How Do I Prove My Injuries in a Personal Injury Case?

Car Accident lawyer

After a serious injury that was not your fault, you have to deal with the pain and the financial burden. Proving what caused the injuries and how they happened is an added burden. However, as a car accident lawyer from a firm like ours can explain, you will need physical evidence to present in court and when dealing with insurance companies. Photographic evidence is the best tool you can use in a personal injury claim. 

How to Gather Evidence

The first thing to do after a serious injury accident is to get medical care, even if you don’t feel like you were seriously hurt. In some accidents, adrenaline is high and you might not feel as much pain as you would normally. Other injuries might not show symptoms right away. 

If you are able to, you should also take photos of the accident site as soon as possible. Accident scenes change as things get repaired or moved. Water dries and ice melts. The sooner you (or someone else) can take photos, the better.

It’s best to get photos from various angles. For example, in a slip-and-fall accident, showing the stairs or floor from different angles can better show just how hazardous the situation was. If possible, try to take videos as well. Even standard smartphone images and video clips are better than nothing. 

Take photos of your injuries. You can’t expect to get photos at the hospital or clinic. Make sure to get as many images as possible of your bruising, burns, or puncture wounds. These photographs will bolster the medical reports by providing more evidence that your injuries caused significant pain and suffering. 

Lastly, medical records are essential if you’re planning on making a case for compensation. Medical reports from a hospital or clinic will firmly establish the nature and severity of the injuries you suffered, whether it was a car accident or a bad fall at a business. 

Reasons to Hire a Lawyer

A personal injury attorney can help prove your injuries were caused by the accident by taking a few steps. A law firm will:

• Obtain a copy of the police report
• Interview medical personnel who were on the scene
• Interview witnesses
• Photograph the accident scene
• Obtain and review electronic records and security camera footage

A law firm will also take over all communication with the other party (or parties) and their insurance company. Insurance companies always have legal counsel looking after their interests, which makes it a challenge to pursue compensation for pain, suffering, and medical bills. 

Contact a Car Accident Lawyer Today

If you suffered serious injuries in an accident that wasn’t your fault, a Car Accident lawyer can help you to protect your rights and pursue compensation. 

Take care when passing cyclists on Florida’s roads

“Car driver killed in crash with a cyclist.” Have you ever seen this headline? It’s unlikely. Whereas you have probably seen plenty of headlines where cyclists died in crashes with drivers. As a driver in charge of a ton or more of moving steel, you need to take extra care around cyclists.

Scientists in Sweden decided to look at how cars pass cyclists on out-of-town roads. They found three primary forms of overtaking:

• Flying: A vehicle passes at a constant speed without slowing down.
• Accelerating: The driver slows down and sits behind the cyclist before accelerating past them at an opportune moment.
• Piggybacking: Other drivers follow the first overtaking car, overtaking the bicycle when it does.

The study found drivers took longer to pass and left less distance between them and the cyclist when using the flying method, rather than the accelerating strategy. If a car was coming the other way, the drivers left less distance between them and the cyclists, less than one meter at times.

The researchers found 28% of drivers used piggybacking, but did not look at how close these cars passed or how quickly they passed. The average speed at which the cars overtook the cyclist was 45 miles per hour. On average, drivers had 1.6 seconds to take evasive action to avoid a crash, if a cyclist wobbled or steered around a pothole.

Think about that for a second. Think about it for 1.6 seconds. Could you react that fast? It takes five seconds to check a text while driving. What about if you have a drink in your hand, how many seconds would it take to wrench the steering wheel left with only one hand?

Cyclists need room to steer around potholes, drain covers or simply wobble without being struck by a passing car. The more space you give them, the more time you have to avoid causing a bicycle accident.

Injuries Common to Motorcycle Accidents

One of the greatest things about riding a motorcycle is the freedom that you may feel when you are on the open road. It can be extremely tempting to not wear the right safety gear so that you can feel the breeze as you ride. However, seasoned motorcycle riders know that wearing safety gear is extremely important in the event of an accident. Even with the proper safety gear (a helmet, a leather jacket, thick pants, gloves, and boots), it is still possible to sustain serious injuries if you were involved in an accident. Motorcycle accident attorneys understand that if you have been involved in an accident because someone else was being negligent, you will want compensation.

What kind of accidents can you sustain?

There are a few injuries that are very common when it comes to being in a motorcycle accident. Some of these are:

• Road rash
• Broken bones
• Disfigurement
• Burns

Road Rash. Especially if you did not have the proper safety gear on, you may have serious road rash. This may not sound like a particularly dangerous injury. In fact, you may only be concerned that it stings. However, if you do not get it treated, it could lead to a serious infection.

Broken Bones. When a car hits a motorcycle, often the rider of the motorcycle is propelled forward and hits the pavement, the ground, or some other objects. Once this occurs, common injuries are broken or fractured bones. You should see a medical professional immediately so they can help to set your bone back in place and get you on the road to recovery. This can be quite painful and you should never attempt to set a bone yourself or let it heal on its own.

Disfigurement. Disfigurement is another common injury when it comes to motorcycle accidents. Disfigurement may happen because a limb needed to be amputated or the bones in your face were broken and could not heal properly. Additionally, if any of your injuries became infected, it is possible for those to cause permanent disfigurement too.

Burns. In a motorcycle crash, it is not uncommon for the motorcycle to start a fire after a car hit it. When this happens, if the motorcyclist was knocked unconscious, they may not be able to get out of the fire in time and may experience severe burns. This can be extremely painful and cause nerve damage throughout your body. Additionally, many times burn damage is irreversible and you may experience disfigurement from this.

To see if a lawyer can help you get the compensation you deserve after another person’s negligence has caused you to become injured on your motorcycle, call a reputable attorney now.

Thanks to our friends from Cohen & Cohen for their insight into motorcycle accident injuries.

Traumatic brain injury and accidents

Roadways in Florida present a problem for pedestrians and drivers alike. With so many tourists and semi-trucks traversing the Sunshine State, there is a chance of an accident.

At Tuttle Larsen, P.A., our professional staff wants to help you understand the impact an accident may have on your life. Incidents of traumatic brain injury frequently occur as part of the myriad of injuries a driver may experience when struck by another vehicle. Recognizing the signs of a lurking brain problem may help save your life.

Traumatic brain injury defined

You may get the general idea of what a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is, but there is a chance that you do not know the specific details. A TBI is any kind of strike, jolt or impact occurs with the head resulting in damage to the brain. The injury may resolve with medical care, or it may cause tremendous consequences on other parts of the body, never actually healing. The most common cause of TBI is a crash.

Symptoms of a TBI

A TBI may reveal itself immediately after an accident, or it may remain hidden, doing damage silently. After an accident, you should seek medical help to determine if you suffered an impact to the head. You may not realize you did, but CT or MRI scans may help the doctors diagnose a TBI.

If you choose to return home, remain diligent about the following symptoms:

• Headaches that get worse
• Memory loss
• Extreme fatigue
• Mobility issues
• Speech problems
• Ringing in ears

If you experience any of these, even momentarily, please seek medical attention immediately.

Your health and wellbeing are important to us. Please visit our webpage here for more information on traumatic brain injuries.