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Personal Injury
Personal injury law, also known as tort law, is designed to protect people and their property from injury or damage.
More importantly, the personal injury system allows an injured person to file a civil lawsuit in court and receive a legal remedy (monetary damages) for all losses resulting from harm due to someone else’s negligent, or intentional, conduct.
While personal injury laws differ from state to state, such negligent or intentional conduct can apply to a wide variety of situations, including accidents, intentional acts, defective products or defamation.
If the plaintiff is successful on their claim, they will be awarded damages meant to compensate the injured party for their loss, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and mental and emotional distress.
Barge, Riverboat and
Maritime Accidents
Tractor-Trailer/Semi-Truck
Accidents
Automotive/Motor
Vehicle Accidents
Federal Employers Liability
Act (FELA)/Railroad Accidents
Personal Injury and
Wrongful Death Claims
Barge, Riverboat and Maritime Accidents
Barges, docks and tow or tug boats are dangerous places to work, and if proper safety precautions are ignored they can be deadly as well. Millions of pounds being pushed or pulled on water by barges or tow boats can lead to slips and falls overboard, drowning, workers being crushed between vessels or docks, and ropes or lines snapping and severely injuring workers. Unfortunately, catastrophic injuries are a part of the maritime industry, which may include:
- Death
- Disfigurement
- Amputation
- Paralysis
- Broken bones
- Traumatic brain injury
The dangers of working on vessels are so great that the Jones Act, a federal law, was enacted to protect the rights of maritime workers injured on the job. If you have been injured working on a barge or riverboat, contact our team learn if you qualify for compensation.
Tractor-Trailer/Semi-Truck Accidents
Typically, trucking accidents cause much greater harm than standard auto accidents because of the large size and weight of commercial trucks. Smaller vehicles do not stand a chance against these huge machines moving at high rates of speed. Oftentimes, trucking accidents are caused by more than just driver error. Corporate decisions designed to impact the bottom line and potentially sacrifice safety could have contributed to a trucking accident.
Given these particular circumstances, truck accident claims can be very complex due to the potential number of parties and laws involved. The trucking industry is governed by federal laws, which establish standards the trucking companies, their owners and the drivers must meet. Potential liable parties could include the truck’s driver, the owner of the truck or trailer, the truck’s leasing company, the manufacturer of the vehicle or any parts contributing to the accident.
Truck accident attorneys will investigate, and hold, the accountable parties liable for their actions.
Therefore, having an experienced truck accident attorney on your side is critical to getting compensated for your injuries, which may include:
- Death
- Serious burns
- Amputation
- Broken bones
- Paralysis and spinal cord injury
- Brain injury
Automotive/Motor Vehicle Accidents
Whether the accident is caused by a private vehicle operator who was texting while driving or a commercial tractor trailer operator who failed to remain in their lane, Flint Cooper will fully investigate the accident and build your case against the negligent operator who is at fault.
Federal Employers Liability Act
(FELA)/Railroad Accidents
Railroad workers operate within a riskier professional environment than most other employees, hence the injuries suffered are higher than usual. Given the appalling number of injuries and deaths occurring in the railroad industry, resulting from the dangerous and difficult nature of the work, the United States Congress enacted the Federal Employers Liability Act (FELA) in 1908 to protect and compensate sick, injured, and even dead railroaders left by the side of the tracks with no way to recover for their losses.
The FELA developed industry-wide safety measures for every railroad company to cover every type of railroad worker, including engineers, conductors, signalmen, electricians, dispatchers, maintenance of way, carmen, brakemen, and other crafts.
Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Claims
The personal injury attorneys at Flint Cooper have experience litigating personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits across the United States arising from industrial accidents, law enforcement excessive force, medical malpractice and premises liability.
Success Stories
Flint Cooper applies its knowledge and experience to win trials, not just collect settlements, further strengthening its reputation of providing clients around the world with exceptional counsel and unparalleled advocacy.
Common Questions
Flint Cooper argues that you do because representing yourself is not an advised path forward.
Personal injury claims generally involve bodily harm to an individual caused by someone else’s negligence, the most common of which are: auto accidents, injuries sustained on someone else’s property (premises liability/slip and falls), dog bites, medical malpractice, workman’s compensation, injuries from faulty products and assault.
To Flint Cooper, any claim in which your life has been negatively impacted by an accident and/or you have sustained catastrophic injuries.
You can recover for bodily injury, pain and suffering, wrongful death, emotional injuries, lost wages, property damage and any other economic loss.
If someone else acted irresponsibly and you were injured as a result of their conduct, you may have a case and should speak with an attorney immediately.
The time to file your personal injury claim will be determined by your state’s Statute of Limitations. This is different by case type and state. If you wait to file your claim and the statute of limitations passes, you will be forever prevented from filing your claim. For this reason, contact Flint Cooper to discuss whether you have a claim.
Every case is different, but you should expect the process to take four months or longer because to prove you are injured, Flint Cooper must request your medical records and bills—this often takes at least 30 days and sometimes longer. Then, those medical records and bills are sent to the at-fault parties’ insurance carrier, for which they have at least 30 days to evaluate your claim and respond—sometime longer dependent on the state and type of claim.
This depends on several factors, the most important of which are your damages, or harms and losses from the incident. The main areas of recoverable damages are as follows:
- Medical expenses;
- Lost wages; and
- Pain and suffering.
If you provide Flint Cooper attorneys photos of your injuries or the vehicles, that may increase the value of your case. If you follow-up with a doctor, specialist, therapist, chiropractor, your case will likely be worth more because it will demonstrate you required medical treatment to heal from your injuries. If you tell your medical providers (doctors) about the problems the incident caused, it will likely result in your case being worth more.
A personal injury claim is valued based on the following factors: (a) Liability — who was at fault for the accident?; (b) Causation — did the accident cause the injuries alleged?; and (c) Injuries — what are the injuries sustained? Injuries can be physical, psychological, and/or economic. Proving your injuries will require proof of medical treatment and/or economic loss. If needed, Flint Cooper will retain experts to help prove your damages.
Not every case goes to court. In fact, the majority of cases will settle prior to a lawsuit ever being filed. According to the data, approximately 70% of cases settle before a lawsuit is filed. Of the 30-40% that get filed in court, nearly all settle before going to trial, and only less than 5% of cases actually go to trial.
A personal injury settlement is effectively a contract entered into between you and the defendant to settle the claims you have brought against them. Per this contract, the defendant will pay you money in exchange for releasing them from any further lawsuits. In other words, you release the defendant from all liability — in exchange for money — for all injuries sustained from the accident in question.
This will depend on the state where the accident happened. In some states, you can be 49% at fault but still recover for your injuries. In other states, you will be precluded from recovery if you are 1% at fault. Flint Cooper recommends speaking to its attorneys about your claim.
If the accident happened on the job, and the at-fault party is your employer, you should file a workman’s compensation claim. If the accident happened at work, but the at-fault party is someone other than your employer, you may be able to file both a personal injury claim and seek workman’s compensation.
Flint Cooper recommends addressing your health first and hiring an attorney second. Once you receive the medical help you need, Flint Cooper suggests contacting its attorneys sooner rather than later to advise you on the specifics of your matter, but generally speaking, taking pictures, identifying witnesses and preserving any relent evidence is recommended.
If you were not injured in the accident, you will not have a case. However, not all injuries are immediately apparent following an accident, as some injuries can take time to develop and/or cause pain. Flint Cooper’s attorneys are available to discuss whether you have a claim
Flint Cooper recommends speaking to its attorneys about options. There are a number of ways to navigate this. Most personal injury attorneys work with doctors that will treat you for free while your case progresses. The doctor will then take payment when your case gets resolved.
If you cannot work because of your accident, Flint Cooper recommends discussing options with your attorney.
It depends on the lifecycle of your case but Flint Cooper’s attorneys keep you updated on the current state of your case.
Personal injury attorneys work on contingency, which means you do not pay anything upfront. Flint Cooper personal injury attorneys only get paid if they are able to recover you money.
