Personal Injury Lawyer Ringgold

1. Liability – Someone must have done something to the injured party that is negligent. Just because someone is hurt in an accident doesn’t mean that it is someone else’s fault. If the injury is caused by the person who is injured there can be no recovery. If someone hurts himself it is not someone else’s fault. To have a successful personal injury case the injured party must be able to point to someone else and prove that it is that person’s fault.

2. Damages – There must be damages in order to have a successful case. If someone has an accident but no one has suffered any injury, medical expenses, lost wages or some other loss there can be no recovery. There can be damages for property without damage to the person.There can be recovery for property without recovery for the personal injury.

3. Someone able to pay – If the above two criteria are met then there is the possibility of recovery. However having the possibility of recovery does not mean they will recover any money. There must be insurance covering the accident or the person responsible must have a substantial estate (property, cash etc) from which to recover the damages.

Marshall Bandy has tried and settled cases ranging from the small case for a few hundred dollars to cases for several hundred thousand dollars. Many times people have two of the three criteria but not the third. It is the lawyers job to be certain that all three critieria are properly positioned in negotiations. Otherwise there will be no recovery. The average personal injury settles for less than 10,000 dollars. Most cases are small ones. Many people are under the mistaken impression that it is possible to manufacture a case out of thin air. That cannot be done without commiting fraud and fraud is a criminal act and is a felony. However maximizing a recovery is the measure of the success of an experienced lawyer. The key is to gather all the data and to position the case so the injured person recieves the maximum amount allowed under the law or the insurance policy or policies involved.