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Injuries can cause major disruptions to a person’s life. You might be unable to return to work, and the physical pain might be more than you can bear. You deserve justice, and our legal team is here to help you get it. You can hold the person who caused your injuries responsible and get fair compensation.
You have likely heard people talk about personal injury cases, but you might not know exactly what they are. Personal injury cases encompass legal claims related to physical injuries. If you do not experience bodily harm, you may not have a personal injury claim. To back up your claims, we need evidence. We might find evidence at the accident scene or somewhere else entirely. Whatever we have must be enough to meet our burden or proof. Otherwise, your case cannot succeed. To begin your case, contact an attorney and review the details of your accident.
Speak to our personal injury lawyers about a free, confidential review of your claims by calling Wruck Paupore at (219) 322-1166.
Personal injuries are not easy to pin down because many accidents and injuries may be considered personal injuries. Whatever a case entails, at the heart of it, a plaintiff should have some bodily injury. People sometimes confuse personal injuries with any loss of a personal nature. For example, if someone smashes a car's windshield, the vehicle’s owner might assume they have a personal injury claim, but this is not so. Unless the driver was somehow injured, this is not a personal injury. However, claims for property damage can be filed alongside personal injury claims.
The injury does not have to be severe, debilitating, or permanent to create a legal cause of action. Even somewhat minor injuries may form the basis of a valid personal injury claim. For example, suppose you are injured in a minor car accident and suffer whiplash, which eventually heals with minimal medical intervention. In that case, you can still file a claim against the other driver. Your damages might not be worth a huge sum, but you can still bring your claims to court.
While you might have a strong legal claim for damages, no claim can succeed without sufficient evidence. Our personal injury attorneys need to prove your claims by a “preponderance of the evidence,” meaning we need enough proof to show that it is more likely than not that the defendant is liable for your injuries. Exactly how much evidence is required depends on your unique case and the evidence actually available.
Where we find evidence depends on how your injuries happened. If you were hurt in a car crash, the first place we should examine is the accident scene. If the scene has been cleared away – they are often cleared away rather quickly by the authorities – we should check photos of the scene. It is common for drivers to take pictures after an accident, and your pictures might contain crucial information. Even if you were not injured in a car accident, you should try to take pictures of the area where you were hurt. You never know what kind of information you might preserve in your photos.
We should also look to other people present when you were injured. Depending on what they saw, they may testify as eyewitnesses. A witness may only testify about first-hand or personal knowledge. If a witness saw the entire accident unfold, they might have very valuable testimony. Even if they only saw part of the accident, they can help us piece together a complete narrative of your accident.
When it comes to evidence, simply having it might not be enough. We need enough evidence to meet the burden of proof in a civil case, which is a “preponderance of the evidence.” It is hard to know whether we will meet this burden until a verdict is delivered. We might think we have enough evidence, but jurors can accept or reject it as they see fit. As such, we should present as much evidence as possible.
We might also need evidence to refute the defendant's arguments that you somehow contributed to the accident. According to I.C. § 34-51-2-5, the court may apply rules regarding contributory negligence to determine how much of the blame falls to the plaintiff. If the court determines that you are partly to blame, your damages may be reduced proportionately to your fault. For example, if you are 15% responsible for the accident, your damages may be reduced by 15%.
According to § 34-51-2-6, a plaintiff who is deemed more than 50% responsible may not recover any damages at all. As you can see, even if they are unfounded, allegations of contributory negligence could cost you significant compensation, and we must come prepared with evidence.
Starting a personal injury case is easier said than done. First, you should have your injuries examined by a doctor. If your injuries are severe, you should probably call for emergency help immediately and possibly get the police involved. If your injuries are not severe, you should still go to a doctor as soon as possible. Your medical records may be used in court as evidence of your injuries.
Next, gather any evidence you can after the accident. It is not unusual for evidence to disappear if it is not collected fast enough. Take photos of the accident scene and your injuries. Get names and phone numbers of people who might have stopped to help, as they might be good witnesses. Try to remember as much as you can, as your testimony may be important.
Contact an attorney as soon as possible. You have a limited time to file your claims in court, and the sooner you get started with an experienced lawyer, the better. Your attorney can evaluate your damages and find more evidence to build your case. They should also draft and file a formal complaint to kickstart your case. Remember, the complaint is a formal legal document that must contain lengthy and specific details about the accident and your injuries. It is imperative that your lawyer help you file it, as it may set the tone for the rest of the case.
Speak to our personal injury lawyers about a free, confidential review of your claims by calling Wruck Paupore at (219) 322-1166.
Don is a founding partner and one of the nation’s top-ranked personal injury litigators. He is a member of the Multi-million Dollar Advocates Forum, which includes less than 1% of the nation’s trial lawyers, and awarded the highest ranking given by Martindale Hubbel and AVVO.
More importantly, Don understands representing personal injury victims is about more than recovering the best settlement: it’s about helping clients get back on their feet and supporting them in every aspect of their recovery.
In nearly all cases, our clients seek compensation from the wrongdoer’s insurance company. Before forming Wruck Paupore, Jason worked for a prominent law firm representing some of the world’s largest insurers. This experience gives Jason a deep understanding of the insurance industry and the strategies it uses to pay injury victims as little as possible.
Jason -- and our entire team -- put this inside knowledge to work to force insurance companies to pay what is actually owed. Often, we use the insurance company’s own tactics against them as we fight for the full compensation our client deserves.
For more than four decades, Keith has been fighting for injury victims. During that time, he’s watched the insurance industry change, with insurers now more interested in protecting their stock price than treating injury victims fairly.
Since the beginning, Keith has put people first. From his childhood in Gary, Indiana during the 1960’s and working his way through law school, Keith has risen to become one of the Midwest’s most respected trial lawyers. He has never forgotten that being a lawyer is about helping people -- and seeing injury victims through struggles in a way that could change their lives forever.
Over the decades, Keith, Don and Jason have fought relentlessly for clients, even when other lawyers have said the case was impossible to win.
Contact Us:
Wruck Paupore P.C.
Injury Lawyers
275 Joliet St. Suite #250
Dyer, IN 46311
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