Archive for category denver injury attorney
Manslaughter and Wrongful Death
The legal system in the United States is divided into two different fields. One is criminal law, where crimes are considered to be against everyone and are brought to trial by a representative of the state. For a death, this would be a case of homicide or manslaughter involving the police and the district attorney. There are also crimes against people or property which are handled by civil law. The responsibility of bringing these cases to court lies with those who were wronged. So in a death, the surviving family members could sue the person responsible for wrongful death. The two court systems operate independently of each other, so it is conceivable that a person could be tried for both wrongful death and manslaughter.
Wrongful death cases sometimes have a shorter statue of limitations in some states. Contact your Colorado personal injury lawyer to see what the statute of limitations is and if there is a date of discovery limitation on filing a wrongful death lawsuit. The discovery date laws say that the statute of limitations only starts from the day the crime was discovered. So if the normal statue of limitations in Colorado is 2 years, but a missing person’s body is not found until 4 years later, a Denver wrongful death attorney could still file a claim. The state may have a limit on how long after the fact delayed discovery cases can be brought to trial.
Car accidents and the like that did not involve actual malice or pre-planning would be manslaughter under criminal law. The same person could be tried for negligent wrongful death if they behaved in a irresponsible way that lead to a death. There are also cases of voluntary manslaughter, where the defendant killed on purpose, but in a situation where he was provoked, and it would be reasonable for someone to lose control in that situation. The classic case is the spouse who returns home to find someone else in their partner’s bed and kills them. The defendant killed on purpose, but did so because they were provoked. This is not a defense like self defense, just a slightly lesser crime than homicide.
If the death was a result of reckless disregard (or negligence if it was civil law) but not on purpose then the case might be tried as manslaughter. The Denver personal injury attorney may be able to help with advice in such situations, but you had best get a criminal defense attorney on retainer as well. Depending on the facts of a car accident there could be many different outcomes. A defendant may not be guilty under criminal law, but still be sued under civil law. Or if the defendant acted extremely recklessly on purpose and ran someone over, it could even be homicide.
Keep A Colorado Injury Attorney in your Stack of Business Cards
Posted by hawkeye11 in Colorado personal injury attorney, denver accident lawyer, denver injury attorney, denver injury lawyer on July 28th, 2010
I know the common attitude towards driving is “I won’t get in an accident”, especially in men but the truth is most accidents are not single vehicle accidents. This means a car accident will involve more than one person so even if you think you are the best driver in the world, someone else could cause a car accident that you are involved in.
In 2009, Car accidents cost each American more than $1,000 a year; $164.2 billion is the total cost each year across the United States.
Here are a few more shocking car accident statistics:
- There are more than six million car accidents each year in the United States.
- The leading cause of death for individuals between 2 and 34 years old is motor vehicle crashes.
- A person dies in a car accident every 12 minutes and each year car crashes kill 40,000 people.
- Over 25% of all drivers were involved in an auto accident in a five-year period.
- Someone is injured by a car crash every 14 seconds and about two million of the people injured in car accidents each year suffer permanent injuries.
With this all being said, it is important to know a Colorado personal injury attorney before you find yourself in a four car accident on I-25. If you or a family member is in a car accident and needs to get medical attention you do not want to spend time calling around or researching online for a Denver injury attorney in the state of mind you are in. This is why we recommend you find a personal injury lawyer before you need one. Find one that you are comfortable with, that treats you well and will be there when you need them. Get their business card and keep it in your wallet. You never know when you could be driving down the road and someone blows through a stop sign and t-bones you and your family.
Matching lawyer experience and objectives with your personal injury case
Posted by denverheat in Denver personal injury lawyer, Firing your Lawyer, Hiring A Lawyer, colorado injury lawyer, colorado personal injury, denver injury attorney, denver injury lawyer, personal injury attorney on July 28th, 2010
Don't be afraid to negotiate with your lawyer!
For cases involving potentially crippling injuries you should hire a personal injury attorney to deal with insurance and the other party. Chances are the medical cost of your injuries alone will be much more than the attorney, and much more than you can afford. Along with expensive medical bills, personal injuries result in lost work and property damage. Recovering damages alone is possible, but you should at least consider a Colorado personal injury attorney‘s advice.
When searching for an attorney, you will want to first pick someone you trust, and that has experience in the kind of case you will be bringing. Most lawyers will refer you to an expert in the field you need. Try talking to several lawyers to compare prices and attitudes. Just like doctors, specialists in law get much of their business from referrals. They will usually talk to you for free, but will not give you legal advice until you pay them a retainer. Of course some lawyers will not take cases that have a low potential recovery amount, or if they do not think they have a good chance of winning.
Your friends or coworkers may not have been involved in a car accident or injury, but they can usually refer you to some Denver lawyer they trust. Recommendation are a good way to find out about lawyers beyond their internet marketing, but always meet with a lawyer and see if you see eye to eye before hiring. You should treat lawyer referrals the same way; just because one attorney tells you a guy is a expert Colorado personal injury lawyer, that doesn’t mean you can hire him blindly. They might even take that as a sign that you are irresponsible, and it takes you out of negotiations to lower the cost of services.
State and local bar associations all have referral services. They will list the names of lawyers and their legal specialty. The quality of referral services and their lawyers can vary however. So ask the bar association how lawyers are screened for qualification in the list.
Once you get to the consultation with the lawyer, bring all your relevant documents and discuss your case. Ask if they charge for this consultation, most do not for the first interview. Discuss the options on how the case can be handled and what experience they have with similar cases. Ask him what percent of his cases involve personal injury and what side of cases they worked for. If you are a plaintiff, you might not want to hire someone that works for defendants the most time. They probably have more of an insurance company mindset. Find out who the primary attorney on your case is and ask to meet him too. Many offices collaborate or have lower attorneys work on some cases.
Then you will want to know what the lawyer’s goals are for settlement, and what their history on insurance negotiation are. Make sure the Colorado attorney knows your goals also. Common goals are to obtain as much as possible, no matter the time or cost, or to get the settlement for as cheap and with as little hassle as possible, or try to get a higher settlement as quickly as possible.
Evidence for Personal Injury Accidents
Posted by denverheat in Denver personal injury lawyer, colorado injury lawyer, colorado personal injury, denver injury attorney, denver injury lawyer, denver law firm, personal injury on July 28th, 2010
Information presented in court that is not backed up by an eyewitness or evidence is considered “hearsay” and not admissible. If you were involved in an accident requiring the use of a Colorado personal injury attorney, it may be hard for you to get the evidence yourself. However it is very important for you or someone you trust to document everything involved, otherwise you will not have much of a case in the eyes of the court.
First you should document what actually occurred during the motorcycle accident. Return to the scene with a Denver motorcycle accident attorney as soon as possible, and photograph everything. You will want photos of the wreck if possible. Photograph any hazardous conditions that may have lead to the accident. Try asking around to see if other people may know something about your accident, or other car accidents that occurred in the same spot. Try to make sure you get photos from the same angle, and around the same time and place as the accident occurred to refresh your memory and show the insurance company.
Even more than witnesses and photographs, courts really love physical evidence. Physical evidence is something you can touch instead of just a representation. Murder cases cannot be decided guilty without physical evidence. But we are not talking about murder cases, we are talking about Colorado personal injury cases. A damaged piece of your car, or a fallen branch are good examples of physical evidence. Physical evidence is good for showing there was some unforeseeable circumstances that contributed to the motorcycle accident – as opposed to driver error. Physical evidence is also important for your Colorado personal injury lawyer because it helps him show the extent of your injuries. A crumpled car or bloody seat cushion is dramatic evidence to the violence of the crash.
If you cannot physically preserve the object and take it to court, it is important to get good pictures of any evidence. Try and take high resolution photos of any evidence that is too big to move or you can’t take to court. Multiple angles are good, and you can pick the ones that most clearly show what happened. The more recent the photos, the better evidence they are because it will be closer to the condition it was at the time of the accident. So take the photos as soon as possible with a friend who can write a short note documenting the time. Then develop the pictures the same day and keep the receipt, or get them to print the date on the photographs.
Witnesses are also very important to building your case. Eyewitness testimony can be invaluable on the witness stand if they can describe what happened or your condition after a motorcycle accident. Try to find witnesses and get a record of what they saw because people forget and move away.
The last piece of evidence that must be documented is all injuries. Go to the doctor as soon as possible and keep a copy of all medical records. You can also photograph all injuries to show the insurance company what they looked like at the time of the accident, as opposed to your possibly healed state at negotiations.
Writing a Demand Letter for Insurance
Posted by denverheat in Denver personal injury lawyer, denver accident lawyer, denver injury attorney, denver injury lawyer on June 16th, 2010
Demand Letter from an Accident Attorney
The importance of a good demand letter in accident settlement negotiations with insurance companies cannot be understated, because the demand letter is the piece of information the insurance company refers to in all arguments. The demand letter is a document explaining the case and what you are owed from your point of view. Therefore it should cover the specific extent of your injuries, how much those injuries cost in terms of treatment and loss, and why the other party is liable for those injuries. The letter ends with an amount you demand to settle the case.
Because it is from your point of view, you should make a point of sitting down with a good Denver personal injury lawyer to include all the strongest pieces of evidence in your case. Review all of the details of the accident involving injury, fault, and disruption of personal life. To get the largest settlement, there a few things you should really concentrate on being as air-tight as possible. Liability must be proven. You need to show why the insured person or organization was at fault; why they had a duty of care and how they violated that. A good way to show that is to do a big picture walkthrough of how the accident actually occurred.
Never admit to any fault. It is the insurance company’s job to apply comparative negligence and reduce your award if they can show you were partially at fault. As a tried and true Denver car accident attorney once told me, consider how your negligence effects the total settlement, but do not admit fault. Comparative negligence laws can erase or significantly reduce your award if the case went to court.
Be specific about your injuries without exaggerating. This usually requires some medical documentation. It is recommended to go into detail about pain and how the injuries have changed your life, but any perceived exaggeration brings the risk of the company bringing out the big injury law lawyers. A motorcycle injury case can go below the cost of medical bills. They may even decide to ignore your case all together if they believe you are faking.
The last step to the demand letter is to make the actual demand. Put in a number that is around double what you expect, because the company will try to negotiate you down. Put all supporting documents into the case that you refer to. Especially important are eyewitness testimony, medical bills, and other lost receipts.
Finding A Denver Personal Injury Lawyer
Posted by hantge11 in Denver personal injury lawyer, denver accident lawyer, denver injury attorney, personal injury attorney on June 1st, 2010
If you have sustained a strong-arm injury due to someone else’s neglect, you are going to want to receive fair compensation for your injuries. A Denver personal injury attorney can help you through with the vocalize process. Make sure that you hire the right type of attorney for your type of injury. You have to move beyond all the advertisement and the lure of a free consultation or that you won’t pay unless you collect a solving. There are other ways for you to chance the names of personal injury attorneys.
One of the most effective ways of gathering names of personal injury lawyers that you can consultation is through a referral from a ally or colleague. Just make sure that they are aware of your necessarily. An attorney specializing in divorce cases has a different expertness than an auto accident lawyer. If you currently have or know a lawyer, it is a good idea to ask for a recommendation from that person. The phone book will provide a list of personal injury attorneys in your area. Research those names on the Internet and through your local bar association.
With a list of plausible Denver accident lawyers in hand, it is time to begin the interview process. Here are some questions that you should make sure to ask. Do you practice anything other than personal injury? Ideally, you want to hire an attorney that specializes in your type of injury. For example, you might want to find a lawyer who specializes in car accidents. Have you ever been in remission, fined, or sanctioned? Be careful of using a lawyer who has broken the law. How many trials have you done? Have you picked a jury? What is your rate of winning cases? The prospective lawyer should be able to demonstrate a history of with success prosecuting these types of cases. Who will be handling my case? How many cases do you take on? Don’t assume that the person you talk to will be the one who will handle all the work. How long will the case take? Make sure that the lawyer is inclined to spend as long as it takes, especially if the case needs to go to court.
There are many more questions you will want your Denver injury attorney to answer. A good attorney will make sure that you know or so all the questions you should have. Look for someone who is willing to spend the necessary time to both educate and embody you.
Personal Injury Attorneys Are Worth the Money
Posted by hantge11 in Denver Attorney, denver injury attorney, denver injury lawyer, personal injury on May 5th, 2010
If you have been injured in an accident which you believe you are not at fault, there is only one thing you should do; contact a Denver injury lawyer as soon as possible. The thing is insurance companies prefer to actually settle an injury claim as quick as possible. If you are not at fault in your accident, the at-fault person’s insurer will probably call you right away and try and settle the claim. You need to make sure you are careful with what you say to them and any offers you agree on. This is where you will want to have called an injury lawyer to handle the situation.
The complex language of insurance policies and the hardball tactics used by some claims adjusters can leave you feeling that you are not getting all to which you are entitled. They will make it sound like you do not have a case and make you feel like you will receive nothing and then come in with a low settlement. This is where you will want your attorney to handle the negotiations and if the injury or accident was bad enough, they will help bring the case to court.
When to Hire A Lawyer:
- If someone is seriously injured
- If the other person involved does not have insurance
- If the insurance company or claims adjuster is being push or difficult
The greatest thing about most Denver injury lawyers is the fact that they work on a contingency basis, meaning if they help you win that is when you owe them money. Most offer free consultations and will walk you through the process of how they handle cases like yours. This also gives you a great idea if you like the attorney or not.
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