Fort Morgan Personal Injury Attorney

Fort Morgan Personal Injury Lawyer Serving Colorado

Personal injury is a general area of law pertaining to cases resulting from car accidents, truck accidents, property damage, medical malpractice, slip and fall accidents, and other types of accidents.

Personal Injury: An Overview

Lawsuits in personal injury cases are filed by victims who have suffered injuries because of other people's negligence. Some injuries are physical, while others may be of an emotional nature, and they may result from a variety of kinds of behavior.

Car accidents, slip and fall accidents, product liability, medical malpractice, dog bites, and assault and battery represent the majority of personal injury cases. Generally speaking, the goal of a personal injury lawsuit is to determine the person or parties who were responsible for a victim's injuries and ensure that these parties will pay financial compensation for the injured party's losses.

Compensation

The compensation available in a person injury case is also known as "damages," and it is a monetary figure paid to you by the party responsible for your injuries in an effort to make you whole again. In Colorado, the damages a victim can receive may include:

• Medical expenses for past and future treatment
• Loss of income and diminished earning capacity, including time missed from work for doctor's appointments
• Disfigurement or other issues that led to permanent disabilities
• Pain and suffering
• Harm to a victim's relationships with family members
• Property damage

Punitive damages, which are meant to serve as punishment for a person for actions that caused harm to others, have certain types of restrictions in Colorado. First of all, it is necessary to show that the negligent party's actions were intentional or especially egregious. In most cases, the amount that may be awarded in punitive damages cannot be greater than their other compensatory damages. However, if the type of behavior that initially warranted punitive damages persists during the trial, the court could award punitive damages up to three times the amount of the compensatory damages.

In medical malpractice suits, the non-economic damages are restricted to $300,000.

Proving Negligence

Proving negligence is integral to most types of personal injury cases in Colorado. It is usually not necessary to show willful wrong-doing. Instead, you will simply need to demonstrate that a person's failure to use reasonable amount of care caused your injuries.

Colorado adheres to a law of "modified comparative negligence." This means if your actions or failure to act contributed in any degree to your accident, you are partially to blame for your injuries. If you are less than half responsible for your accident, the party who caused your injuries may be liable for the portion of damages equal to their portion of fault.

Additionally, especially in regards to product liability, there may be more than one party responsible for your injuries.

Statute of Limitations

The time limit for filing a personal injury claim is different in each state. For most personal injury cases in Colorado, that time limit is two years. Particular circumstances may determine when this two-year time period starts. In some cases, a victim may have a shorter window of time in which they can pursue compensation.

Contact Our Fort Morgan Personal Injury Attorneys

Following a serious accident or injury in Fort Morgan, you may be unsure about where you can turn for help. We can help you take legal action to receive the compensation you need to recover from your injuries and move forward successfully. Contact our office today to arrange a complimentary consultation at 303-694-4653.