Clarks Summit Personal Injury Lawyer
Serving Lackawanna County
Nobody in Clarks Summit should have to experience the devastating losses of a personal injury. Yet according to the National Safety Council (NSC), more than 55 million people sustain preventable injuries every year in motor vehicle collisions, falls, and many other types of accidents. Do you need help seeking compensation after an accident or injury? Contact our experienced Clarks Summit personal injury lawyer today.
What Should I Do to Be Eligible to File a Personal Injury Claim in Clarks Summit?
Each type of personal injury case comes with its own particular set of facts, and no two cases are exactly alike. In addition, different kinds of personal injury claims may require injured claimants or plaintiffs to take various steps prior to filing the claim, or in order to be eligible to file a lawsuit. Generally speaking, you should take the following steps if you are able to do so after an injury in Clarks Summit:
- Take a range of photographs on your smartphone to show the area where your injury occurred, as well as close-up images of injuries you sustained;
- Identify any potential witnesses for your case and obtain detailed contact information for them;
- If you sustained an injury in an auto accident, you should report the accident to your insurer as quickly as possible, and if you sustained a work injury, you should report it to your employer before 120 days are up;
- Determine your options for seeking compensation by speaking with a personal injury attorney in Clarks Summit, which may include a type of insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit; and
- File your insurance claim or your lawsuit with assistance from a Lackawanna County injury attorney serving clients in Clarks Summit.
What Will Happen If I Am Partially at Fault for My Injury in Clarks Summit?
Our Clarks Summit lawyers often hear from injury victims who have concerns about filing a personal injury claim because they are worried that they might also be at fault. It is important to know that Pennsylvania law uses a modified comparative fault system, which means that a plaintiff’s comparative negligence will only bar them from recovery if they are greater than 50 percent at fault. Otherwise, their damages award will simply be reduced by their percentage of negligence, and they can still recover. Here is what the law says:
“In all actions brought to recover damages for negligence resulting in death or injury to the person or property, the fact that the plaintiff may have been guilty of contributory negligence shall not bar a recovery by the plaintiff or his legal representative where such negligence was not greater than the causal negligence of the defendant or defendants against whom recovery is sought, but any damages sustained by the plaintiff shall be diminished in proportion to the amount of negligence attributed to the plaintiff.”
Do not assume you will be barred from recovery due to your own negligence, or even that your damages award will be reduced. The defendant will need to show that you were partially at fault, and our Lackawanna County injury attorneys can work with you to prove otherwise.
Contact the Needle Law Firm Today
One of the Clarks Summit personal injury attorneys at the Needle Law Firm can evaluate your case and help you to seek the compensation you need. Contact our experienced Clarks Summit personal injury lawyer today to learn more about how we assist claimants and plaintiffs in Lackawanna County.
