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Do You Need a Polk County Personal Injury Attorney?

Get a Lakeland lawyer who knows how to stand up to insurance companies

Personal injury victim holding bandaged handIt’s an unfortunate fact of life that many of us will suffer an injury outside of our control at one point or another. Such an injury can have serious effects on our quality of life, our ability to work, and our finances through medical expenses. Insurance is supposed to pay for those costs, but the insurance companies won’t just pay up. They profit off people’s pain, and they will do everything they can to pay you as little as possible – or nothing at all.

Thankfully, you do not have to deal with these difficulties alone. An experienced Lakeland personal injury attorney can help assess the liability involved, pursue legal action against individuals, businesses, or employers to help cover medical expenses and loss of income, and relieve the legal and financial burden which can complicate recovery. If you’ve been hurt in Polk, Pasco, or Hillsborough County, you need to talk to Thomas C. Grajek, Attorney at Law today.

What is a personal injury case?

In the legal sense, a personal injury is an injury to a person’s body caused by another party’s negligence (careless behavior).

There are many types of personal injury claims, but they all have one thing in common: damage to a person’s body. For example, if you suffered an injury from a negligent motorist in a car accident, you may have a personal injury claim. If you slipped and fell and sustained an injury while visiting a business, you may have a personal injury claim.

Sometimes, a personal injury accident results in death. In such situations, the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate can file a wrongful death claim on behalf of the estate and the surviving family members.

Personal injuries can result in huge medical bills, loss of income, pain and suffering, and psychological trauma. The at-fault party and their insurance company should pay for those costs. However, getting them to pay up is often an uphill battle. That’s why you need an experienced personal injury lawyer to move your case forward.

How a Lakeland personal injury lawyer can help

The job of a personal injury lawyer is to represent their clients’ interests as they attempt to recover — physically and financially — from a personal injury.

This may mean suing for medical expenses or loss of income. It may mean dealing with insurance companies to ensure fair treatment. A personal injury lawyer will assist in any legal matters which develop because of the personal injury. If your case is litigated, that may include:

  • Filing a lawsuit
  • Representing you in pre-trial hearings and procedures
  • Negotiating with the insurance company and representing you in mediation or arbitration
  • Going through the discovery process and taking depositions to gather evidence in support of your case
  • Representing you in a personal injury trial, if necessary

In addition, a lawyer can negotiate with your medical providers and other lienholders to help you keep more of your money.

Having a qualified and experienced personal injury lawyer is vital to get fair treatment after a personal injury. The right Florida personal injury attorney will alleviate much of the stress and burden of dealing with legal matters that result from a personal injury, allowing you to focus on healing.

How much does a personal injury attorney cost?

Personal injury victim with leg brace walking with crutchesWhen you’re injured, you shouldn’t have to pay a lawyer out of pocket. That’s why I handle personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. There’s no hourly fee or retainer. If you win your case, the attorney’s fee is a percentage of the recovery, usually 33% if the case does not go to trial and 40% or more if it does. If you don’t win, there is no fee.

In other words, you can always afford to hire a lawyer. The question is whether you can afford to deal with the insurance company on your own. The insurance industry’s own research says that people who hire an attorney recover much more than people who don’t, even taking attorney’s fees into account.

Talk to a personal injury attorney right away

There are two things to keep in mind when you’re dealing with a personal injury matter. The first is that you only get one shot at full compensation. Once you’ve taken the insurance company’s money, that’s it; your case is closed, and you can’t come back for more, even if your injuries turn out to be more serious than you thought. This is why insurance companies often try to “lowball” people with quick settlement offers that look good at first glance but don’t provide full compensation – and that’s why you should never accept a settlement or sign anything from the insurance company without talking to a lawyer first.

The second thing to remember is that time is of the essence. In Florida, the statute of limitations (legal deadline) for most personal injury matters is two years from the date of the accident. That might seem like a long time, but really, the clock starts ticking much sooner than that. To build a viable case, your attorney needs to investigate and gather evidence, and some of that evidence can disappear within days. The sooner you talk to an attorney, the stronger your case will potentially be.

Don’t go up against the insurance company on your own. Get an experienced personal injury attorney who knows how to win tough cases in Polk County. Call or use the online contact form today for a free consultation with attorney Thomas C. Grajek.

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