Car accidents, dangerous falls, and product failures have more in common than you think. All of these accidents can stem from someone else’s negligence. What’s more, all of these accidents entitle you to legal action under Indiana’s civil statutes.
If you want to hold someone else accountable for losses you sustained in a serious accident, Merrillville personal injury lawyers can help. Vaughan & Vaughan has helped Hoosiers like you secure millions of dollars after dangerous accidents, and we’re prepared to do the same for you.
What is a Merrillville Personal Injury Claim?
A personal injury claim is a legal document that allows you to open a civil case against a party you accuse of negligent behavior. If you want a personal injury claim to move forward, you must prove that the named party in question:
- Owed you a duty of care
- Violated that duty
- Caused you economic harm
This is a broad definition that allows “personal injury” to serve as an umbrella term for a range of cases. When you tackle a personal injury claim alongside Vaughan & Vaughan, you have the opportunity to work with the following parties:
- Car accident lawyers
- Truck accident lawyers
- Motorcycle accident lawyers
- Traumatic brain injury lawyers
- Catastrophic injury lawyers
- Slip and fall lawyers
- Construction accident lawyers
If you don’t see your specific accident here, don’t panic. You can meet with our team free of charge to discuss what cases we address and how we can help you recover.
Personal Injury Claims Versus Insurance Claims
Personal injury claims and insurance claims often cover a lot of the same ground after a serious accident. However, personal injury claims allow you to recover damages based on your economic and non-economic losses. Comparatively, insurance claims only allow you to recover damages based on your economic losses.
Our Merrillville personal injury attorneys can help you file an insurance claim, a personal injury claim, or both, depending on your desired recovery. We can advise you as to which of these claims might suit you best after we assess the nature of your accident.
Your Case Will Get
The Attention It Deserves
Can Personal Injury Claims Help You Recover After an Accident in Merrillville?
Personal injury claims specifically allow you to hold a negligent party responsible for the complications they’ve introduced into your life. However, personal injury claims do not allow you to hold someone criminally accountable for an accident.
Only the state of Indiana can charge a negligent party with criminal misconduct. Personal injury claims strictly allow you to recover damages based on the value of your losses.
What Damages Can You Request When Filing a Personal Injury Claim?
The damages you request when filing a personal injury claim should cover the cost of your economic and non-economic losses. These damages may include the following:
- Emergency medical expenses
- Ambulance fees
- Long-term medical treatments
- Temporary or permanent disability
- Pain and suffering
- Reduced quality of life
- Mental anguish
- Lost wages
- Property damage and restoration
You can work with our team to calculate the dollar value of losses that don’t generate a traditional economic paper trail, called non-economic losses. These include your pain and suffering, mental anguish, and a reduced quality of life.
There is no fee
unless you win
Who’s Liable for Your Personal Injury Accident in Merrillville, IN?
When it comes time to assign liability for a personal injury accident, you have to consider the evidence you have available. Evidence creates the foundation of a personal injury case by establishing your relationship with a liable party. That evidence also outlines the negligence that led to your accident.
Our team can gather the data needed to determine who you can hold liable for your losses. That evidence may include the following:
- Witness statements
- Expert witness testimony
- Police reports
- Medical documents
- Debris from the accident scene
- Photos from before and after your accident
- Videos of your accident
- Electronic data
What to Expect After You File a Merrillville Personal Injury Claim?
So long as you file your personal injury claim before Indiana’s two-year personal injury statute of limitations expires, you can expect the state’s civil courts to award you the right to act. You get to decide whether you:
- Negotiate for accident support in out-of-court conversations
- Initiate a civil trial against the party responsible for your losses
Both of these approaches allow you to recover damages based on your losses, but their timelines and commitments vary. Negotiations tend to resolve faster than traditional trials, but you must commit yourself to arguing for all of the compensation you feel you deserve. A liable party may try to convince you to waive your right to certain damages out of court.
Comparatively, a civil trial takes a while to wrap up. However, trials tend to best serve cases involving belligerent or otherwise uncooperative defendants.
Call Your Merrillville Personal Injury Lawyers Today
Are you ready to get the accident settlement you deserve? Don’t let your statute of limitations expire. You can contact our personal injury attorneys in Merrillville today to schedule a free case evaluation.
Your case evaluation doesn’t lock you into legal action against a negligent party. Instead, you can sit down with a team that cares about your physical and financial well-being to learn more about the civil process. Vaughan & Vaughan will always prioritize your best interests, no matter how you decide to proceed after an accident.
