Serious accidents can have all sorts of consequences: physical, emotional, practical, and financial. You may be struggling to pay your bills, if you can’t work, you might feel overwhelmed. Thankfully, an experienced injury attorney can help you seek compensation for your losses.
Contact Margaret S. Burns Injury Law today if you’re looking for a personal injury lawyer in Abita Springs, LA. Our trusted accident lawyer can help evaluate the value of your claim, negotiate with insurance companies, and file a personal injury lawsuit when necessary.
Legal Representation for Injury Cases in Abita Springs
Negotiating with insurance companies and navigating the legal system can be difficult on your own. Professional injury legal services can relieve your stress, protect your rights, and streamline the claims process.
Let our personal injury lawyer in Abita Springs, LA, assist you with the following:
- Evaluating whether you have a personal injury case
- Helping you collect evidence
- Investigating the negligence of various parties
- Calculating your tangible and intangible losses
- Guiding you through the legal system
Types of Personal Injury Cases
While accidents can be painful, traumatizing, and expensive, they don’t always qualify as personal injury cases. To pursue financial compensation, the accident must be due to someone else’s careless or reckless behavior. In short, you must prove that the other party’s negligence contributed to your injuries.
Personal injury claims often arise from the following:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Commercial truck accidents
- Bicycle injuries
- Pedestrian accidents
- Catastrophic injuries
- Defective products
- The wrongful death of a family member
Compensation for Personal Injury Cases
When you suffer financial or emotional losses in an accident, you can seek compensation in the form of “damages.” Understanding the types of damages available is crucial for maximizing your claim and ensuring you receive full compensation. Damages fall into three broad categories: economic, non-economic, and punitive.
Economic damages refer to the direct financial costs of your accident. These include the following:
- Medical expenses (past and future)
- Lost income (past and future)
- Property damage (such as car repairs)
Non-economic damages refer to the less quantifiable consequences of your accident. These include the following:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment in life
- Loss of companionship
Punitive damages are a third, less common category. These damages are intended to punish the defendant rather than compensate the victim. In Louisiana, punitive damages, which are also called “exemplary damages,” are allowed only in extremely limited instances, with the most common being if a drunk driver caused the accident.
Deadlines for Personal Injury Cases
The statute of limitations is the time frame for filing a legal claim. While many states give accident victims two to five years to file a personal injury claim, Louisiana law can be much more restrictive. Until very recently, Louisiana required a lawsuit to be filed within one year of the accident. Recently, the Legislature changed the law to allow for some suits from accidents taking place after August 1, 2024 to be filed within two years of the accident.
You should not delay consulting with an experienced personal injury attorney. If you miss the deadline, you permanently lose the right to seek compensation for your losses. Contact Margaret Burns Injury Law to speak with a personal injury lawyer in Abita Springs, LA, who can help you understand your case’s applicable statute of limitations.
Comparative Negligence in Louisiana
What happens if you were partly to blame for your injuries? Fortunately for accident victims, Louisiana law is more forgiving in instances of shared fault.
You can still file a compensation claim even if you were doing something wrong at the time of the accident. However, a court will reduce your final award according to your percentage of fault. For example, if you were 25% to blame, you can only qualify for 75% of the total compensation.
Need a Skilled Personal Injury Attorney? Contact Margaret Burns Injury Law Today
If you’re looking for a personal injury claim lawyer, look no further than Margaret S. Burns Injury Law. Our experienced team will provide legal guidance, work to protect your rights, and fight to secure you fair compensation. Contact us today or call today at (985) 892-2945 for a free consultation with a knowledgeable personal injury lawyer in Abita Springs, LA.
