Personal Injury Cases
Personal Injury Three-Pronged Test
A good personal injury case is like a three-legged stool. If one of the legs is broken or does not exist then the case cannot stand. The first leg, in any case, is an actual injury. Injury can be as serious as death or as slight as a concussion. It can also be in the form of funds wrongfully obtained, but without injury then there is nothing to recover. The second leg is a liability. The injured party must show the other person was at fault either because the person was negligent or because they intentionally inflicted the injury. The final leg is the ability for the liable party or some entity associated with them to pay damages. In any murder case, the family could likely get a million dollar verdict against the culprit, but if the culprit has no money or assets the judgment is worthless.
All three of the legs must be dealt with differently. First, anyone, who has been in an accident or a victim of an attack needs to seek proper medical treatment. Certain injuries can become worse if not treated. Some injuries are permanent while some are only temporary. The idea in any personal injury case is to make the person whole. If you need treatment for the rest of your life due to injury or will be in constant pain an attorney needs to know this along with a jury.
Liability in most cases is negligence but can come in the form of an intentional tort. Negligence requires a duty to a party and a breach of that duty results in a party being liable. For example, if I drive a car on the road I have a duty to follow the traffic laws. If I fail to do so and the result causes injury to another party then I am liable to the other party. I have a duty to other drivers on the road to drive safely by violating a traffic law I have breached that duty.
Finally, the other party has to have assets. In many cases, the other party will be insured and the injured party can seek funds from the insurance company as well as the at-fault party. In many cases, the party that causes the injury could be acting as an agent for a company. If a Walmart employee fails to clean up a spill and a person slips and falls then a lawyer can sue both Walmart and the employee. Some people can be very evasive about their assets in an effort to prevent any lawsuit. A thorough asset check should be performed for any of the potentially liable parties.
Auto Accidents
The most common form of a personal injury case is an injured person in an auto accident. It is important to investigate this type of case quickly because witnesses and evidence become harder to collect and produce as time passes. The Maloof Law Firm must establish the three legs of a personal injury case. We must make sure the other party was at fault in the accident via police reports and witnesses. We must investigate what type of injuries you have sustained, and we must see what type of insurance and other assets are available for recovery.
Our office associates with only experienced and talented attorneys in these areas. We make sure the case is given the attention it deserves. We run asset checks on the victims and we promptly send out demand letters. We do not settle unless we think it is fair for our clients. The money we spend is on the case not on advertising.
Premise Liability
Businesses, landlords and property owners have certain duties to upkeep and maintain safe work and residential locations. If they fail to do so they can be held liable for any injury caused by their negligence. Our firm associates with two of the best premise liability attorneys in the metropolitan area. In many cases, problems have occurred at certain locations in the past. If the owners have done nothing to prevent these problems then they can be held liable for any injuries that occur in the future. For example, if an apartment complex has an armed robbery and they do not hire security or raise the difficulty of the entrance to the location, then they can be held liable if someone is attacked or hurt by another armed robbery.
The same is true for a business. If several people have been mugged in the parking lot then the owner of the property has a duty to improve security. If you have been hurt at your apartment or at another person’s property or business feel free to call our office for a free consultation.
Intentional Torts
Intentional torts are usually criminal acts that create civil liability. They include assault, battery, fraud, theft and many other unlawful acts. The state may or may not decide to prosecute the charge, but the person may still owe a civil duty to another for the injury he/she has inflicted. Many of these cases have punitive damages and large verdicts can be awarded in an effort to curb the behavior that was committed. The problem in most of these cases is the ability of the other party to pay. If you have been attacked or defrauded of money then please call our office for a free consultation: 404-492-5104.