the responsibility to ensure that passengers and pedestrians will not suffer harm from his driving. A property owner/mall manager has the duty to ensure shoppers are safe inside the mall. A homeowner who has a pool should make sure no one drowns in the pool.
Breach of Duty of Care. Simply put, the breach would be something that the other party should do and did not do or something that the other party should not have done but did. This is if it can be shown that another person who is reasonable could have foreseen the risk and done something to prevent it. Because of either an act or an omission of an act, this party put you at risk and subsequently injured you.
Causation. Of course, there can be no personal injury lawsuit based simply on the possibility or risk of injury. You can’t sue because conditions have been made risky by the other party. An actual injury must occur. And this injury must be caused by the other party’s acts or lack thereof. For instance, you can’t sue because there is a puddle in the floor, causing it to be slippery. You can’t sue the mall owner because of the slippery floor. However, if you slipped on the floor while walking along the mall and you can prove that the owner should have done something about it, you can sue for personal injury. Finally, an injury must actually occur. If a duty is breached and no injury occurs, there is no negligence claim. Furthermore, the breach must be the actual and proximate cause of the injury. If, for example, the person operating the chainsaw is using it in an unsafe manner, but you are injured by something unrelated to his or her unsafe actions, the claim of negligence would not be valid.
Damages. You need to show actual damages. This includes monetary damages due to medical treatment, the necessity to hire housekeeping or child care, lost income and so on.
Other considerations:
- Placement of warnings. This is especially true for product liability cases. If there is a reasonable risk or safety issue in a toy or product and the manufacturer did not provide the proper warning about the risk and a person is injured, that person can sue for personal injury claims.
- Your own acts. Duty of care may not exist, depending on your own acts as well. For instance, if you were careless or were actually trespassing, duty of care will be seen in a different light.
- Levels of liability:
Strict liability. The other party can be held strictly liable if it can be proven that he could have prevented the injury and damages but did not do so. This is regardless of whether you had some part in the accident. For instance, if a dog owner already knew that his dog has a history of attacking other people but did not restrain the dog properly, he is liable.
Comparative negligence. It may be that both you and the other party have their share in causing the accident. Comparative negligence may result in a smaller amount of compensation, since you were partly to blame for your injuries.
Proving Liability
Proving that the other party is liable may be a complicated matter, depending on the type of case you have. Even when you hire a lawyer to help with the lawsuit, it may take time and considerable expense. It’s best to ensure that you have sufficient resources to battle it out. You may need lawsuit settlement funding so that you have funds to pay for medical expenses, your family’s everyday needs, as well as costs related to the lawsuit.
If you are in need of lawsuit funding, you can come to FastLawsuitMoney.com. Often called lawsuit loans, this kind of funding provides cash without requiring you to present employment records or credit ratings. Plus, it is the kind of funding that you only need to pay back when the lawsuit settles. In case, the lawsuit fails to settle, you are under no obligation to repay the funds.
Posted on March 13, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
A parent’s love for a child is pure and expansive. Parents will willingly go through suffering if only to spare their child. That is why it is especially painful for a parent to see a child go through pain and suffering as a result of injuries sustained from an accident.
Causes of Injury for Children
A child is especially vulnerable since he is unable to protect himself and is dependent for others to protect and care for him. There are a number of possibilities a child can be injured:
- Car or school bus accidents compounded by the lack of seat belts
- Defective products or equipment (playground facilities, unsafe school buildings, school buses, etc.)
- Accidents that can be attributed to lack of supervision or poor security (while your child is in school or in other child care facilities)
- Slips or falls
- While in a playmate’s house
- Pool accidents
- Medical malpractice
People who may be considered liable for your child’s injuries include school bus drivers, teachers, child care providers, parents (of other children), daycare providers, churches, camps and their counselors and stores. The liability may be based on the age and development level of a child as to the level of care a responsible adult is expected to provide.
Of course, no amount of money can compensate for your child’s traumatic experience. But, as a parent, you should seek compensation for your child’s injuries. The compensation should cover medical expenses, as well as any expenses related to the child’s recovery.
Aside from medical expenses, the compensation should also cover:
- future medical bills
- Loss of earning capacity/loss of future wages
- Pain and suffering
- Disability or disfigurement
- Loss of consortium of enjoyment of life
In many instances, you can fight for your child’s right to compensation by filing a personal injury lawsuit in behalf of your child. This will mean the usual requirements for a personal injury lawsuit:
- Documentation of the injury and its cause
- Records of medical bills
- Records of doctor’s reports
When the personal injury lawsuit for your child is in the court’s hands, a judge will approve of the settlement, as well as designate the portion of fees that will go to medical expenses, lawyer’s fees and out-of-pocket expenses for you as your child’s caregiver. Once approved and paid, the settlement will usually be kept in trust and a trustee will be appointed. When the child reaches 18 years of age or when a court order directs, a child can recover the settlement. As a guardian, you can also petition the court to release funds needed for present medical expenses, particularly if these are emergency treatments.
Aside from these, you can also try to file for compensation for your losses. Caring for an injured child is no simple matter. This may mean giving up your job so that you can take care of the child. In the tragic event that you lose your child, you can also sue for the loss of enjoyment of your child’s company and love (loss of consortium).
Some considerations
Here are some areas you should be aware of for personal injury lawsuits covering your child:
- Time limits. When the lawsuit covers government employees, there may be a time limit for you to file a lawsuit claiming for compensation. Check with your county, city or state as to the time limits that cover your case.
- The need for legal advice. Avoid signing anything for your child’s behalf without first obtaining legal advice.
Lawsuit Funding for your Child’s Medical Treatment?
When your child’s injuries require extensive treatment, you may feel the urgency to get some funds. For one, you will desire to give your child the best treatment possible. This may make you especially vulnerable to the other party’s attempts to get you to agree to a settlement. This may mean that you will be receiving a lower amount that will hardly cover your child’s present medical expenses, let alone any future medical expenses and other costs related the your child’s injury.
It may be a challenge to get lawsuit funding for a personal injury lawsuit covering your child. However, there may be case where a lawsuit loan is possible, when this covers your own lawsuit or demands for compensation due to lost wages and loss of consortium.
It is best for you to consult a lawyer and to lodge your application for settlement funding. FastLawsuitMoney.com will evaluate the application and determine whether you are eligible. Once your application is approved, funding can be obtained within the day.
Posted on February 26, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
“I’m innocent.” This is what you can hear in prisons or inside holding cells. And the cynic in us will answer, “Yeah, right.” But there are actually times that this is the truth. The justice system we have is good but it is not perfect. The process that has protected the rights of others and meted out justice may sometimes also victimize others.
The justice system has checks and balances to ensure that someone is guilty before the verdict of imprisonment is handed out. There is the tenet that someone is innocent until proven guilty, that one cannot be arrested without due legal cause and that the prosecution has to show guilt beyond reasonable doubt. But, there are some unlucky ones that fall through the cracks in the justice system.
Take the case of Tim Masters, who was imprisoned for 10 years on a murder charge. Or Barry Gibbs, who was sent to jail or 19 years on a murder charge which turned up to be a frame job by a shady detective. Or the number of men who languished in jail for how many years on rape charges. They suffered for some years but were later released from prison when it was proven that they were innocent, after all. Particularly useful are the modern technological advances such as DNA matching and computer forensics.
The effects of false imprisonment
Being imprisoned for a crime you did not commit is no simple matter. For one, you can never get back the years you lost – years that you could have spent with your family, years that are filled with various opportunities. There are also scars that, although visible, are there. Pain and suffering (mental anguish, physical abuse as well as the loss of reputation) during an imprisonment can be real.
That is why the Larimer County in Colorado awarded Tim Masters with a $4.1 million settlement for his wrongful imprisonment. And if you, too, have been a victim of false imprisonment, you can also file a claim for damages.
Even if a person has been exonerated from the crime and released from prison, it may take a huge amount of adjustment to put the broken pieces of his life together. For one, he or his family has suffered some financial setbacks. If the person imprisoned is the breadwinner, this may mean that the family has lost substantial income and may have seen the foreclosure of his house and may also have depleted the family’s savings.
Filing a lawsuit for False Imprisonment or False Arrest
The Constitution protects us from wrongful imprisonment, as well as false arrest. According to the Fourteenth Amendment of the constitution, “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.” Thus, a victim of wrongful imprisonment or false arrest has the legal recourse to demand for compensation.
This will be quite a challenge – a lawsuit against the government or the state can take years to settle. And while they are waiting for that much-needed lawsuit settlement, lawsuit funding can come and fill in the gap.
Lawsuit Funding and How it Can Help
For someone who has been wrongfully imprisoned, a lawsuit loan is a precious lifeline, especially as you already know that your lawsuit will eventually be paid. The lawsuit loan is non-recourse funding – even when the lawsuit is lost or fail to settle, you don’t have to worry about paying the money back.
Settlement funding will help you get the compensation due you, rather than being forced to accept a smaller-than-expected settlement just because you can’t afford not to say “yes” to the offer because of financial constraints. It may not fully pay you back for the years and opportunities lost, but it can help make the journey towards healing and recovery easier.
Posted on February 23, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
Driving under the influence. Even though people know the dangers of doing it, and have seen countless ads reminding them about it, it seems that alcohol still has the power to make people do something completely foolish and hazardous.
2010 statistics show that over 30% of fatal accidents involved drunk drivers, with a higher percentage happening starting midnight to 3 a.m. In the same year, the practice of drunk driving has claimed the lives of 459 people. Simply put, it simply is not a good idea to entrust a vehicle to a person impaired by alcohol – it turns the vehicle into a lethal weapon.
The question is, when filing a drunk driving lawsuit, who is considered liable? Well, the obvious answer would be the driver. Even with the influence of alcohol, a driver should know full well that he should ask a designated driver to take the wheels. Having possession a driver’s license is both a privilege and a responsibility and one of a driver’s legal responsibilities is not taking the wheel when under the influence of alcohol.
However, aside from the drunk driver, there are also other parties that can be considered liable. These include:
- Parents of underage drivers (who drove under the influence). The rationale behind this is that parents are ideally the ones who can make sure that their children drive safely. In some states, parents are required to sign the driver’s license application for applicants who are below 18. Also, parents usually are the registered owner of the vehicle and thus present another level of liability. And, if the teen is having behavioral problems, parents are considered liable for the acts of their troubled teens. These troubled teens are those with a history of substance abuse and bad behavior. Some states tend to tack on punitive damages for a parent’s failure to get a misbehaving child some help and strict supervision, particularly with the use of a vehicle.
- Other parents/adults under the social host liability. A parent or another adult who serves alcohol in his home to a minor.
- Bartender or waitress who served alcohol. Restaurant and bar owners, as well as their employees, may also be held liable if the bartender or waiter continued pouring out the drinks for someone who is visibly drunk and allow that someone to drive away.
- Liquor stores, under dram shop liability. Liquor stores may be held liable if they sold alcohol to a person that is already obviously intoxicated.
Being a Victim of Drunk Driving
If you are injured as a result of a drunk driving incident, you can file claims against the erring driver. You can claim compensation for:
- Medical expenses (past, present and future costs of treating the injuries)
- Loss of income or loss of job
- Loss of consortium or wrongful death (for loved ones of a person disabled or killed by the drunk driving incident)
- Disability and disfigurement
- Pain and suffering
- Punitive damages (under some states)
The injuries caused by a drunk driving incident could be catastrophic. It may require you to spend a considerable amount for medical treatment and therapy. By the time you are able to see the settlement of your lawsuit, you may have medical bills piled up. Add to this the fact that your injuries have resulted in the loss of your job. At this difficult time, you will need someone to turn to to give you the cash you need.
Lawsuit funding can help by making it easier for drunk driving victims to have access to cash that they otherwise cannot get through other ways. With settlement funding, families of victims can have the peace of mind that comes from the assurance that they can still pay bills and meet their daily needs, aside from paying the hospital and other medical expenses.
A reputable provider of lawsuit loans would be FastLawsuitMoney.com. We are eager to provide you with quick and easy lawsuit funding to help you go through the drunk diving lawsuit. We understand that you don’t need the added worry of how to pay for the next bill or how to have money for your treatments. You can focus on working with your lawyer to strengthen your case so that you can obtain the compensation you justly deserve.
Posted on January 23, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
Were you hurt or injured while you are on another person’s property? Did you hurt your back from a slip and fall incident at the mall? Were you bitten by a neighbor’s dog while you were visiting? Were you injured due to an accident in an amusement park? Then you can file a premises liability lawsuit to claim for compensation for your personal injuries.
Premises Liability
If someone owns or maintains a piece of property (such as a house and lot, a mall, an amusement park or similar other properties), they are liable for any injuries another person incurs while he is on that property. The liability will also extend to public sidewalks that are right in front of the property and is used for access. Premises liability covers both private property (such as a home) and public property (such as a mall, an amusement park or even a government property).
A property owner is considered liable if he has been negligent in ensuring that his property is a safe environment. This is referred to in law as “duty of care”. A property owner’s duty of care depends on the category of the person injured, whether he is an invitee, a licensee or a trespasser.
Invitees. In a word, these are customers, people who enter the property for the property owner’s commercial benefit. Property owners are required to issue warnings for hazardous conditions (i.e. “Slippery when wet.”) as well as provide protection against such hazardous conditions.
Licensees. These are people who are given implied or express permission to enter the property, although the reasons for entry are not for the property owner’s commercial benefit. For licensees, liability exists when:
- There was no reasonable care on the property owner’s part to make sure that the property was safe.
- The property owner failed to warn the licensee of the unsafe condition.
- There existed an unreasonable risk of harm to the licensee and that the licensee had no had no way to discover that danger.
Trespassers. This pertains to people who enter the property without the property owner’s permission (whether implied or expressed). Trespassers enter the property not for the owner’s benefit but for their own purposes.
Each state varies on the level of duty of care and liability linked to these three categories.
Types of premises liability
By its nature, premises liability covers a lot of instances. These include:
- Slip and fall accidents, where the injury is due to someone tripping or slipping due to slippery or uneven flooring or because something caused the fall (i.e. a banana peel or a bottle of mineral water). Other factors include poor lighting and broken handrails and stairs.
- Burn injuries, where the fire should have been preventable.
- Animal attack, where pets or animals kept on the property injured visitors or passers-by.
- Accidental drowning, where the drowning resulted from a failure to place adequate safety measures (i.e. indicators of the depth of the pool, warning against trespassers, a secured gate, etc.)
- Assault, where the property owner failed to provide adequate security.
Premises liability also includes injuries due to faulty equipment such as escalators and elevators.
Claiming For Premises Liability
If you are a victim of an accident due to a property owner’s negligence and failure to provide the necessary safety measures, you can seek compensation through a premises liability lawsuit. With this, you can claim for the following:
- Medical expenses (both present and future). This includes doctor’s bills, hospital bills and medication.
- Loss of wages, or eventually loss of job
- Physical therapy expenses
- Expenses related to adaptive equipment or special aides
- Pain and suffering
Filing a lawsuit will not be easy. There will be court-related costs that you will need to shoulder, even if you get a lawyer on a contingency basis. Also, as your lawsuit is being heard, you will need to ensure that you are financial stable. There will still be bills to be paid, a family who needs food on the table and a roof over their heads. Your financial situation will be more problematic due to the fact that you also have medical bills to pay as well. And the injury may have resulted in loss of wages, or if it is catastrophic enough, the loss of your job.
Lawsuit Funding for Ready Cash
During this difficult time, it will be helpful to consider applying for lawsuit funding to help tide you over while you are waiting for the case to be settled. Lawsuit funding provides you with quick and ready cash to pay for your medical bills, living expenses, and other needs.
The great thing about lawsuit funding (or lawsuit loan as some may call it) is that it is not based on your credit rating or your employment status. Rather your application will be reviewed based on the strength of your case.
The important thing is you go with a lawsuit settlement funding provider that you can trust, such as FastLawsuitMoney.com. FastLawsuitMoney.com has been helping premises liability complainants by providing a simplified applications process. Once approved, you can get the funding within 24 hours. Because of this, you are able to negotiate and fight for a fair and just settlement for the injuries you have incurred.
Posted on January 20, 2012 by Fast Lawsuit Team
It comes as an unpleasant surprise. You’re walking along, enjoying your day when suddenly, wham! You trip up on a section of loose carpeting or slip due to a wet floor.
A slip, trip or a fall can be mildly embarrassing. It can also be catastrophic. While with the first you just stand up and brush it off, the latter may result in huge medical bills, lost time at work or even a lost job, considerable pain and suffering, or worse, death. Slip and falls can result to a wide array of serious injuries such as sprains, broken bones, head, back or neck injuries, brain injuries and permanent disability.
Slip and falls usually happen in places where there is a lot of foot traffic. These include department stores, hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, amusement parks and the like.
Slip and Fall Lawsuits
Slip and Fall Lawsuits fall under Premises Liability. Under this principle, property owners or those that maintain or manage the property have the duty to ensure that that property is safe from hazard. Any failure to act or any direct act of the property owner and representatives that resulted in a slip and fall may result in the property owner being liable for any damages incurred.
Potential hazards that cause slips, trips and falls include:
- Wet floor or water spills
- Uneven, damaged or unstable flooring
- Sidewalks that have potholes or are uneven
- Presence of snow, ice or puddles (esp. on the sidewalk)
- Damaged or broken stairs, handrails and railings
- Torn or loose carpeting
- Narrow entrances, hallways or stairwells
If you have hurt yourself in a slip and fall accident, you have the right to seek for compensation, particularly for:
- Your medical expenses (for ongoing and future treatment)
- Lost wages or loss of job
- Expenses for physical therapy
- Related medication
- Out of pocket expenses related to the treatment and therapy (gasoline to drive to and from the hospital or clinic, hotel and food expenses of the caregiver, cost of childcare or housekeeping, etc.)
- Cost of adaptive equipment
- Pain and suffering
The challenges of a slip and fall lawsuit
When you have been involved in a slip and fall accident, you should go to a hospital or seek medical attention as soon as possible, even if you feel “okay” right after the incident. This is to show that you acted to lessen the damage and physical injuries caused by the slip and fall. You also need to prove that the injuries were directly caused by the slip and fall.
When you file a slip and fall lawsuit, you need to prove that the property owner/manager was negligent, that it was not due to your carelessness and that the injuries you sustained were the result of a slip and fall in that property. There is also a need to prove that the property owner/manager knew about or should have known about a hazardous condition and failed to act to correct it. The owner (or their insurer) can also fight back by showing that the incident was in fact your fault because the condition was open and obvious and you should have acted to avoid the incident.
There is also the stigma connected with slip and fall lawsuits. Due to greedy complainants and their lawyers, there is a high level of doubt linked with slip and fall cases. As a result, lawsuits arising from these incidents are usually highly scrutinized cases and thus take longer to settle. It is also harder to prove your case if your injuries were soft tissue injuries, which are generally harder to prove.
Lawsuit Funding for a slip and fall lawsuit
The injuries sustained due to a slip and fall incident may be serious enough that the victim is unable to go to work. If this is your case, you are facing challenging times ahead. Aside from your medical bills, you also need to provide for your family, pay your debts as well as cover expenses related to your lawsuit.
The financial stress you are undergoing may leave you vulnerable to low-ball settlement offers from the other party. You may be sorely tempted to accept the offer even though it is obviously less than what the case is worth had you waited for it to continue through to the end.
Legal funding can be your lifeline during this time. Often also referred to as a lawsuit loan, this provides ready cash during your time of dire need, without you having to lose out on what the case is really worth. The funding is provided based on the strength of your case, and unlike a real cash loan, you don’t have to pay it back if the case does not come to a settlement.
Going for a lawsuit settlement advance is relatively easy, especially if you are working with FastLawsuitMoney.com. FastLawsuitMoney.com is committed to help complainants like you fight for fair and just compensation for their injuries. Upon approval, you can get your cash within 1 day.
Posted on October 8, 2011 by Fast Lawsuit Team
Back injury claims are one of the most common lawsuit claims involving car accidents. And the back is particularly susceptible to injury during a car accident. By “back”, we refer to the middle and lower spine, as well as the tissues and muscles that surround it. Injuries in this area may range from mild to severe. Back injuries usually result from trauma or from a degenerative process that is triggered by trauma – the trauma in this case would be the collision or car accident.
The back usually bears considerable impact in a collision, even if the passenger or driver is wearing his or her seatbelt. For instance, the body may be thrown to and fro as a result of a collision and this “shaking” may cause damage to the back area. There are also instances where the back is damaged due to a direct impact with a car.
Types of Back Injury Claims Resulting from Car Accidents
The following are the kinds of back injury claims in car accident lawsuits:
- Minor Back Injury. Muscle strain or injury, as well as damage to the spinal disc/s where the pain may last from two to five years. Surgery is usually not needed in this injury.
- Back injury that requires surgery. This moderate kind of back injury usually results from damage to the spinal cord and will require surgery. This may also include a condition where the spine aged prematurely as a result of damage sustained during a car accident.
- Serious or life-threatening back injury. This kind of injury may result in a permanent disability where organ function is impaired – there are problems with regards to the functions of the bladder, the bowel and even the sexual organs. This kind of injury may even lead to permanent paralysis.
Items included in the claim:
- Hospital and doctor’s expenses. This includes expenses for your hospital stay, doctors’ fees, diagnostic and lab fees, payments for x-rays and CT scans.
- Rehabilitation expenses. These involve expenses related to therapy, as well as of adapting your home environment to your injury.
- Other losses resulting from the injury. This includes days of work lost or job lost due to the accident, incidental expenses during a hospital stay (food expenses, transportation expenses, money to pay for housekeeper/child care while primary care giver is in the hospital).
- Compensation for pain and suffering. In some states, compensation for this may be included in the lawsuit filed. There is no set amount for compensation (and sometimes the judge or jury will determine the amount of compensation), although some states post a limit as to how much compensation should be awarded.
The insurance company of the party at fault will look at the evidence you hold and provide you with a settlement offer. Usually, if you don’t have legal representation or don’t know how to negotiate, the other party may try to settle the claim for a much lower amount.
However, it will be helpful to know that the amount of the claim will be based on the following factors:
- Who is at fault and what level of fault is attributed to each party
- The extent of the damage caused by the car crash
- The severity of the back injury and other injuries sustained
- The amount of physical damage suffered and whether these are temporary or permanent
- The number of days of work missed, as well as the kind of job that may be lost because of the injuries
- How the quality of life will be affected by the injury
- What actions you have made after the accident to minimize the injury sustained (Did you immediately go to the doctor? Did you have tests taken? Did you ignore the symptoms of the injury until it resulted in further injury?)
When you suspect a back injury
It is important to seek medical advice and attention immediately after a car accident or collision. You may not readily notice the effects of a back injury (especially if you used painkillers right after the car accident). The doctor will be able to assess any damage incurred during the collision by taking x-rays, or ordering a CAT scan or MRI.
Lawsuit Funding
Back injuries may be a challenge to prove during a car accident lawsuit claim. But there is quite a number of successful back injury claims. However, it is important to note that the legal process of negotiating with the party at fault, filing the lawsuit, presenting the case and awaiting the judgment and settlement may be a long and drawn out process. In the meantime, you may have to spend for your back injury treatments, as well as for other court-related costs. Perhaps, during this time, your back injury may have resulted in your not being able to get back to work. You may not just be losing income but your job as well. During this time, you may be faced with mounting bills and debt, without any income in sight.
This is where lawsuit funding can help. Lawsuit funding will enable you to continue with your back injury lawsuit claim and fight for the compensation that is due you. The proceeds from the settlement funding will help tide you over until you are finally able to get the settlement for the lawsuit. You are able to pay off any debt, spend for your treatment and fund any court-related costs without having to reach deeply into your pockets (or taking off a second mortgage on your home).
Lawsuit funding, which is often referred to as lawsuit loans, helps you stick it out instead of being tempted to accept a lowball settlement offer from the other party just to get your claim over and done with.
For fast and easy lawsuit loans, you can go to a reputable provider, such as FastLawsuitMoney.com. We specialize in providing settlement loans after we are able to evaluate your case. Don’t worry – settlement loans are provided not based on your employment record or your credit history, but on the merits of your case.
Posted on September 7, 2011 by Fast Lawsuit Team
So you were involved in a car accident where someone bumped into your rear fender while he was on the phone. You were jostled a bit but did not feel worse for the wear. He hands you his car insurance information where you claim for damages for your dented bumper. Your doctor prescribed some pain relievers and the pain was gone. And that ends your misadventures with that careless driver – or does it?
Later on, you may discover that your back is hurting something fierce. What you may be suffering from are hidden injuries caused by the car accident.
Soft Tissue Injuries
These are caused by soft tissue injuries in your back, neck and spinal area. Generally, there is some bruising and damage to the tendons, muscles and ligaments of your body. The pain may subside over time or it may continue to cause you suffering and be detrimental to your quality of life or your ability to do your work.
The most common of these injuries is whiplash. This usually results from rear-end collisions and is marked by pains in the neck, shoulder and head, dizziness, stiffness in the neck and burning sensations. Other kinds of soft tissue injuries include tendonitis, bursitis, deep muscle contusions or bruises, overstretched ligaments and joint dislocations.
Soft Tissue Injuries and Car Accident Lawsuits
The problem with soft tissue injuries is that they often go unnoticed and untreated, or, the doctor prescribes some pain killers and once the pain goes away you stop thinking about it.
When it comes to car accidents, it is much easier to detect “hard” injuries – wounds or broken bones. You are able to act accordingly and file a lawsuit to get you compensation for these more obvious injuries. It is also harder to prove soft tissue injuries, as these don’t show in x-rays, CT scans, MRIs and other diagnostic tests usually done after a car accident. These tests usually do not indicate abnormality but that does not necessarily mean that the injury does not exist.
It is important that you remain on the lookout for possible soft tissue injuries following a car accident. Please note that the symptoms may not show immediately – it may take a few days for you to see the symptoms, even for an injury that may prove significant. You will also need to see a medical specialist to ensure that no such injury has occurred.
When filing for a personal injury lawsuit for soft injuries due to a car accident, you can claim for medical costs, as well as financial losses and psychological trauma caused by the soft tissue injury. The claim may include loss of income due to your inability to perform tasks you previously were able to do, as well as how the injury has made a negative impact on your day-to-day living.
When filing for a personal injury lawsuit, you should keep records of the following:
- Police reports and pictures of the car accident and your injuries
- Doctors’ reports and hospital bills, this includes the diagnosis of the injury, as well as the length the treatment is expected to take
- Documentation of how the injury has affected your daily life
- Details of the treatment
Also, you should have gotten medical help immediately after the car accident. That way, the other party cannot assert that the injury was not caused by the car accident but by other incidents unrelated to the accident. It is important to be able to show that the other party is liable for your injuries and loss.
And as you are awaiting the results of the lawsuit and for it to settle, you can consider getting what is called a lawsuit funding or a lawsuit settlement advance.
Lawsuit Funding for Soft Tissue Injury Cases
Lawsuit funding may help in ensuring that you have the necessary funds while you await the settlement of the lawsuit. While you have filed your lawsuit, you may need deeper pockets to fund the lawsuit – the court costs, the cost to hire expert witnesses and other related costs. At the same time, you will have to cover the cost of your treatment and other non-medical expenses (costs of childcare or housekeeping while you are unable to work). This is why applying for litigation funding may be a good idea.
Depending on the state where you filed the claim, there may be considerable lawsuit settlements given, especially to those who suffer from acute pain and will need prolonged medical treatment.
However, due to the challenges posted by filing a car accident lawsuit claiming for soft tissue injury, you must have realistic expectations of getting a lawsuit settlement funding. Remember, lawsuit settlement funding will be based mostly on the merits of the case. It is also helpful to note that laws covering soft tissue injuries may vary from state to state. It is best to consult a lawyer for your best option.