Category: Personal Injuries
How Does Having a Personal Injury Attorney Help Me?
August 20, 2013 | Adriel B. VillarrealIn an ideal world, insurance companies would pay the fair value of an injury claim without any struggle. After all, you’ve paid all of your insurance premiums and you’ve upheld your end of the bargain. Unfortunately, things rarely go so well after an accident. The insurance company is not your friend. An insurance company is in the business of making money, and typically, they don’t really want to pay the full value of a claim. Some insurance companies will try to shift responsibility for an accident and the bills the accident comes with onto you. Other insurance companies will try to play pass-the-buck. They’ll try to argue that the bills are some other insurance company’s responsibility. In most cases, insurance companies may settle eventually, but it’s usually a mere fraction of the amount that it takes to meet your medical bills, replace lost wages, and deal with the suffering caused by a car accident, or someone else’s negligence. Some insurance companies may even get downright nasty, acting as if you’re trying to defraud them by asking for the money that the law and your insurance policy may rightfully be obligated to pay you. In addition, insurance companies are excellent at trying to manipulate people into saying or doing things that can hurt their…
Read MoreWhat is Building Security Negligence?
July 8, 2013 | Adriel B. VillarrealWere you the victim of a violent crime? Many violent crimes can be prevented when property owners fulfill their legal responsibility to provide adequate security for their premises. Minnesota law recognizes this, creating the basis for building security negligence cases. Property owners are supposed to ensure their properties are well-lit and have proper locks. In some cases they’re supposed to provide security systems and human patrols as well, especially if their location is known and understood to be dangerous. Sometimes violent crimes are committed by the employees of a business, too. That is why most businesses screen their employees, since they can be held responsible for failing to do so if one of their employees hurts someone. If you are the victim of a violent crime, see to your safety first. Then perform the following steps to give yourself the best possible chance of winning a future negligent security personal injury case. First, seek medical attention immediately, especially if the injury is life-threatening. Follow all of your doctor’s instructions as you can weaken your case by failing to do so. Report the incident to the police as soon as you are able to do so. Be sure to obtain a copy of the police report. If someone asks you to sign documents about…
Read MoreHow Soon Should I File My Personal Injury Case?
July 3, 2013 | Adriel B. VillarrealEvery personal injury case is subject to a statute of limitations. If you do not file the case by the time the statute of limitations has expired then you will no longer be able to seek remedies for your damages through the legal system. The statute “clock” begins ticking at one of two points: on the date the injury occurred, or the date the injury is discovered. Sometimes there can be a vast difference between the two dates. The statute of limitations differs for different types of personal injury cases. Here are the statutes for a few of the types of cases that we cover. Car accidents: 6 years Animal attacks: 6 years Slips and falls due to negligently maintained property: 6 years Slips and falls due to defective design or construction: 2 years Building security negligence: 6 years Construction accidents: 6 years Defective products: 4 years There is rarely a good reason for waiting for the full statute of limitations to run out. Usually you will want to speak to a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. This is because shortly after an injury occurs you’re usually going to have representatives from the involved insurance companies contacting you, pressuring you to sign statements that could significantly impact or destroy your ability to…
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