What should you know about personal injury claims?

Filing a personal injury claim can help recoup part of the expenses incurred as a result of a serious accident. However, your claim can only be accepted if you follow all the necessary procedures. In line with this, a general understanding of personal injury law can be helpful.

For you to qualify for compensation, you need to make a personal injury claim within four years from the day you were injured. However, this period can get extended if a physician proves that you did not suffer immediate harm, but instead, it occurred over a longer period of time. When seeking compensation from a state, city, or county government, you must file a claim within three years. 

According to Cornell Law School, some states have a comparative negligence law. This means that the compensation available to the injury victim may be affected by how much the victim was at fault for the accident. In Pennsylvania, the injured party may still recover damages as long as their negligence in the cause of the accident is not greater than the defendant’s, or at-fault party’s.

After filing a claim following a car accident, a no-fault system gets often followed. Your insurer has the obligation of covering your medical expenses and your lost income regardless of the party at fault. 

A negligent driver will only be liable if the “serious accident” limit gets reached. A majority of minor road accidents fall within the no-fault umbrella. Nonetheless, you may file a personal injury claim against a negligent driver in the case that accident that you were involved in resulted in permanent injury or permanent disability. 

There are also damage caps, which limit the amount of compensation that you can receive. These caps mainly regulate the amount of non-material damages that injured parties can recover. 

After a serious accident, a lot can be at stake and life may seem like it may never return to normal. Consulting with an experienced personal injury attorney early on after an accident can help to clarify uncertainty and answer questions about the process ahead.