General Personal Injury FAQs

General Personal Injury FAQs

1. What are the types of personal injury cases that the Law Office of Sally A. Roberts handles?

The Law Office of Sally A. Roberts is a full-service litigation law firm, having assisted numerous satisfied clients with Automobile Wreck, Slip and Fall, Wrongful Death, and Premises Liability cases in State and Federal courts throughout Connecticut.

2. What are the main issues which come up in personal injury cases?

There are two (2) parts to a personal injury lawsuit. First, liability must be determined. This answers the question whether or not the defendant engaged in any wrongful conduct. Second, damages must be assessed. This determines how much money should be paid to the plaintiff because of a defendant's wrongful conduct.

3. How are damages determined in personal injury cases?

There are two (2) basic category of damages in a personal injury case – "special damages" and "pain and suffering." Special damages are your "actual" damages shown from your medical bills, lost wages, and similar types of out-of-pocket expenses. Pain and suffering damages are proven by relying on testimony of how much the plaintiff and his/her family were affected by the wrongful conduct.

4. If I don't have any special damages can I still sue for my pain and suffering?

Maybe. Some legal claims actually require proof of special damages before a jury considers pain and suffering damages. However, except in relatively rare cases, even if your type of legal claim does not require this proof, if you do not have relatively significant special damages, your case is probably not worth much money. These cases may have value to you, because of the insult of the injury you have received, but you may find yourself spending more money prosecuting your case than you might hope to recoup from a jury award.

5. If I have declared bankruptcy before, or file for bankruptcy during the pendency of my case, will this affect my claim?

Yes. Declaring Bankruptcy can seriously compromise your lawsuit. If you, or a spouse, have ever filed for bankruptcy, are currently in bankruptcy, or you file for bankruptcy while your personal injury lawsuit is on-going, you must immediately notify your attorney of this fact!

6. Do I have any responsibilities in helping the development of my case?

Yes. Your attorney will probably provide you with some forms to fill out; these will assist your attorney in building and assessing your claim. In particular, you will need to provide your attorney with a "statement" of what happened and how your injury has affected your life – if possible, keeping a "daily diary" of the pain and/or limitations you experience from day-to-day due to your injury You will also need to assemble a "witness list." A witness is somebody who either knows how you were injured (from seeing it or hearing of it), who knows about your injury (such as by attending doctor's appointments with you), or who knows about how the injury has affected your life (such as watching you struggle at work or struggle with your ability to live a normal life).

7. Do I file a complaint as soon as my attorney finishes an initial investigation of my claim?

No. Generally speaking, your attorney will first want to incorporate your statement, your witness statements, your medical records, medical bills, and lost wages into a document called a "demand letter." In this demand letter, you and your attorney ask for a specific amount of money damages reasonably based on the evidence assembled in this presentation. {Something about settling vs. going to trial.]

8. How long does it take to generate a demand letter?

The timetable for this varies by case, as it largely depends on how long you treated by a medical provider. Generally speaking, your attorney will not want to prepare the demand letter until you have completed all of your medical treatment. This is because you do not want to settle the case until you know the true extent of your injury. Remember, once you settle, you cannot go back and ask for more money.

9. Are there any other issues that might affect my settlement?

Yes. There are two (2) instances where you might have to use some of your settlement money to pay someone else – to reimburse your health insurance company ("subrogation") and/or to reimburse a medical provider ("medical lien"). You will want to consider both of these possibilities in deciding what type of settlement you consider fair.

Subrogation is where your health insurance company (which would include Medicaid or Medicare) argues that you are required to repay it from your settlement or verdict for some, or all, of the money it spent on your medical treatment based on the contract language in the insurance plan. The law in this area is extremely complicated and still evolving, but you should consider the fact of possibility of subrogation in evaluating your case. Your attorney can negotiate with your insurance company, Medicaid, or Medicare, to reduce subrogation claims to a relatively small percentage of the overall claim.

A medical lien is where you owe money to your doctors or medical providers. There are certain rules that a health care provider needs to follow in asserting its rights to a share of your settlement or verdict, but there is always the possibility you can be sued, after the fact, for breach of contract for not paying your bill. Again, your attorney can negotiate with your health care provider to reduce the amount owed on a bill to a relatively small percentage of the overall claim.

10. Ok, I have a grasp of what the future holds, now how can I expect my case to progress if I file a complaint?

After a complaint is filed, the other party will respond with an Answer, approximately thirty (30) days after the defendant is "served" with the complaint. The Answer will determine which factors are being disputed and any counterclaims that are going to be at issue.