Posts Tagged denver injury attorney
Car Accidents Caused by Tire or Brake Failure
Posted by denverheat in Colorado personal injury attorney, Denver personal injury lawyer, colorado injury lawyer, colorado personal injury, criminal defense attorney denver, denver accident lawyer, denver divorce lawyer, denver injury lawyer, denver law firm, find a denver law firm, hiring a denver dui attorney, motorcycle injury lawyer on August 22nd, 2010
Accidents Caused by Brake Failure Could be an Intentional Tort
Motor vehicles are some of the most dangerous things out there. Death by motor vehicle is one of the most common forms of death in the industrialized world. Common causes for car accidents are people just spend so much time in vehicles, but also include those who break the law and have poor maintenance.
Cars, trucks and motorcycles share one thing in common when it comes to a Denver car accident. All have all of their weight supported by tires. When you think that only a small portion of the tire is in contact with the ground at all times it will not surprise you to find that over a quarter of all Denver motorcycle accidents come from problems with tires or brakes. If you have been injured in a car crash or motorcycle accident that was a result of damaged or improperly maintained tires, you may have legal recourse to sue.
There could be several different parties that were responsible for the brakes or tires. If you had an injury from a car crash involving failed brakes or tires, the negligent parties could include the driver, brake manufacturer, the mechanic, or the employer of the driver. If it was a truck accident, the trucking company might be liable for and personal injury in Denver.
Because there could be multiple liable parties, each one will probably try to shift blame and get another company’s insurance to pay for the accident. However it is possible to sue multiple parties and it is possible that several people were to blame for the accident. If you are suing multiple people it might be prudent to hire a Denver injury attorney to avoid being caught in the run-around.
If the brake manufacturer was at fault, you have a good chance of being awarded a settlement because of strict laws regarding braking systems. Truck brakes especially are regulated by the federal government to have a certain braking power. If the brakes on the car that hit you does not meet these standards you could claim the manufacturer did not design the brakes well or that there was a manufacturing defect. These kinds of cases fall more under product liability than personal injury.
If the trucking company failed to provide regular maintenance on the brakes you could sue. Some truckers even de-power the front brakes on purpose to reduce the cost of brake replacement. It seems crazy but some truckers would rather use the trailer brakes and the transmission to slow down. Choosing a dangerous thing like unhooking the brakes just for a little cost savings might actually result in an intentional tort instead of a personal injury negligence case. If this happened you could sue both the driver and the trucking company that allowed this to happen.
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.
Defenses in Personal Injury Law
Posted by denverheat in Denver Attorney, Denver personal injury lawyer, criminal defense attorney denver, denver accident lawyer, denver law firm, personal injury, personal injury attorney on June 1st, 2010
Personal injury is an area of law with potentially huge sums awarded. A permanently debilitating injury will change a person’s life forever, and that means a liable party must pay for those changes. Whether you have been injured and need to know the possible defenses to your case, or you are building a defense yourself, here are some common things the defense will bring up.
Personal injury defenses usually focus on the plaintiff’s role in the injury, and their inaction afterward.
Who is Liable in a Car Accident?
The first, and most common defense based on the plaintiff’s actions before the action is that the plaintiff was the one responsible. Whether you choose to settle the case before it goes to court, or you try and go to court with a Denver personal injury attorney, the compensation awarded is likely to be effected if the plaintiff is proven to have any fault in the incident. In some cases where the activity involved was obviously dangerous, a court may rule you assumed the risk and therefore have no claim. Some examples where an injury would be considered an assumed risk are auto racing and skydiving. Contact sports are also usually exempt, as long as the injury occurred during what would have been considered a normal phase of the game. A light pole falling on a player is therefore not an assumed risk, and the stadium owner would be liable.
Your state may follow comparative negligence or contributory negligence law. In comparative negligence, the court uses a formula to determine the percentage of fault in the accident. So if the plaintiff was found to be 40% at fault, they will only recover 60% of the damages caused, or 100-40%. So if you were involved in a motorcycle accident on 1-25 in Denver and the total damage suffered was found to be $30,000, you would end up with only $18,000. If you believe you were partially at fault, and the amount of money at stake is large, it is imperative that you contact a Denver accident lawyer to help you argue your side. Most states use this system, but they may use pure comparative negligence, which allows the the plaintiff to recover damages even if they were 99% at fault, while the modified system caps the compensation at 50% at fault. In other words, in the modified comparative negligence system, plaintiffs must be less at fault than defendants to receive an award.
Luckily for plaintiffs, Colorado is not a contributory negligence state. In contributory negligence states, if the injured party is at all at fault, they cannot recover any damages. Since Colorado does not follow contributory law, your Denver injury lawyer will still have a chance to recover some damages even if you were partially at fault.
There are a few other ways to get out of personal injury lawsuits because of plaintiff actions afterwards that are not actually defenses. Waiting beyond the statue of limitations makes lawsuits invalid. Also not clearly linking each claim of cause and effect from the defendant’s action (or inaction) to your injury will make the argument groundless. In other words, you must prove the defendant had a duty to repair a bridge, and their failure to repair the bridge caused it to collapse, injuring your hand. Just saying they owned the bridge and your hand got injured during the collapse does not go far enough. If the plaintiff did not do a good job repairing damages, the defendant may not have to pay for the consequences of inaction.
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.
Tips on Hiring A Denver Personal Injury Attorney
Posted by hawkeye11 in Denver Attorney, personal injury attorney on March 30th, 2009
Written by Nick Hantge
If you live in the Denver area and you have been injured in a car accident or while working on the job, you have many options for legal representation. There are many qualified Denver Law Firms and so many of the attorneys claim to be the expert. Here are some tips to remember when choosing your Denver personal injury Lawyer:
What to look for
1.) The first thing to think about is how much experience they have as a personal injury lawyer. The success of your legal case is obviously the most important thing so you have to make sure the lawyer you hire has had a lot of experience in personal injury and has had success doing so. If you can find a Denver lawyer who only works on personal injury you know you should be in good hands.
2.) Next you want to make sure you will be represented by the expert and not one of the recently hired attorneys of the firm. It is easy for the partner to have a great reputation, what about the other attorneys under them. Often times if a law firm is large, you will not be represented by the partner which might affect the service you receive. If there is a law firm with two or three lawyers and they specialize in 3 or 4 areas of law, you have a better chance of getting the best legal representation for a personal injury case.
3.) The last thing you want to do is find someone who will sit down and listen to your case (in person or by phone) and will give you their view on your case. If they are willing to give you some time before you hire them, chances are they will give you all the time needed once they have you as a client.
How to find the right one
1.) Check reviews on business directories, Google local listings and findlaw.com to ensure quality service. It is important to get an idea of what others in your situation have thought about the legal services provided by the law firm you are thinking about using. Often times in reviews, you get a more personal point of view (both negative and positive). You will get an insight on people’s perception of the attorney‘s personality, work ethic along with some of their strengths and weaknesses without ever having to meet them.
2.) Ask around for referrals from friends and family in the area. You know you can get an honest referral from friends and family which is exactly why you should ask around. Most of the “legal experts” rely only on referrals; they do not rely on TV commercials, radio or billboard ads. The attorney’s that are really good at their job do not need to.
3.) Use the search engines and read up on their firm on their website. Although anyone can write anything down on a website, in the legal field most attorneys have business ethics. I’m not saying to look at their testimonials or awards but you should look at their specialties. How many areas do they “specialize” in? How big is their firm? If the Denver Law firm specializes in every field out there, it might be an indication they really don’t specialize in anything. This could mean the legal service you receive might not be the best. Also, if they have a large firm your services could be weaker and less personal as well. Use a law firms website to help get a better idea of the work they do and if you will be an important client or just a number.
Hopefully these guidelines will help you in selecting a Denver Lawyer Firm for your personal injury case. There are many great Denver lawyers out there but like everything else, there are many lawyers that are not that great. If you keep these tips in mind, you should be able to find the right Lawyer for any situation.
