Recreational Injuries and When to Involve a Lawyer
Anyone with a personal injury has at some point wondered if or when the best time to involve an attorney is. As such, we’ve put together a helpful guide to help you assess whether or not you should pursue a recreational injury lawsuit in relation to any damages incurred by you or someone you love.
Common general reasons to hire a personal injury lawyer regarding recreational injuries or other accidents include: complex legal issues related to the specific circumstances of an injury, injuries of a particular type or severity level that necessarily require the expertise of a personal injury lawyer, and conflicts with an insurance company or challenges in seeking reimbursement from one.
Incidents of medical malpractice, for instance, can be particularly tricky in that they involve both complex medical issues and complex legal issues. This convoluted combination of factors renders it nearly impossible to seek justice for malpractice without an attorney. We strongly encourage you to seek legal advice from Evergreen Personal Injury Counsel if you feel that you have incurred an injury or illness as a result of improper treatment or care from any kind of a medical providing entity.
Likewise, you also should contact a lawyer if you think that you or someone you know may be exposed to toxic substances via airways, soil, commonly used products, water or food. Claims of this nature are often challenging to prove both because of the complex scientific data that is usually required, and because of the many measures commonly taken by the corporations or industries responsible for exposing victims to these kinds of contaminants to hide such data or otherwise protect themselves.
Severe, long-term or permanently disabling injuries also almost always require the assistance of an attorney due to the challenges of figuring out the value of injuries that are this caustic. The severity of an injury is usually assessed based on the type of injury, medical costs, and length of recovery time. If you’re not sure whether or not an injury you or someone you know has sustained qualifies as long term, a common rule of thumb is that injuries that affect your physical capabilities or appearance for over a year can be considered to be long-term. However, even if you’re not sure if this rule applies to your injury, you would still be best advised to discuss your particular circumstances with a lawyer as there may be exceptions in your case that would nonetheless qualify it as long term or severe in other ways.
Remember that the more significant your injury is, the greater the range is of possible legal outcomes that could occur. The higher the stakes, the higher the risk—so make sure you’ve got someone on your team who knows what they’re doing in these situations! Our attorneys are particularly well equipped with strategies and tools to help you receive compensation for the kinds of general damages that tend to be challenging for clients to determine on their own, such as pain and suffering or mental anguish. If you were to lose your hearing as a result of an accident, for instance, this would mean that you would not only be entitled to reimbursement for the costs of your medical care, but also additional monies for the pain, suffering, or mental anguish you faced as a result of this hearing loss.
Unfortunately, insurance companies oftentimes complicate all of the above issues and in doing so frequently create reasons for you to contact recreational injury attorneys in and of themselves. It’s particularly common, for instance, that insurance companies will try to push back on supporting your medical expenses given the many checks and balances that are built into their workflow to avoid their corporation having to pay more than it believes it needs to in order to solve a problem. On a personal level, this usually means that insurance companies will check extensively to make sure that all expenses are entirely necessary and valid, oftentimes causing more and more delays in providing reimbursement for your treatments. If you have experienced a recreational injury and your insurance company is dragging their heels on any of your medical bills, it would very much behoove you to seek the expert legal advice of a personal injury attorney such as those at Evergreen Personal Injury Counsel. Oftentimes, just the threat of an injury attorney is enough to cause a stingy insurer to hurry up with reimbursement or back down out of fear.
Instances of personal injury in which an injury attorney cannot help you are rare in the State of Washington, given that it is not a “No-Fault” state. In No-Fault states, victims are limited to recovering damages from their personal injury protection coverage and cannot sue unless their personal injuries reach a certain level of severity that is determined by the type of injury or its medical costs. Since Washington is a “Fault” state, you have a greater range of options in pursuing damages for your injury. The only other circumstance in which hiring an attorney may not be worthwhile to you is if the insurance company of the defendant (for instance, in the case of an automobile accident) is already paying out their maximum policy limits. In such an instance, any additional monies a personal injury attorney could pursue would need to be paid by the defendant directly—meaning that this is only a worthwhile path of action if the defendant has finances or assets. Regardless, it is still suggestible in such a case that you consult with an attorney about your options since they may be able to advise you about the possibility of going after the defendant directly or find another angle such as a contract loophole.
Even if your injuries seem minor now, it’s important to remember that many injuries worsen over time. For instance, after a recreational injury, it’s likely that the surge of adrenaline your brain experiences upon being forced into a “fight or flight” situation will function to lessen the pain you’re experiencing in that moment, so that you do not notice the full extent of the injury until later. This commonly reported phenomenon is why an important tenet of recreational injury prevention is to always seek medical treatment even if you’re unsure as to whether or not it’s necessary. Minor injuries often turn into major ones and, in the case that it does, you and your attorney will be best equipped going forward with the results of a thorough medical evaluation taken immediately after the accident.
If you’re having any kind of conflict related to an injury, don’t let the defendant or an insurer get the best of you! Remember that the job of a personal injury attorney is to fight for the maximum amount of damages that you’re legally entitled to from insurers or other entities. Know that the team at EPIC is especially distinguished in its many years of experience in these areas, and is always here to help you overcome any of these types of challenges that you may face in your recovery and quest for justice.