The Sunwabe Law Firm Is Here to Protect Your Future
Personal injuries are not just a minor inconvenience. They can completely change your life and cost you everything. When someone else’s negligence has caused this potentially catastrophic effect on your life, it is important that you are able to hold them responsible and receive compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering, and more.
This is why your first decision should be who to retain as a criminal defense attorney. Criminal charges, whether they are misdemeanor or felony charges, put your reputation, your freedom, and your future on the line. When the stakes are that high, you do not want to take the risk of trusting someone who does not have the knowledge or experience to take on the justice system and win.
At The Sunwabe Law Firm, we can handle many personal injury claims, including:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Slip and fall injuries
- Defective products
- Dog bite injuries
- Nursing home neglect
- Workplace injuries
- Medical malpractice
- Wrongful death
When someone else’s negligence has caused significant injury to you or your loved one, you want an experienced and knowledgeable personal injury attorney by your side to represent you and protect your rights.
What Happens in a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
When you have suffered an injury at the hands of another, the first thing to do after you have sought medical attention is to speak with a personal injury attorney to learn more about your legal options. At The Sunwabe Law Firm, we always begin with a free consultation, during which we listen to your case, so we can gain an understanding of your desires and needs in filing the claim and address your questions and concerns. If we proceed with your case, we will also explain what we recommend as the right legal path forward.
We then move on to investigating the accident. This is where we gather the evidence that proves the other party’s negligence, interview witnesses, and review any relevant documents that establish liability. We thoroughly investigate the circumstances of your accident and assess your damages.
We then submit a demand for compensation. This letter is sent to the other party and/or their insurer. This letter outlines the facts of your case, including the status and severity of your injuries, establishes liability, and details your demands for compensation. Depending on the type and severity of your injuries, this demand may not be sent immediately. If your injuries are severe with the potential of lasting damage or disability, we do not want to demand compensation too quickly as you may be entitled to more compensation based on the damage or disability you are forced to live with.
After the demand letter has been sent, we enter negotiations with the other party and/or their insurer. If negotiations are successful, then we can settle your case without going to court. If negotiations are unsuccessful, we have the evidence and have already built a case so we are fully prepared to take your case to court and present it to a judge or jury.
That is why you need a seasoned criminal defense attorney on your side. With compassion, experience, and dedication, the right criminal defense attorney will work with you to build a solid defense with evidence, creative strategy, and a deep understanding of how the system works and the nuances of the law. At The Sunwabe Law Firm, our legal team is prepared to put our heads together and start investigating your case, building your defense, and fighting to protect your rights the moment you make your decision to hire us.
Schedule Your Free Consult with our Team
The success of your claim relies on choosing a high-caliber attorney. That is why free consultations are so important. During your initial consultation, you can explain your case and get an idea of the attorney’s methodology and what kind of experience they have with similar cases.
During this consultation, you can ask the attorneys you meet with detailed questions. These questions should include what their success rate is, their fee structure, and how they prepare for and strategize their cases. You should also ask any other questions you may have, regardless of how simple or uncomfortable they are. A good, skilled attorney will encourage you to ask questions and will provide honest answers. At The Sunwabe Law Firm, our goal is to instill confidence and ease by providing straightforward answers that make you feel satisfied and comfortable.
Can I Use My Health Insurance to Pay for My Injuries?
Legally, there is nothing to prevent you from using your private health insurance to pay for the medical appointments, treatments, prescriptions, or surgeries you may need as a result of your injuries. However, if you do so, the insurance company may have a subrogation clause that they will invoke.
The subrogation process means that whatever the insurance company pays on your behalf for these injuries, they will expect to be paid back from your eventual settlement. There are several concerns with this. The first is that the subrogation process can take a long time to resolve, which means after the lengthy wait to finally get your case resolved, you may have another lengthy wait before you can use your settlement money because the insurance company wants to be paid back first.
The second concern with subrogation is determining how much the insurance company will want to be paid. Insurance companies often work out discounts with providers, which means that an appointment that might cost a patient paying cash $200 will cost the patient with health insurance $150. While the insurance company may have only paid $150 for the appointment, they may argue to be paid back the $200 that the provider would have charged without the health insurance. This dispute over what the insurance company is owed can draw out the subrogation process even more.
While your health insurance is one possibility to pay for your medical care, you may want to consult with a personal injury attorney first. At The Sunwabe Law Firm, we can help you explore the options that may be available to pay for your injuries, including whether the liable party has insurance that will pay for your care and other alternatives.
How Much Is My Personal Injury Case Worth?
The value of a personal injury case is based on many factors. These factors include:
- The extent of your injuries
- Doctor-prescribed treatment plans
- Your lost earning capacity
- Who the liable parties are
- What damages you may be entitled to beyond your injuries
Personal injury victims must also be aware that Pennsylvania uses a modified comparative negligence rule. This means that as long as you are less than 50% responsible for your injuries, you can still recover damages, but those damages will be reduced by how much fault is assigned to you.
Damages that can be recovered in a personal injury case include:
- Medical expenses
- Property damages
- Lost wages and lost earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of companionship with a spouse
If your loved one died as a result of someone else’s negligence, you may also be entitled to reimbursement for funeral and burial expenses. The specific damages an individual may recover are specific to their case. Once we have reviewed the details of your case, we will be able to discuss more details regarding which damages you may be eligible for.
Our communication skills expand beyond just the client, however. To fully and boldly defend our clients, we must also work with prosecutors, judges, investigators, expert witnesses and other witnesses, law enforcement, and others. The legal team at The Sunwabe Law Firm prides ourselves on our clear, respectful, and professional ability to communicate with anyone and everyone involved in a case. We will fight fiercely to protect your rights and prove your innocence, but we will also demand the same respect and professionalism in communication from the others involved in your case.
What Should I Do to Protect My Personal Injury Claim?
Seek Medical Treatment
The first thing to do after you have been injured is to seek medical treatment. You must document all the injuries you sustained in order to seek compensation for them, and being treated by a doctor in the emergency room or urgent care clinic or your own primary care physician is the best way to do that.
Contact Law Enforcement
You should also call law enforcement to document the accident. Whether it is a motor vehicle accident or slip and fall, law enforcement can provide an accident report that details both your version of events and the other party’s. This will assist insurance companies or a judge or jury in determining what happened later. In circumstances where calling law enforcement does not seem appropriate, such as product defects or birth injuries, you can still report the accident to the manufacturer or hospital staff and keep detailed notes about who you spoke with, when you spoke with them, and their response.
Take Photos or Video (if you can)
Evidence is key in a personal injury claim. Whether you can do it yourself or need someone else to do it on your behalf, you should take photos or videos of the accident scene. Diagrams can often be helpful. Collect the contact information of any potential witnesses and write down key details about the accident, such as the date and time, weather conditions, location, other involved parties, and any factors that may have contributed to the accident.
What if you did commit the crime? We can still represent you. If you are guilty of the offense you have been charged with, we will work with you to reveal the full truth of what took place. We will build a defense that helps a judge and jury understand why events unfolded the way they did, why you felt you had to do what you did, and why the court can trust that you will never do it again. We will do all we can to help you be able to put this mistake behind you one day.
Keep a Detailed Log
Finally, as part of your evidence, keep a detailed log of the accident and your injuries beginning with the accident. Include details such as every doctor’s appointment you attend, every treatment the doctor prescribes, conversations about the accident (including who they were with and what was said), and how your symptoms evolve and change. This log will help to show insurance or a judge or jury how the accident has impacted your daily life.
File a Personal Injury Claim
Personal injury claims are typically filed by the individual who suffered the injuries. Any competent adult over the age of 18 is required to file their own claim. Minors (those under age 18) or incompetent adults must have their parent or court-appointed guardian bring the claim on their behalf.
A wrongful death claim is a form of personal injury claim. Obviously, a deceased individual cannot file a claim. Per Pennsylvania law, the individual’s personal representative (either named in the will or appointed by the court) is usually responsible for filing a wrongful death claim. If the personal representative does not file the claim within six months, the family may move forward with the claim. Family includes the deceased individual’s spouse, children, and parents.
Contact Us
Each year, hundreds of people in Erie County are injured in accidents. Many of these accidents are unfortunately caused by preventable carelessness. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident resulting from either negligence or intentional harm, you may be eligible to receive just compensation for your physical and psychological injuries. Call The Sunwabe Law Firm today for a free consultation!
