Your Top Attorneys In Anchorage

by Kristen White Blogger

What Makes a Prosecutable Personal Injury Claim?

As noted above, just because a person is injured during an accident, this alone may be insufficient to guarantee you the recovery of compensation. Other elements you must prove in order to prevail on a claim include:
1.Liability—the other party must have actually done something wrong which, in the car accident scenario, may mean running a stop sign, texting or something else.

2.Actual Damages—an injured party must have suffered some sort of compensable damages, including (a) medical expenses, (b) physical pain, (c) mental anguish, (d) disfigurement, (e) physical impairment, (f) loss of consortium, (g) loss of household services, (h) wrongful death, (i) punitive damages, (j) prejudgment and post-judgment interest, (k), attorney’s fees and (l) court costs. And not all of these are recoverable in personal injury claims in every state.

3.Collectability—even though you are awarded a judgment, if the defendant has no insurance or assets, the judgment is worthless. Although certain states have programs for people to collect against uninsured or underinsured motorists, it is something to be considered before commencing suit.

If you are involved in a Car Accident In Anchorage, these three elements are a must to account for. Any attorney worth a dime will consider all of them before he or she agrees to prosecute your case.

Benefits of Attorneys Over Doing It Yourself

Retaining Lawyers In Anchorage Alaska is preferable to prosecuting the claim yourself, notwithstanding the fact that you will forfeit a percentage of your award or settlement to the attorney.

So why is it so important?

From the outset, when you find yourself dealing with insurances carriers (whether yours or the other party’s), seeking payment for medical bills, property damage or other issues, you must protect yourself. An experienced personal injury attorney knows that there are proper and improper things to say, as any information you give may be discovered by the other party’s attorney. Further, properly filling out forms establishing a trail with evidence to support your case is so important and something a qualified attorney will know how to do effectively.
And when it comes to actually commencing your lawsuit, the biggest mistake is failing to do it timely. Indeed, Alaska’s “statute of limitations” mandates that you file your lawsuit within two years from the date of the accident, or you will likely be forever barred from recovering any compensation. Attorneys will know this deadline and prevent you from blowing it.

Next, you are not likely seeking money from the defendant himself, but rather from his insurance company. And insurance companies have lawyers and resources that, without you having an attorney, are not likely to be able to prevail against.

Further, proving damages typically requires a doctor to testify at trial, prepare adequate reports and contradict the testimony from the defendant’s experts. Attorneys often have such doctors available to perform these services on your behalf.

While insurance companies representing the defendant will have investigative staff, people to prepare papers, and other resources to bring a strong defense, when you retain a competent law firm, you will have similar necessary resources available to you.

If you are involved in a car accident, hiring quality attorneys affords you the skills and resources necessary to help you prevail on your claims for injuries. For this reason, as well as those detailed above, retaining lawyers is preferable to prosecuting the claim yourself.