Baton Rouge Accident Lawyer

Almost any type of accident can leave you injured and in need of compensation. A Baton Rouge accident attorney can get you the help you need.

An accident is, by definition, something you don’t plan for. If you’ve recently suffered an accident that caused illness or injury, your life might have completely changed in an instant. Depending on the circumstances of your accident, you could now be looking at serious financial consequences.

Car accidents, slip-and-fall injuries, medical errors—any accident can pose significant financial, physical, and emotional challenges. When they’re caused by someone else’s negligence, these accidents only become more frustrating.

Getting justice and being adequately compensated for your hardships may feel impossible, but a trained legal ally can help. A Baton Rouge accident lawyer with Spencer Calahan Injury Lawyers will work to hold the negligent party accountable.

Examples of Accidents

No matter the type or scope of your accident, your Baton Rouge accident injury lawyer will work hard to win you the compensation you’re owed.

The following are some common types of accidents:

• Motorcycle Accident – After motorcycle accidents, insurers often try to unfairly paint the motorcycle rider as reckless in order to minimize a settlement amount or make it hard to receive compensation at all. A trained lawyer can stand up to this unjust bias.
• Truck Accident – Semi-trucks and 18-wheelers can weigh sixteen times a standard passenger vehicle. This means that truck accidents are incredibly dangerous for passenger vehicle occupants. In fact, fatalities from truck accidents may be on the rise.
• Car Accident – Whether you were involved in a T-bone, sideswipe, head-on, rear-end, or any other type of accident, if it was caused by another driver’s negligence, you could be entitled to compensation. Common negligent driving behaviors include speeding, distracted driving, and drunk driving.
• Premises Liability – If you’re injured on someone else’s property because that person has failed to maintain safe conditions, you could be entitled to a settlement. For example, if you’re injured while climbing a poorly maintained staircase at a business, you might be able to hold the property owner accountable.
• Medical Malpractice – Medical malpractice occurs when doctors deviate from standard care practices and cause patients to suffer illness, injury, or death. This accident category can include medication errors, surgical errors, and misdiagnoses. For instance, if you go to a doctor complaining of difficulty breathing and he fails to diagnose lung cancer in a timely fashion, you miss out on valuable time that could have gone toward treatment; you may be able to name the doctor in your medical malpractice claim.
• Construction Accident – Falls are a leading cause of construction worker injuries. If you’ve experienced an accident on a construction site, you may think you’re not eligible for any compensation beyond workers comp. However, under certain conditions, you might be able to file a personal injury claim instead of a workers comp claim.
• Defective Product – You depend on the items you use every day to function properly. If a product malfunctions dangerously and injures you, several people could be found liable, including the product designer, the manufacturer, and the marketing team.
• Dog Bite – Louisiana has strict rules regarding dog bites. An owner is strictly liable if his or her dog bites or harms someone in an unprovoked attack.

When Should I File a Claim?

After an accident, it’s important to file a claim as soon as possible. In Louisiana, you have a very short time in which you are eligible to file a personal injury claim: one year. The sooner you seek legal help, the better your chances of winning a fair settlement.

You and your Baton Rouge injury attorney will review all the details of your case to determine fault. Evidence may include witness accounts, traffic videos, police reports, medical records, and other materials.

In Louisiana, you’ll be held to the doctrine of comparative fault when you file a personal injury claim. This means that, if you’re found to have contributed to your accident, your settlement will reduce by whichever percentage you are found to be responsible. It’s important to have strong legal representation to paint a clear picture of who is at fault for your injuries.

Should I Accept an Insurance Settlement?

If you’re offered a settlement from the insurance company, it can be tempting to take it right away. Accidents can place you in a vulnerable financial situation quickly; if an insurance company is offering you a settlement, you may initially want to take it and start putting it toward your debts.

However, there are a number of reasons why that may not be a good idea. Immediately following an accident, you may not know what all bills you’ll have to deal with. A settlement may pay for one physical ailment presented by the accident, but later on, you’ll discover another complication. Waiting until you have assessed the full extent of your damages is a wise course.

Also, insurance companies are more interested in protecting their own bottom lines than in fairly compensating you. Any settlement offered will likely not account for the full range of your needs. Similarly, settlements from insurance companies most often do not hold the negligent party in an accident accountable for intangible effects on your life, such as pain and suffering.

Your Baton Rouge personal injury lawyer will carefully examine your case and work to get you a settlement that accounts for all your financial hardships. These may include current and future medical bills, lost wages and income opportunity, any necessary physical or emotional therapy, decreased quality of life, and more.

Contact a Baton Rouge Accident Injury Lawyer

After an accident, it pays to have Baton Rouge’s best lawyers on your side. Call Spencer Calahan Injury Lawyers at 225-387-2323 or fill out the online contact form below to arrange a free consultation for your lawsuit.