Nanticoke Personal Injury Lawyer
For most people, life involves a predictable schedule of school and/or work, down time, and sleep time. A serious personal injury turns this schedule upside down. The injury could be a sudden trauma injury, like a fall, or a long-term illness, like a toxic exposure illness. In the midst of all this chaos, insurance adjusters are quick to offer lifelines. It’s very tempting for many victims to take these initial offers and move on with their lives. However, there’s simply no way to tell if the insurance company’s proposal is fair or not.
At The Needle Law Firm, our Nanticoke personal injury lawyers also bring order to chaos, but not because we look for a quick and easy solution. Instead, we address first things first. We help ensure that victims get the medical treatment they need. Then, we collect evidence and build a strong case that withstands common insurance company defenses. As a result, we’re able to obtain maximum compensation for your serious injuries.
Kinds of Personal Injuries
The unintentional death rate has increased significantly since the 1990s. In Pennsylvania, most of these fatal incidents are:
- Vehicle Collisions: Today’s cars and trucks are so big and fast that no safety restraint system, no matter how advanced, can possibly absorb all the force in a high-speed collision. As a result, these victims often sustain head injuries, internal injuries, and other fatal wounds. Low-speed crashes often cause serious injuries as well, such as whiplash. The survivors of these wrecks often must deal with permanent physical and emotional injuries.
- Falls: Car crashes are the leading cause of fatal accidents, but falls prompt more emergency room visits. Fall injuries are a lot like car crash injuries. The motion of a fall, as opposed to the landing, often causes serious injuries. Frequently, these victims have pre-existing conditions that increase the risk or severity of injury. Our Nanticoke personal injury attorneys can usually obtain full compensation in these cases.
- Poisonings: Since around 2010, unintentional overdoses, usually prescription painkillers or heroin, have skyrocketed from almost nothing to the leading cause of injury-related death in Pennsylvania. Legally, these cases are quite complex. Multiple parties could be responsible. Many doctors write prescriptions and don’t ask too many questions. Drug shipping companies often do the same thing when they transport dangerous drugs. Additionally, drug makers competed against each other to see who could make the most powerful pain pill, without regard to the effects these pills had on families.
Dog bites and swimming pool drownings are also very common in Luzerne County. Compensation is available in all these cases if an attorney proves negligence, or a lack of care, by a preponderance of the evidence, or more likely than not.
Negligence Defenses
A bare bones negligence case is usually good enough for minimum compensation. Maximum compensation requires maximum effort. This effort means anticipating insurance company defenses.
Comparative fault, in one form or another, is probably the most common insurance company defense. Essentially, this legal doctrine shifts accident blame from the tortfeasor (negligent actor) to the victim. For example, in a car crash case, perhaps one driver was speeding and the other one was drunk.
In these cases, jurors must apportion responsibility on a percentage basis. Pennsylvania is a modified comparative fault state with a 51 percent bar. Victims are eligible for a proportionate share of compensation if they were no more than 49 percent responsible for an injury.
Other defenses, which are especially common in car crash cases, include sudden emergency, assumption of the risk, and last clear chance.
Work With a Diligent Luzerne County Personal Injury Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Nanticoke, contact The Needle Law Firm. We routinely handle matters throughout the Keystone State.