Road Accidents And Personal Injury Lawsuits: How To Fight For Compensation

Published on: 26 June 2021 Last Updated on: 03 January 2025
personal injury lawsuits
  • Are you someone that has suffered physical and mental injuries in a road accident because of someone’s fault?
  • Do you know how you can claim financial compensation if you are involved in a car, motorcycle, or cycling accident?
  • Have you spoken to leading personal injury lawyers that can help you file a lawsuit and win settlements?

If you have been thinking of filing a personal injury lawsuit after your accident, you are not alone. If data is to be believed, there are more than 1.5 million personal injury lawsuits that are filed every year. These lawsuits help aggrieved victims pay for their medical bills, compensate for lost wages, and get their life back on track.

However, filing a personal injury lawsuit in a road accident is not easy. This is because you have to do a lot of things like-

  1. Proving fault of someone else, which may be another vehicle owner.
  2. Fighting against the insurance company of the perpetrator of the accident.
  3. Gathering evidence to build your personal injury lawsuit.
  4. Negotiating for the Settlement amount with the lawyer of the perpetrator.
  5. Seeking medical attention for your injury and rehabilitation.

In this article, we are going to walk you through the processes of filing a successful personal injury lawsuit and claiming compensation.

Proving Fault In A Personal Injury Lawsuit: What You Need To Know

In order to strengthen your compensation claim, you need to prove that the perpetrator of the accident was at fault. In other words, you need to back up your claim with evidence suggesting that the other person was careless, ignorant, or negligent.

This is not easy. Legal experts from a law firm like JTL suggest that proving fault means establishing that-

  • You have definitely suffered losses because of the actions of someone else.
  • The other person could have avoided the accident by taking certain steps.
  • Their inaction has led to the accident and the subsequent injury suffered.

For legal experts, all this comes down to one crucial element- Evidence.

They state that evidence collected from the scene of the crime can help in proving that the other party’s action has led to your loss and suffering. The best law firms and legal experts work with independent investigators that can help track evidence and present them.

Once you have definite evidence during the stage of settlement negotiation, it is very difficult for someone to deny the same. This will ensure you get adequate compensation for your personal injury lawsuit.

Hiring The Best Personal Injury Lawyer To Fight Your Lawsuit

If you have been carefully reading the content, you will realize that getting compensation in a personal injury lawsuit is not easy. This is why most experts recommend that you have the best chance at compensation only if you are able to get the best legal minds to help you.

According to the best Michigan personal injury lawyer, everything from the experience of the legal expert to their fees matters. There are tons of personal injury lawyers that will claim to get you results. However, that is not true. Success depends on you finding the best and most experienced personal injury lawyers that have a proven track record for success.

Choosing a great personal injury lawyer is part luck and part hard work. To help you make your selection, we have listed down three crucial aspects that you should consider while making the selection-

1. Experience And Credentials Of The Lawyer

The first and foremost area you should look at is the kind of experience the lawyer has. This experience needs to be relevant to your case. For example, you need someone with vast experience in road accident cases and winning compensations. Following this, you can check their success rate, the amount of compensation won, and networking skills.

2. Go For A Lawyer Attached With A Law Firm

It is always a better idea to work with a lawyer in a law firm, the explanation for the same is straightforward. A law firm has more resources than an individual lawyer has. For example, they have a team of personal investigators, paralegals, and senior lawyers. All these resources combine their expertise to help you get a winning shot at your personal injury lawsuit.

3. Flexible Payment Schedule And Legal Fees

As an individual who has suffered serious accidents and is trying to pay medical bills, you do not want your lawyer to keep demanding payments. This is why you need to ensure that you have already spoken about it with them. Many of the best lawyers opt for flexible payment terms that extend to winning the compensation and then getting payments.

The Final Word

Getting the right personal injury lawyer is an integral part of winning a lawsuit. By paying attention o all the above factors, you can ensure that you have complete knowledge of how to file personal injury lawsuits and claim compensation.

If you have any other questions, you would like us to address, let us know in the comments section below. We will be more than happy to let our experts at JTL Legal Group help you out with all your queries.

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food critic

When Restaurants Fight Back: A Diner’s Failed Attempt to Sue a Food Critic for Defamation

Restaurant reviews can make or break your business. A positive review of your restaurant can keep your cash counter busy and tables filled with loud and happy customers. But, a negative review does the complete opposite, leaving hardly any cash to collect and fewer tables to clean.  Food critics hold power, and restaurants know it. Some establishments accept criticism and learn from it. Others take a more aggressive approach that can backfire badly. This is what happened to a well-known diner when they decided to fight back against a food critic. The results were not what they expected. The Case of Il Giardino A Vancouver-based Italian restaurant, Il Giardino, was a local favorite. It’s known for its classic pasta dishes and cozy atmosphere. But in 2011, the restaurant’s reputation was challenged. The trouble began when a respected food critic, Colin Thomas, wrote a review that painted the restaurant in a negative light. 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Public Backlash People don’t like it when businesses try to suppress opinions. It can make a restaurant look like it can’t handle criticism or is trying to bully a writer. This can lead to backlash and damage a brand’s reputation. Lessons Learned from the McDonald’s Case Even major brands like McDonald’s have faced backlash for going after critics. In 1990, McDonald’s sued two environmental activists in the UK for distributing pamphlets that accused the company of poor practices. The case became known as the "McLibel" trial and lasted ten years. The outcome? A PR disaster for McDonald’s. The activists couldn’t pay damages, but they won public support. McDonald’s spent millions on legal fees and looked like the villain. The company’s reputation took a hit, showing that even large corporations can face consequences when they overreact to criticism. How to Handle Criticism as a Restaurant? It’s not uncommon these days for a brand to get backlash from critics or customers. 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With open communication, your staff will take the business extra mile and exceed customer expectations.  Communicate with Your Team Make sure your team knows how to handle criticism. Training staff to respond professionally and with empathy can keep the restaurant’s image strong. Don’t Compromise in the Food Quality If the raw materials start to cost more, your customers may understand if the price goes high by a little. But, lowering food quality to adjust food prices can do damage to your restaurant in the long run. Always use fresh and high-quality ingredients to make food. Consistency in the quality of your food is the key to how you will succeed. Stay Engaged with Customers Interact with customers on review sites and social media. Show that you care about their experiences, good or bad. This connection can build loyalty and encourage repeat visits. The Takeaway Il Giardino’s attempt to sue a food critic for defamation is a reminder that fighting criticism can often make things worse. Publicly challenging a review can lead to more attention, public backlash, and damage to a business’s reputation. Instead, restaurants should focus on learning from criticism and responding professionally. Encouraging positive feedback and engaging with customers can help maintain a strong image. And when extra help is needed, an online reputation management service can provide the right support. In the end, handling criticism with grace and using it as a tool for improvement will benefit a restaurant far more than a court case ever could. Read Also: Navigating The Maze Of Compensation Claims: Everything You Need To Know When Do You Need A Personal Injury Lawyer: A Guide For Accident Victims Do I Need A Lawyer For Probation Violations?

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Redundancy Solicitor

Do I Need A Redundancy Solicitor? Then What Is That?

Before we get to know why it might be necessary to hire a redundancy solicitor, it is much more important to know who is a redundancy solicitor and why you might need one.  When I say Redundancy, it is among the limited numbers that have the potential for fair reasons while dismissed from work. This happens when the employer is required to decrease the workforce and also close the business premises.  So now, if you get dismissed from work for a reason of redundancy, then you are entitled to a few statutory rights, including a redundancy payment. Now that you know what is a redundancy solicitor, let’s get into why you might need a solicitor and for what purpose.  Why Would I Need A Solicitor When Being Made Redundant?  There are certain situations when you might need a redundancy solicitor, so let’s get to know these situations.  You might suspect that you are not in a redundancy situation. You might suspect that your selection is unfair.  You might suspect that the procedure that your employer followed is incorrect.  It is possible that a settlement agreement has been offered to you.  You might have been as to become a volunteer for redundancy.  You might not be sure whether you are getting the full redundancy package.  These are a few instances where the need for redundancy solicitors might be of great assistance.  Related: How A Solicitor Can Help You To Set Up A Business What Are The Circumstances Of A Genuine Redundancy? A redundancy is to be considered if the following are maintained:  Suppose the whole business is closing temporarily or maybe permanently.  It is possible that a particular workplace you are working in is either closing or maybe moving to another location.  Suppose the job you have ceased to exist or has diminished, or maybe you are expecting your job to cease to exist or diminish in the future. This will happen if your employer is considering certain restructuring in the workplace.   The redundancy is not to be considered to be genuine if the following happens:  Suppose your employer is replacing you with someone else, maybe with someone with someone who is willing to work for less amount.  It is possible that the business is about to transfer its ownership, and maybe the new owner is going to employ you on totally different employment terms.  It is more likely that the latter will become a Transfer of Undertaking (TUPE) situation. Before you apply for this, it is better to get legal advice, or you might be in trouble since it is a grey area.   An Employer That Has Not Followed A Fair Procedure In an ideal world, the employer’s redundancy process should have a set employment contract or handbook in place. Now what your employer should do is look for redundancies that can be avoided quite easily. Certain ways you can avoid redundancies are:  Your employer can ask you to volunteer for a redundancy or even opt for an early retirement.  The employer can also choose to lay off the employees who are self-employed. The employer can choose to ban or reduce any overtime.  Your employer can offer you to get alternative work.  Now if your employer still wants to proceed toward redundancy, then they should really identify the certain employees who are to be made redundant. But the selection should be made in a fair way.  While selecting the employees, there are a few characteristics that should not be considered as the selecting factors, they are such as gender, ethnicity, or any such discriminating factor.  The selection criteria that are to be considered fair and impartial are: Aptitude  Skills Qualifications Performance Record/Discipline Attendance    Now depending on these selection factors, the employer has to consult with these candidates; if they don’t, then the redundancy will be considered to be unfair as well. At least one meeting with the employer is important to discuss every aspect of this situation. Well, suppose your employer has selected over 20 candidates for redundancy, in that case, a special rule is applied that the candidates need to follow through.  You should also be given a proper notice period to prepare yourself. The notice period should be like this:  1 week notice if you have been working in the organization for between one month and about two years. 1 week's notice for each of the years the employee has worked in the company ranging between 2 to twelve years.   Lastly, 12 weeks of total notice period; if the employer has been working in the company for over 12 years.   Which Is Better, Being Offered A Redundancy Package Or A Settlement?  Well, now, suppose you have been working in a company or organization for over two years; then, you are entitled to a statutory redundancy payment as well. For this, the specific calculation goes something like this.  About 5 week’s payment is given to employees who have worked a full year after their 41st birthday.  About a week’s worth of payment is given to employees who have worked a full year after their 22nd birthday.  About half a week’s worth of payment is given to employees who have worked a full year till their 22nd birthday.  The total length of your service is capped at 20 years. Then your weekly payment is averaged over what you earn per week over a 12-week period till your redundancy notice.  Read Also: Breaking Down The Complexities Of Surrogacy And Assisted Conception Laws In The UK Preparing For Your Initial Consultation With An Immigration Lawyer Choosing The Right Conveyancing Solicitors For You

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Criminal Case – Dos And Donts

Usually, people find themselves in a labyrinth when faced with criminal charges. One reason for that is the poor legal knowledge amongst the public. Most of the time, it is not what one must do but what one must not do that gets them in trouble during prosecution. In such situations, hiring an attorney is the best you can do to avoid your case's further aggravation. There are some guidelines that you, as a defendant, must be mindful of in legislatures. A majority of civil and criminal cases are not complicated as litigants present them to be. It usually occurs when either party is unaware of the legal procedures and tries to find a way out in vexation. Let us discuss some dos and don'ts that will help you in your criminal cases. 1. Keep It Candid with Your Lawyer: Out of the fear of facing prosecution at their lawyer's hands, people will leave out details while communicating with their attorney. However, this is where the defendant is wrong. The defendant can only see his case from the perspective of a layman with no legal knowledge. There are many intricacies and loopholes in any criminal case when examined by the criminal codes. Thus, transparency is the key because the more details you leave out, the more complex the case gets. Take your lawyer's word when he/she swears to keep the conversation strictly confidential unless there is a third-party involved. Lawyers have to abide by the law to ensure that their client gets satisfying outcomes. Therefore, they will go to any length to represent your case before the judge. Moreover, you can also avail of an online pre law degree to understand the legal matters and ensure that you receive your statutory rights. Also, it will enable you to determine the details of your case more adequately and help your attorney more efficiently. 2. Avoid Interaction with Law Enforcement Until You Get a Lawyer: Most of the time, when the charge is severe, the law enforcement agencies step in before the defendant can get a chance to hire a representative. There is nothing wrong or illicit about it. You are not being persecuted at the hands of law; law enforcement is just doing its job. In every country, the citizens have the statutory right to remain silent if they do not have an attorney to represent them before the law. Most people would try to deal with the law enforcers on their own, unknowingly making things worse for them. It does not matter what you say; the law cannot talk your way out of their office until someone brings insufficient proof and arguments to back your innocence. The wise thing to do in such situations is to ask them for a representative. Engagement with law enforcers does not only mean interaction with the officials after an arrest. If a police officer comes knocking at your door to search the place, you have a right to say no, and that is what you must do. 3. Respect the Courts: Throughout the world, the jury and judges have enormous power. Disrespecting the judiciary often leads to grave consequences and might add more to your pre-existing legal troubles. Thus, it’s in your best interest to show respect to the courts. Respecting the judiciary during your trial is not only limited to addressing the judge or the jury with care. It extends to how you dress and present yourself before the court. Your presentation plays a big part in how the prosecutor, the judge, and the jury perceives you. If you do not have something appropriate to wear, ask your lawyer to arrange an outfit. Another way to show your respect towards the court is to always appear on time. Maintain your composure and stand tall while addressing the judge. Faltering in speech or speaking with slumped shoulders and grouched demeanor will give the judge a hard time taking your point of view seriously. 4. Do Not Discuss Your Case Even With Your Family without Asking Your Attorney: It is understandable if you want to share the burden with your loved ones. However, you never know how far the news will travel on the grapevine, and you might end up with a lot more complications. Thus, remain silent until your attorney has your case sorted out. It is the best way to keep the situation under control. Stay discreet about your case except with your lawyer. Also, avoid telling the world about wrongful handling through social media or chatting platforms. You do not know your case's graveness and how strict the law enforcement might be about the charges against you. When you give off details about your case to the general public, it only gives the law enforcers more chance to compare the evidence with your statements and find a fault. Staying off social media and avoiding discussions in your household and social circles would be best in your interest. Navigating Plea Bargains: What You Should Know No matter how great a case is or how good a lawyer is, sometimes the evidence could be too incriminating!  Hence, a plea bargain comes into place!  Before we continue, we would like to emphasize that this is a final resort and not the first thing that an attorney will advise.  Unless your case is that severe!  Nevertheless, plea bargaining can be a pivotal part of any criminal case.  What is a Plea Bargain?  A plea bargain is a deal by the prosecutor in which a defendant agrees to plead guilty. This is either to a lesser charge or to accept a lighter sentence in exchange for avoiding a full trial.   A plea bargain only comes after the judge has given a judgment, and the criminal attorney will draft a plea bargain.  This can be beneficial, especially in cases where evidence may not favor the defendant. However, plea bargains come with significant consequences, as pleading guilty will still result in a conviction.  When to Consider a Plea Bargain  If your attorney advises you that the evidence is overwhelming, accepting a plea deal may reduce your sentence or lessen the severity of the charges.   However, it's crucial to fully understand the terms of the bargain and ensure it aligns with your long-term interests.  The Role of Your Attorney  Always discuss plea bargains with your lawyer before accepting any deals.   Your attorney will evaluate the offer, assess whether it's in your best interest, and potentially negotiate better terms. Do not rush into a plea deal without fully understanding the legal and personal consequences.  Yes, navigating criminal charges can be overwhelming, but plea bargaining is an option that may provide a way to deal with the outcome.   You have to trust your lawyer’s judgment, weigh the pros and cons, and ensure you understand the full impact of accepting a plea before moving forward.  This is why picking the right lawyer is so very important!  Try to Stay Calm!  People who are faced with criminal charges for the first time have it worse. They do not know who to approach and what to avoid keeping the situation under control.   Therefore, bear in mind that sorting your case by yourself can lead to grave and irreversible consequences.   Thus, the best way to ensure that you get your deserving rights is to hire an attorney skilled in representing criminal cases. An experienced lawyer will guide you through the process to get the outcomes that you deserve.  Read Also: Tips To Choose The Best Lawyer In Your Country The Basics of Criminal Appeals Law Civil Cases Versus Criminal Cases: What You Need To Know What Do Criminal Defense Attorneys Do?  

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