Any injury involving the spinal column can be frightening. Back and neck injuries can have lifelong effects including chronic pain, limited mobility, and paralysis.
If you have suffered a neck or back injury in Monroe, Louisiana through someone else’s fault or neglect, you should enlist the help of a back and neck injury lawyer to fight for the compensation you need during this trying time. The attorneys and staff at Morris Bart may just be the right team for you.
How do You Know if You Have a Legal Claim?
The most common cause of an accident resulting in a back or neck injury is a car crash. But a spinal injury can happen almost anywhere including at work or on vacation. The causality must be determined to see whether you have a legal case.
No matter where your accident occurred, you must be able to prove that your injuries were due to the negligence or fault of another. Whether you suffered a slip and fall in a store or were rear-ended at a stop sign, never take your injuries too lightly.
Follow Your Doctor’s Orders
If you were taken to the emergency department or visited your own doctor following your accident, you should take your diagnosis seriously. There is no such thing as a simple injury to your spinal column.
You should follow your prescribed treatment plan including surgery, orthopedic support prescriptions, physical therapy, exercises, and rest when necessary. While this may be an inconvenience, it can also determine your physical recovery, as well as your compensation recovered in a lawsuit.
The Severity of Neck or Back Injuries
Lawyers are not doctors. They cannot diagnose your injuries. But the degree of those injuries will be evidence in a legal claim. From whiplash to a broken back, your diagnosis, treatment, and expected recovery will all have bearing on your potential lawsuit.
When you hire an experienced back and neck injury lawyer, one of the things he or she will need is a complete copy of your medical records regarding the accident. Your attorney will also need copies of your medical bills.
For a free legal consultation with a Back and Neck Injury lawyer serving Monroe, call (318) 884-0904
What Compensation Can You Receive?
Every accident is different and so are the injuries resulting from that accident. In Louisiana, you can file for economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are the out-of-pocket expenses and financial hardships you have incurred directly from your accident. Examples include:
- Medical bills
- Future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Future loss of income
- Property damage
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages do not come with a bill. These are determined by the degree of pain and suffering you are enduring. These include:
- Physical impairment
- Physical pain
- Disfigurement
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of consortium
A back and neck injury lawyer in Monroe who is experienced with Louisiana law can evaluate the pain and suffering you have endured to apply a financial figure to those noneconomic properties.
Louisiana’s Time Limits to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Each state has its own set of laws regarding a statute of limitations. Louisiana’s deadline for filing a lawsuit is noticeably short – only one year. If you do not meet that deadline, there is a good chance you will forfeit your chance at compensation, although there are exceptions.
Investigating an accident and preparing a claim is extremely time-consuming. If you or a loved one has suffered injuries to your spine through some type of accident, you need to contact a local personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.
Click to contact our Monroe Personal Injury Lawyers today
What Your Back and Spine Injury Attorney Will Need to Start Working on Your Case
Most experienced back and spine injury lawyers will offer you a free consultation. It gives them a chance to see if you have a valid case he or she thinks they can win. It also allows you a chance to meet the person you are considering entrusting with that case.
With Morris Bart, don’t worry, you will not be asked to pay for any services upfront. In fact, you will not pay anything until we receive your compensation from the defendant responsible for your accident.
Information Your Attorney Will Need
You will have to share some personal information with your back and neck injury attorney in Monroe along with everything to do with the accident. Examples include:
- The date, time, and location of your accident
- All pertinent medical information and copies of your medical bills
- Contact information for your insurance company
- Contact information for the other party involved in the accident
- Contact information for the other party’s insurance company
- A copy of the police report if there was one
- Photos of and immediately following the accident
- Contact information of any witnesses
- Your account of the accident
- Estimates or bills of property damages
You should provide any information you feel prevalent to your case, no matter how minor it may seem to you. Tidbits of information can often help a personal injury lawyer in building a case.
How Long Will Your Case Take?
This is a difficult question to answer. Each case is different and personal injury cases involving the back and neck can be complex. However, there is that one-year Louisiana deadline to file looming.
Once you do file a claim, your Monroe back and injury lawyer and the defendant’s lawyer will negotiate. The other side, including the defendant’s insurance company, will want to settle for as little as possible. Your attorney will work toward getting you the most compensation possible for the injuries and pain you have suffered.
If the two sides cannot agree, the case may end up in court. That is your decision. If you are not happy with the final proposed settlement, you can elect to go to court.
When Should You Meet with a Monroe Mack and Neck Injury Attorney?
As soon as you can! If you are hospitalized or recuperating at home, and your doctor has given you the green light to meet with legal counsel, contact Morris Bart. We will come to you from our local offices whether you are in St. Francis Medical Center or one of the other 20 medical centers in Monroe or the surrounding area.
Don’t wait. Louisiana’s statute of limitations is so short. Contact Morris Bart today!
Questions?Call (318) 884-0904
to find a Morris Bart office near you.
