Pittsburgh Personal Injury Lawyer

In the legal context, a personal injury is any form of physical or psychological injury or harm that is caused by the intentional acts or negligence of another person or entity.

Some of the most common kinds of personal injury cases that our attorneys handle include car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, medical malpractice, dangerous and defective products, slip and fall accidents, and construction site accidents.

Not necessarily. As long as your injury has caused you to incur some sort of compensable damages, such as medical expenses or lost wages due to missed work, you can usually file a personal injury case against the responsible person(s) or entity(ies). Certain kinds of personal injury cases, such as motor vehicle accidents, do have injury requirements for filing a lawsuit under certain circumstances, such as if you have a “no-fault” auto insurance policy.

The process for filing a personal injury case depends on the type of case. In most personal injury cases, it is only necessary to file a complaint with the court. In certain kinds of personal injury cases, such as medical malpractice cases, it is necessary to also file a “certificate of merit”, in which an expert in the relevant field states that he or she has reviewed your case and has opined that there is a reasonable probability that your injuries and damages were caused by the responsible party.

Yes. Under Pennsylvania law, you typically have two years from the date of your injury to file a lawsuit. The statute of limitations can be tolled under certain circumstances, such as if you have not yet discovered your injury, or if you are a minor.

In most personal injury cases, it will be necessary to collect your medical records, which will be used to document your injuries and treatment and demonstrate how your injuries were the result of the acts or negligence of the defendant. You will also need to collect paperwork that substantiates your claim for damages, such as bills to show your medical expenses, or paystubs or income statements to show your lost income or earning capacity.

During your personal injury case, you can expect that we will work diligently to efficiently resolve your claim while ensuring that you receive fair and full compensation. Usually, we are able to resolve your case through a negotiated settlement, which means that you will not need to go to trial. Sometimes it is necessary to go to court to pursue your claim, which may result in your case being tried before a judge and jury.

Most people do not realize that the vast majority of personal injury cases do not go to trial. According to various studies, only two to five percent of personal injury cases go to trial. The rest are resolved before trial, usually through a negotiated settlement between the parties; many personal injury cases are settled without seeing the inside of a courtroom.

It can be difficult to determine how long it may take to settle a personal injury case. There are a number of factors at play, including the complexity of the facts of the case, whether the defendant is denying liability, or whether there is a dispute over the amount of damages that the injured party has incurred. If there is no dispute over liability or damages, a personal injury case can be settled in as little as a few months. However, a personal injury case can take as many as a few years to work its way through the courts; at any point during a personal injury lawsuit, the parties may decide to settle.

Depending on the losses you have suffered, you may be entitled to various types of damages in a personal injury case. At a minimum, you may be entitled to recover the medical expenses you have incurred to treat your injuries. If your injuries cause you to miss work during recovery or prevent you from returning to your old job, you may be entitled to damages for lost wages or lost earning capacity. You may also be entitled to damages for pain and suffering caused by your injuries, along with the loss of quality of life resulting from disability or disfigurement caused by your injuries.

Pain and suffering damages are often calculated by taking into consideration the severity and permanency of your injuries — the more severe and permanent your injuries, the greater the amount of pain and suffering damages that you will recover. For example, you will recover greater pain and suffering damages from a broken leg than from a sprained knee. In some cases, insurance companies offer pain and suffering damages based on a multiple of your medical expenses, the specific multiple depending on the severity and permanency of your injuries.

If you win your personal injury case at trial, you will typically receive whatever damages the jury awards you at trial. However, this award can be reduced for several reasons. For example, the court may reduce the jury’s award to match statutory limits on certain kinds of damages, such as pain and suffering or punitive damages, or may reduce your award to reflect the jury’s finding that you were partially at fault for your injuries. The award you receive at trial may also be used to pay medical providers who treated you who are still awaiting payment, or may be used to pay your attorneys if you have a contingency fee agreement with them.

In many personal injury cases, the compensation you receive from the at-fault party is paid by an insurance company. The at-fault party’s insurance company may even hire and pay the attorneys representing the at-fault party. However, if your damages exceed the at-fault party’s insurance coverage and you obtain a settlement or court judgment that exceeds that coverage limit, then the at-fault party would likely be responsible for paying out-of-pocket the difference between your award and their insurance coverage limits.

In many cases, it is possible to hire a personal injury attorney on “contingency”. This means that you do not have to pay the attorney anything unless and until the attorney recovers compensation for you. You would then be responsible for paying the attorney an agreed-upon percentage of the compensation that the attorney recovers for you.