If you lost a loved one or suffered a serious injury, you are likely to have more questions. I understand just how overwhelming all of this can be, and I can help answer your questions and begin working to investigate your claim.
General Information
Sometimes, the skills of an experienced wrongful death attorney or personal injury lawyer — or at least the threat to an insurance company that such a lawyer may be working for you — are worth the legal fees you pay the lawyer. You may need a lawyer because of complex legal rules involved in your particular claim, or because the severity of your injuries, or simply because an insurance company refuses to settle a matter in good faith.
The following types of claims frequently require a lawyer’s help:
- Wrongful death
- Long-term or permanently disabling injuries
- Severe injuries
- Medical malpractice
- Toxic exposure
- Birth injuries or nursing home abuse/neglect
No fee ever. Unless I recover money for you. I only get paid if, and when, I recover money for you. That means if I don’t recover money for you, you don’t pay any legal fees. And, I don’t charge any fee to meet with you and discuss whether you have a case or whether I will take your case.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice typically involves mistakes or errors made by doctors, nurses and hospitals. It can include failing to perform a diagnostic test, failing to properly diagnose and treat a condition, or performing substandard care. This is known as a breach of the standard of care. But, just because a health care provider breached the standard of care, that doesn’t mean you have a claim. You must also prove what is known as causation. That means the breach must have been a cause of your injury, damages or the death of a loved one.
Victims of medical malpractice can recover compensation for economic and non-economic damages. Examples of economic damages include medical expenses (past and future) and lost income or future earning capacity. Examples of non-economic damages include pain and suffering, lost of enjoyment of the life you had before the malpractice, inconvenience, mental anguish and frustration. In there was a wrongful death, then the decedent may recover for any conscious pain and suffering and the beneficiaries may recover both economic and non-economic damages.
Anyone who has incurred illness or injury as a result of a medical professional’s negligence can file a medical malpractice suit. If it is a young child who has suffered a birth injury, the parents or a guardian can file on their behalf. If there is a wrongful death, then a court appointed fiduciary can file on behalf of the decedent.
Medical malpractice cases require your lawyer to hire experts to prove your case. These experts must establish there was a breach of the standard of care and that the breached caused injury, damages or death.
Vehicle Crashes
Fault is primarily established based on the concept of negligence. Every driver has a duty to avoid endangering those who share the road. This means they must take any and all necessary precautions while driving, and the failure to do so is considered negligence. When a driver’s negligence leads to an accident, he or she is considered at fault. However, this is not always a simple concept: Sometimes negligence can be difficult to prove and other times, more than one driver may have contributed. This is why it is necessary to have quality legal counsel fighting for you.
There are options for you even if you do not have medical insurance. You must go see your doctor or visit the ER after an accident. Not only will you receive the attention you need, but you will also be able to provide an attorney with a record of your injuries and treatment, which can be given to the other driver’s insurance company as evidence of your claim.
Generally, you have about two years to file a lawsuit after an accident. Although the exact amount of time may vary depending on the circumstances, this is why it is imperative to seek out the services of an attorney right away.
Fortunately, even if the other driver in an accident does not have insurance, you may still have options enabling you to collect. Most policies have what is called uninsured motorist coverage, which protects you in this exact scenario.
Before accepting any settlement, you should speak with Frank Piscitelli and his team. Despite what they say, insurance agencies are generally not in the business of providing the financial support that is needed and owed. Instead, they will do all they can to minimize the amount of money they have to pay so that they can maximize their own profits. This means that your settlement offer will likely be far less than you deserve.
If your family member or a loved one passed way due to a wrongful death incident, you may be entitled to claim financial compensation on their behalf. We will examine the circumstances and determine your eligibility to file a claim.
Ohio’s statute of limitations for personal injury and wrongful death cases is two years. Medical malpractice claims have a statute of limitations of one or four years, depending on when the causation was discovered. The statute of limitations for products liability claims is two to 10 years, depending on the discovery of injury and when the product was made. Essentially, you should file your claim as soon as possible to ensure that you are within your legal right to do so.
Ohio enforces a comparative negligence law. This means that a person can pursue damages minus a percentage equal to his or her own contribution to the accident, up to 50 percent. For example, if it is determined that you were 20 percent at fault for an accident, you can pursue up to 80 percent of the total damages. However, any person who is more than 50 percent at fault for an accident will not be able to recover any percentage of compensation.
Similar to case worth, each lawsuit is unique and there is no set timetable to accurately determine the length of time the case will take. Depending on the severity of your case, the cooperation of all parties, and the availability of evidence and witness testimony, personal injury cases can take anywhere from a few months to years to resolve.
There are many different factors involved in determining the value of your case. This includes the physical damages that were incurred to you or your loved one, emotional pain and suffering, and financial losses such as medical bills and lost wages. However, there is no exact calculator to accurately estimate the amount of compensation you may be able to recover. Additionally, other intangible factors, including your and the defendant’s conduct throughout the case can have an effect on the value of your claim. We can discuss the details of your unique situation in a case evaluation to determine the maximum compensation to pursue.