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What Are Some Personal Injury Law Basic Principles?

If you are an Austin, Texas resident and are the victim of a car accident or any other type of situation that leaves you injured and in pain, you need to contact an experienced injury lawyer for your Austin case as soon as possible. A good injury lawyer can get you the medical care and financial settlement you deserve. But in order to win your case and get the largest settlement possible, there are a number of things you need to bear in mind. If you fail to pay attention to these things, it will be more difficult for your attorney to get you everything to which you are entitled

Personal Injury

A personal injury case is a legal dispute which arises when a person suffers harm due to the fault of someone else. Personal injury cases are civil court proceedings where the injured party attempts to find a person, business, corporation, or other entity legally responsible for their injury and pain and suffering through a court judgment. Often the cases are resolved through an informal settlement before a lawsuit is filed. The key to solving those cases is determining if the defendant was negligent or otherwise at fault and caused harm to the plaintiff.

Statute of Limitation

It is important the plaintiff file their suit as soon as possible because they only have a limited time frame in which they can file a lawsuit. This is called the Statute of Limitations. That time limit begins when the accident occurs or the plaintiff discovers the injury. If the lawsuit is not filed within two years, the injured party has no case. For libel or slander, the Texas statute of limitations is one year. For sex crimes, it’s five years.

Clear Evidence

Another important element of personal injury cases is the need for clear evidence. That’s another reason the injured party should contact an Austin personal injury lawyer
as soon as possible. This makes it easier to for the attorney to be able to collect important evidence before it is lost forever. A timely investigation has a better chance of yielding the evidence the plaintiff needs to prove the other person or entity is at fault and responsible for the:

  • Injury
  • Pain
  • Suffering

The more time that passes before the investigation is done, the less chance good evidence can be found.

Reliable Witnesses

In most accidents, there are usually some witnesses. But as time passes it becomes more difficult to locate witnesses. Plus over time the witness’ memory of what took place during the accident can begin to fade and become less reliable. Because of this, the injured party should contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after they have been injured. This will improve the chances of the plaintiff having the witness testimony that will help them to win their lawsuit.

If you have been injured because of someone else’s negligence and have been forced to endure pain and suffering, contact an Austin lawyer from our firm right away.

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