Whether you suffered injuries in a Tennessee car crash or experienced a severe brain injury in another accident, it is likely your physical pain prevents you from carrying out your daily routine. Instead, you spend your days at the hospital, at your doctor’s office, or taking part in physical therapy.

If you find yourself struggling to pay out-of-pocket expenses for an accident that was not your fault, a personal injury lawyer in Jefferson City can help with your situation. At the Law Offices of Ogle, Elrod & Baril, PLLC, we help personal injury victims pursue compensation for their monetary losses and pain and suffering in cases where another party’s negligence caused an accident.

Call us at 865-546-1111 to schedule a free consultation with one of our Jefferson City personal injury lawyers. We can help you through the claims process, explain how settlements work, and fight for the compensation you deserve.

How to Receive Compensation After a Personal Injury Accident

You can receive compensation by filing a claim against the at-fault party’s insurance company. Once we identify who caused the injury, we can file a claim on your behalf. That way, you can continue to recover and avoid having to deal with legal paperwork.

Our firm has decades of combined experience in personal injury negotiations. We know the tactics insurers use to delay, deny, or underpay a claim. In some cases, insurers minimize physical injuries by asserting they are not as severe as victims claim. We defend against these assertions by collecting evidence proving the severity of our clients’ injuries.

If an insurance company does not offer you a fair settlement, we will speak with you about filing a personal injury lawsuit to recover your losses. However, we would continue negotiating in hopes of reaching a settlement before trial. Otherwise, a judge or jury will decide the outcome of your claim.

Building a Personal Injury Claim

We build a solid claim for you by collecting evidence proving another party’s negligence caused your physical injuries and financial losses. That evidence may include:

Medical records showing the nature of your injuries;
Police reports or other incident reports about your injury;
Eyewitness statements about your accident;
Statements from your family members on how your injury has impacted your life and those who depend on you;
Evidence of income you lost because of your inability to work; and
Photographs of the accident scene or surveillance camera videos that captured your accident.

We also look for any past convictions or complaints regarding the at-fault party. For instance, if a commercial truck slammed into your vehicle, we would review records to determine whether the trucking company previously violated any state or federal rules or regulations. We would also review the truck driver’s driving record for any previous traffic violations or involvement in accidents similar to yours.

Proving Negligence in a Personal Injury Case

You can anticipate an insurance company to challenge your claim, but you can rely on us to develop a strategy that proves the at-fault party’s negligence caused your personal injury—and you suffered damages as a result.

When it comes to negligence, an insurer may accuse you of being partially responsible for your injury. For instance, if a car hit you as you crossed the street, the driver may accuse you of jaywalking. In this instance, insurers will apply Tennessee’s comparative negligence rule in an attempt to reduce your compensation award based on a measurement of fault.

The comparative negligence rule reduces your total compensation by your percentage of fault. For instance, if you sought $100,000 in damages, but you were 20 percent liable for your own injury, an insurer or judge would reduce your compensation by 20 percent. You would receive $80,000 in compensation.

Types of Damages You Can Recover

A personal injury can place an extra burden on you because of the frequent trips to your doctor’s office, surgeries, or specialized care your doctor prescribes to help improve your condition. We can help you pursue compensation for these and other damages, such as:

Current and future medical costs;
In-patient rehabilitation;
Lost wages;
Loss of earning capacity;
In-home health care;
Assistive medical devices; and
Loss of personal property or property damage.

You may also seek intangible damages, such as emotional distress, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and mental anguish.

Do Not Accept an Initial Settlement Offer

As tempting as it may be, do not accept a quick settlement from an insurance company. In some cases, an insurance company will not argue about the negligence of its policyholder. For example, if a drunk driver caused an accident that led to fatalities or severe injuries, the insurance company may be quick to pay a claim.

We advise you not to accept a check until you have a lawyer review the settlement agreement. Many times, accident victims experience delayed injury symptoms and their settlement does not include costs to treat those injuries. We can help you make sure you receive a settlement that includes your present and future needs.

The Statute of Limitations in Tennessee

Tennessee sets the time at one year from the date your accident occurred to claim injury. While this allows time for delayed injury symptoms to manifest, it limits how long we have to conduct an investigation of your case. The sooner you decide to take legal action, the better we can preserve evidence and start working on your claim.

We Can Help You With Your Personal Injury Claim

If you suffered a personal injury, the Law Offices of Ogle, Elrod & Baril, PLLC, can help you seek compensation. We charge based on contingency, so you do not pay for our services unless we win your case. Call 865-546-1111 today for a free consultation with a personal injury attorney in Jefferson City.