Friday, July 10, 2009

What an Effective Colorado Personal Injury Lawyer Can Do For You

All too often, people suffer an injury for which they were not at fault. It may happen in a car or truck, or on a motorcycle or scooter. It happens to pedestrians that are struck by vehicles or who slip and fall on icy sidewalks. There are many types of cases such as these that fall under the purview of a Denver personal injury attorney. If you live in Denver and the surrounding area and are in need of a Colorado personal injury lawyer, you will want to take into consideration what makes a personal injury lawyer effective in the task of getting you fair compensation for your injuries.

A good Denver personal injury lawyer has experience in trying these types of cases. Because there are several areas of law, many lawyers focus in on one specific area and become specialists in practicing that type of law. You will want a Denver personal injury attorney who has an excellent track record of winning personal injury cases such as yours.

The best Colorado personal injury attorney has experience working with insurance companies. Someone who has worked in the insurance industry understands how these companies operate, and what tactics they may try to employ to win their cases. This is when a Denver personal injury attorney with insurance company experience can offer a huge advantage to the personal injury plaintiff.

Another advantage that a better Colorado personal injury lawyer can bring to his or her clients is the use of a contingency fee. What this means to someone who would like to bring a personal injury case to court is that you pay no legal fees unless your Denver personal injury attorney wins your case. If the case is won, the Colorado personal injury lawyer will receive an agreed upon percentage of your award. In this way, you need no money up front yet can still retain the services of a top Colorado personal injury lawyer.

Another benefit that a great Denver personal injury lawyer will offer his or her clients is a free consultation. Hourly fees for a Colorado personal injury attorney can be fairly expensive, but this should not deter you if your attorney offers a free initial consultation. This gives you the opportunity to get the lawyer's legal advice as to how strong a case you might have.

A superior Colorado personal injury attorney will do all that is possible to keep you informed and educated as to what is going on with the case as it progresses. Your lawyer will explain all of your legal options, so that you can make an informed choice as to what you wish to do at every step of the process.

It is no fun to be involved in a personal injury that is no fault of your own, but a Denver personal injury lawyer can help you secure a fair settlement.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

7 Tips to Hiring a Great Personal Injury Lawyer


If you suffer an injury resulting in significant damages you will need to hire a personal injury lawyer. But in any given city, there are probably over 20 pages of personal injury attorney listings in the phone book. How do you pick the right one? What do you look for? What questions should you ask?

Here are 7 things you should know before hiring your injury lawyer...

1) The sooner you hire your lawyer the better. Begin looking for your personal injury lawyer within a week or two after your accident. If you're not physically capable you should have a friend or loved-one start looking. The sooner you start building your case the better.

2) Hire a personal injury lawyer that specializes in your specific type of injuries. Do your homework before signing the retainer agreement. Visit the firm's website and read up on it's history and each lawyer's biographical information. Ask the lawyer for some referrences and ask how much experience they have in handling cases with similar injuries. What settlement awards did they get in those cases?

3) Have a face-to-face meeting with your prospective lawyer. Your personal injury lawyer is going to be your closest advisor during this difficult time. You must feel comfortable and trust your lawyer. The only way you'll get a feel for the lawyer is by having a sit-down to discuss your case. Any good personal injury lawyer will give you an initial consultation free of charge.

4) Hire a lawyer that will take your case on a contingency fee basis. This means that your lawyer won't get paid unless you get paid. He will take his fee out of the money you receive for your injuries. You can expect your lawyer to take about 33% of your final settlement - that's after expenses are taken off the top. Make sure you clearly understand the payment structure before you sign the retainer agreement.

5) Beware of ambulance chasers. The goal of these lawyers is to get lots of minor personal injury cases and settle them quickly - they make their profit from high turnover. So naturally they won't put as much time and effort into each case as they should. (If you're looking for a quick settlement be prepared to accept less than what your case is really worth.)

6) Hire a lawyer with a good Martindale-Hubbell rating. This service evaluates lawyers in the U.S. and Canada based on peer review. Their website, Martindale.com has a helpful lawyer locator service and will explain the rating system.

7) Always be completely open and honest when discussing your case with a lawyer. Tell the lawyer as much as you can about what happened. Try to remember every detail. Any documentation and pictures you have of your injuries and treatment will be a big help when evaluating your case.

Bonus Tip:

8) NEVER give a recorded statement to a representative from any insurance company until you've consulted a lawyer. When the rep. asks for one simply say, "I'm not prepared to give a statement at this time." A recorded statement can be used as evidence and if you're not prepared you might overlook important details. Anything you miss (or misrepresent) can be used against you in settlement negotiations and in the trial.

A Burning Help from a Los Angeles Burn Injury Lawyer


Burn injuries do not only happen in our homes. It could happen in the workplace, during accidents and in the least expected places. In the US, it is estimated that nearly 1.25 million burn injuries happen every year.

These injuries can sometimes occur due to the carelessness and negligence of another. Without this negligence, these injuries could have been prevented from happening to countless of unfortunate victims.

A LA burn injury lawyer specializes in this type of cases and can help you. That is, claim from whosoever caused your suffering.
Depending on what you read, burn accident statistics showed a decreasing trend during the last years. This is mainly due to growing awareness and spreading practice of installing devises that can detect smokes before they even burn.

Burns can be classified in this wise:
First degree – This is the most common type of burn injury. It only affects the first or top layer of the skin. Normally, the symptoms include pain, redness and swelling.

Second degree – This type involves the first and second layer of the skin. The symptoms include blistering of the skin, redness and swelling and usually very painful.

Third degree – This is the most severe of all types of burns. The skin undergoes excessive scarring and requires long time to recover. It often results to severe limitation of the bodily movements.

The law allows the victim of burn injury to recover compensation whose fault directly, or sometimes even indirectly, caused the accident. Fault must be established and once the same is determined, the court will award damages, which can include:

• medical bills
• wage loss
• treatment cost
• disfigurement
• pain and suffering

A Los Angeles burn injury lawyer can help you get them without so much a hitch because the law is in your side.

Burn injuries can occur in any of the following:

• Motor vehicle fires
• House/building fires
• Gas explosions
• Chemical burns
• Flammable clothing
• Electrocution
• Defective products

Motor vehicle fires often resulted from vehicle crashes, collision and rollovers. This may be caused either by a damaged or defectively placed gas tanks.
The majority of house and building fires was recorded to have been caused mostly by playing children who were unattended by parents or guardians. Some were caused by faulty electrical wirings, short-circuits, malfunction and burning of appliances.
Gas explosions often happen in industrial work sites. It usually occurs in industries, which store or manufacture oils and its by-products like fuels.

Like gas explosions, chemical burns often happen in the work site as well. It affects particular body parts such as the eyes, face, arms and legs. Some hazardous products get mislabeled, are thus used the wrong way that may cause serious tissue damage to the skin.

Burns can also be triggered by flammable clothing. What otherwise can be prevented can aggravate fire and thus, burn the person because of the type of clothing he wears.
Electrocution can also cause serious burn injuries. Some improperly placed and defective utility poles are often the source of this. Faulty electrical wiring and exposed electric cables can electrocute and burn the person who may get in contact with them.

Defective products, particularly appliances that use electricity, can trigger house fire that can seriously harm the persons living in them. Faulty wiring and defective heater can cause burn injuries from the fire they make.
Burn injuries don’t only alter our skin tissues. Sometimes, it can even alter the course of our lives. It can leave scars, not only in the outside but scars of pain and suffering that stay for a lifetime.

If you suffered burn injuries through any of the foregoing, do not hesitate to find the source and go after them. Your Los Angeles burn injury lawyer can help you.
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