Albuquerque Personal Injury Lawyer
Every year, more than 39 million people require medical attention for a variety of personal injuries. Perhaps even more alarming is that accidental injuries are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Fortunately, if you’re facing an injury as a result of someone else’s negligent or careless actions, you may be able to retain compensation for any medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering stemming from the accident. There are a wide range of situations that can give rise to a legitimate personal injury claim but note that an injury doesn’t automatically result in legal liability. For help taking the next step, an experienced Albuquerque personal injury lawyer is crucial.
Fortunately, help is right around the corner at Dominguez Law. Our compassionate Albuquerque personal injury attorneys are fully dedicated to our client’s well-being and are standing by to assist you. Whether you or someone you love has been injured as the result of an automobile accident, defective product, workplace incident, medical malpractice, or otherwise, we’re committed to advocating for you. With over a decade of experience, Dominguez Law is entirely dedicated to litigation and unwavering when faced with corporate or government power.
Common Kinds of Personal Injury Cases in Albuquerque
Personal injury is a broad field of law that includes a wide variety of injuries. However, there are several types of personal injury cases that are particularly common in Albuquerque and the rest of the United States. Here are eight examples of personal injury claims that can be pursued with the help of a personal injury attorney:
Car Accident Injuries
Car accident claims are considered the most common personal injury claims in the U.S., with millions of Americans sustaining injuries each year, injuries such as whiplash. The cause of the accident is often careless drivers who are distracted by their phones or drivers under the influence. It can sometimes be hard to prove fault, and in such cases, it’s vital for the victims to have reputable legal aid representation.
Slip and Fall Accidents
Slip and fall claims are another relatively common type of personal injury category. Property owners generally have a legal duty to keep their premises reasonably safe and free of hazards so that people on the property don’t injure themselves. Slick, slippery floors inside grocery stores and retail shops, for instance, can cause significant injuries to shoppers. Problems with flooring, such as torn carpets, may also contribute to a person’s slip and fall.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice cases are caused by a nurse, doctor, or another medical professional whose negligence or inappropriate treatment led to your injury. These personal injury cases typically require the medic to break a rule or take incorrect, negligent, or inappropriate actions in treating a patient.
Wrongful Death
A “wrongful death” lawsuit allows the victim’s family to recover damages that are different from those available when someone suffers non-fatal injuries. As its name implies, wrongful death describes a type of lawsuit brought when an individual has been killed as a result of someone else’s carelessness. Most wrongful death lawsuits stem from incidents like car and truck crashes, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, construction accidents, brain injuries, airplane accidents, or the use of a defective or dangerous product.
Product Liability
Injuries that occur as a result of a defective or dangerous product may call for a product liability suit. Dangerous drugs, defective medical devices, or malfunctioning children’s toys are just a few examples of products that could result in this type of lawsuit. Products can be defective by design, manufacture, or by way of misleading claims found in advertising.
Workplace Accidents
Among the most common types of personal injury categories are workplace accidents. Workplace personal injury cases, which are filed by employees who get injured on the job, could arise due to unsafe working conditions, malfunctioning equipment, or insufficient training. Employers generally must provide benefits to their injured employees and offer them a lump-sum benefit in case of partial or permanent disability. In this case, a knowledgeable worker’s compensation lawyer may be instrumental in helping you get a worthy settlement.
Premises Liability
Premises liability refers to accidents stemming from a dangerous condition on someone’s property. Not to be confused with slip and fall cases—a category of premises liability cases occurring when someone slips and gets injured in the fall—premises liability is a broader class of cases in which a person suffers any kind of injury on someone else’s property. These accidents can occur just about anywhere, from commercial properties such as grocery stores, gas stations, restaurants, malls, and retail stores, to a neighbor’s home or a public or private swimming pool.
Nursing Home Abuse
Elderly adults are often abused in nursing homes because they’re not able to protect themselves. If you suspect your family member is being mistreated in a Albuquerque nursing home, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against an abuser and the caregiving facility where the abuse took place.
What Are the Best Steps to Take Just after an Accident?
While every accident is unique, there are several steps that are important to consider after a personal injury accident, no matter the type or severity of your injury. Here are just a few:
- Take care of your health: Just after the events of an accident, it’s first imperative to contact the police and receive any medical attention you need. Even if you’re not seriously injured, a medical professional will be able to track and monitor minor injuries so there are records of them if they develop into something more serious.
- Document the accident scene and collect evidence: It’s also helpful to take pictures of the accident scene, acquire the contact information of all parties involved, and find any possible witnesses. A successful personal injury suit requires substantial evidence, including police reports, medical records, and photos of the scene.
- File and obtain a police report: For any accidents that resulted in injuries or property damage, it’s important to contact the police. The officer will document the accident, record their observations about its cause, and note if the other driver received any type of citation for breaking laws. This data can help you advance your claim.
- Contact a personal injury lawyer: Finally, contacting a lawyer as soon as possible helps preserve evidence and strengthen your claims. A knowledgeable attorney may be able to help you gather evidence to support your claim and handle all communications with the insurance company.
If you choose to take legal action to gain compensation from those responsible for your accident and injury, it’s essential to seek out a top personal injury lawyer immediately to guide you through the process. The knowledgeable personal injury attorneys at Dominguez Law are experienced at advancing all kinds of personal injury claims, including car accident claims, slips and falls, defective product claims, and more. Contact us today.
What Are My Rights after a Personal Injury in Albuquerque?
If you’ve been injured due to another person’s intentional acts or negligent behavior, you’re entitled to pursue a personal injury claim against that person. This means if you prove your case, you’ll receive financial compensation from all parties who were at fault. It’s important to note, as well, that Albuquerque has a statute of limitations that limits the amount of time you have to file a court case after an accident. Albuquerque gives you three years from the date of the accident to file a case in court. If you don’t file your case within this timeframe, you may lose the chance to file at all.
Likewise, Albuquerque, place caps on damages in personal injury cases that limit damages for certain kinds of cases, like medical malpractice cases. In Albuquerque, the state caps damages in medical malpractice cases at $600,000. This cap doesn’t include punitive damages or costs for past and future medical care.
Can You Recover Compensation If You Are at Fault for the Accident in Albuquerque?
Albuquerque follows the principle of “comparative fault” in negligence cases. This means that liability is apportioned according to each party’s percentage of responsibility in causing the harm. An example of an applicable scenario may be a car accident involving two vehicles in which each driver feels the other is responsible. If the case goes to trial and a jury determines that one person is 30 percent at fault for the crash, they can recover up to 70 percent of the total damages from the other party.
At Dominguez Law, our Albuquerque personal injury lawyers fight to hold insurance companies and drivers accountable when they needlessly endanger you and your loved ones. Even if you suspect that you share some percentage of fault for the accident, we still encourage you to reach out to us to recover the compensation you deserve. You could still receive much-needed damages to alleviate the cost of your injuries.
How Much is My Personal Injury Case Worth?
If you’ve been hurt in an accident, you’ve likely suffered financially, physically, and mentally along the way. It’s not uncommon, in this case, to wonder how much your case may be worth. However, there’s usually not a hard and fast rule that can help you determine the exact amount of compensation entitled to you. The amount you’ll collect after your personal injury case will depend on a wide variety of factors, including the cost of economic and punitive damages, the strength of a plaintiff’s argument, the amount and availability of insurance, and what juries have awarded plaintiffs in similar cases.
The best way to get an appraisal of how much your case may be worth is to discuss it with a personal injury lawyer. Nevertheless, you may still be able to get a ballpark estimation of the value of your case by taking a look at some of the factors that play into this number. Here are a few considerations:
- The insurance company’s formula: Insurance companies typically value an injury settlement using formulas that consider your injuries, the amount of medical treatment you need, and the amount for which they’ve previously settled similar cases.
- Medical bills: You deserve to be compensated for any current and future medical treatment, including adaptive medical devices, physical therapy, pain management therapies, and transportation to your doctor.
- Pain and suffering: Insurance companies sometimes use “pain multipliers,” which are your actual economic losses multiplied by a designated number to estimate your pain and suffering damages.
- Income loss: You may be entitled to compensation for the accident’s impact on your salary and wages. This includes not only income you’ve lost already but also the compensation you would have been able to make in the future had it not been for the accident.
Getting sufficient compensation for your injury is crucial so you can move on with your life and have the compensation you need to provide your medical care and pay other expenses. You certainly don’t want to accept less than you deserve, which means you’ll need to have a clear understanding of how much your case is worth. For the best chance at understanding this value eking out the money you deserve, contact us at Dominguez Law today.
Seek the Help of the Knowledgeable Albuquerque Personal Injury Lawyers at Dominguez Law
At Dominguez Law, our team of best-in-class lawyers takes the time to learn about our clients before acting as capable guides throughout the entire legal process. Proud of our reputation for ethics and integrity, we’re committed to asserting your right to relief from the harm you’ve suffered. We’re highly adept at securing compensation in any type of personal injury case, including automobile accidents, truck accidents, workplace accidents, defective products, and medical errors.
You can’t always prevent another person’s negligent or careless actions, but you have the right to take legal action when it harms you. Located in Albuquerque, the Albuquerque personal injury law firm at Dominguez Law will use cutting-edge technology and years of experience to protect your rights. Call us today at 505-596-4481 or contact us online for a free initial consultation. Our office is located less than 10 minutes from Pete V. Domenici U.S. Courthouse.
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