A multitude of scenarios might lead to an injury that is caused by another party’s negligence or intent to harm. In addition to assault, victims might suffer injuries when they are driving in the Milwaukee area, shopping at Brookfield Square, or dining at one of the restaurants overlooking Lake Michigan. After an injury, victims experience physical pain, but they must also cope with emotional stress and the financial burden of missing work while amassing medical expenses. Wisconsin law entitles those who have been injured by another party to seek damages in civil court.
What Is a Milwaukee Personal Injury Attorney?
A personal injury attorney is a lawyer who practices tort law. Specifically, they represent those who have been injured physically or emotionally because of the negligence or intent to harm by another person, business, government agency, or any party. Personal injury lawyers most often represent plaintiffs in lawsuits and do not typically handle defense unless they are defending a client against a counterclaim.
What Do Personal Injury Lawyers Do?
When you hire a Milwaukee personal injury lawyer nearby to represent you in a civil lawsuit, they walk with you through the entire legal process to give you the best odds of a positive outcome for your case. The following are some of the specific things a personal injury attorney can do for you:
- Case evaluation. A qualified and reputable personal injury attorney will review and evaluate your case during a free consultation to determine your eligibility to recover damages in civil court. After you share the specifics of your injury, your lawyer will advise you on next steps.
- Accident investigation. Groth Law Firm may investigate the accident or event that caused injury to their client. Your attorney will gather any relevant information and documentation to build a case against the defendant. The scope of an investigation will vary based on each case. Some examples include taking witness statements, obtaining medical records, obtaining police reports, enlisting experts to reconstruct accidents, talking to specialists that can assess future health care needs, and more.
- Valuing your claim. When your personal injury attorney brings a lawsuit on your behalf, he or she must place a monetary value on losses. This is a simple process for tangible things that are justified by medical bills and pay stubs from work; however, placing value on non-economic losses such as pain and suffering or a reduced quality of life might require enlisting the aid of a specialist to value your claim.
- Filing an insurance claim. Many times personal injury claims involve insurance claims with vehicle policies, homeowners’ policies, or commercial policies. An experienced personal injury attorney will handle communications with insurance carriers and might even recover damages for you without going to the trouble of filing a lawsuit.
- Filing a personal injury lawsuit. When liable parties and their insurance carriers deny claims or refuse to fully compensate you for your injuries, your attorney will escalate your claim to a lawsuit. This not only includes filing paperwork, but beginning settlement negotiations. In the event that settlement is not an option, a seasoned lawyer will litigate your case in court and try to get you the compensation that you deserve.
Common Types of Personal Injury Cases
Many different scenarios might lead to injuries that motivate a client to bring a lawsuit against another party to recover losses related to their injury. Here are some of the most common types of cases handled by the skilled legal team at Groth Law:
- Traffic accidents. Groth Law Firm attorneys are top-rated car accident lawyers in Milwaukee. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation estimates almost 130,000 traffic accidents on Wisconsin roads in 2016 including 501 fatal crashes. About 29,000 crashes resulted in injury. When traffic accidents lead to severe or catastrophic injuries, victims turn to a qualified and reputable lawyer to recover damages.
- Bicycle accidents. Wisconsin had more than 1,000 reported bicycle accidents in 2016, resulting in 10 fatalities and more than 900 injuries. Riding a bicycle remains a favorite activity of adults and children alike, but it does carry risk when careless drivers hit bicycles. You can trust you are getting our best when you hire us for a Milwaukee bicycle accident case.
- Pedestrian accidents. Summertime in Milwaukee is a wonderful time to walk around the city and along Lake Michigan, but pedestrians should know that they face more risk on foot than those who drive and ride in cars. In 2016, approximately 1,200 pedestrians were injured and 46 died when they were hit by motor vehicles. We have handled many pedestrian accident cases in recent years.
- Truck Accidents. Truck accidents are generally more severe than car accidents. In 2016, 7,461 large truck crashes took place in Wisconsin, which resulted in 2,342 injuries and 79 deaths. This represents about 7 percent of Wisconsin road accident injuries, but 15 percent of the total deaths, which shows the tragic and destructive nature of truck accidents.
- Slips, trips, and falls. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services reports that Wisconsin has one of the highest death rates—twice the national average— from unintentional falls in the country. Although slip and fall victims might sustain multiple types of injuries, unintentional falls remain the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Those over age 65 have the most risk for a slip or trip and fall. A Wisconsin court might hold a property
owner liable if he or she didn’t maintain a safe environment or warn visitors about hazards that led to injury. - Medical malpractice. Society depends on doctors and other medical professionals to cure and treat illness and disease. When those that we trust fail to uphold their legal obligations to provide a standard of care, victims and their families are devastated. At Groth Law Firm, we help victims hold medical professionals accountable when they commit malpractice. Examples include surgical errors, physical abuse, emotional abuse, failure to diagnose an ill patient, making a wrong diagnosis, prescribing the wrong medicine, providing inadequate aftercare, and more.
- Workplace injuries. Unfortunately, work accidents are a common occurrence in Wisconsin and across the United States. Immediately after injury, most employees file a workers’ compensation claim to recover some of the medical expenses and lost income from their injury. Yet, workers’ comp insurance carriers deny claims, reduce benefits, downplay victims’ injuries, and some employers don’t have workers’ comp insurance. An experienced workers’ comp attorney will help you through the claims process and advise you on if or when you should escalate your claim to a personal injury lawsuit against your employer or a third party.
- Defective product accidents. When companies put new products on the market they might be defective. The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) maintains reports and warns of dangers about injuries related to chemicals; fuels, lighters, and fireworks; home decor and furniture; public facilities; home construction; kitchen products; sports products; and, toys and children’s products. Any party involved in a product’s chain of distribution might be liable for a defective product; this includes manufacturers, distributors, retailers, shippers, and more. Product defects might happen during design or manufacturing or companies may fail to warn consumers of dangers regarding the product. Depending on the product and the defect, injuries vary.
Contact an Experienced Milwaukee Personal Injury Lawyer Nearby
Personal injury firms handle the vast majority of their cases on a contingent fee basis. Your first interaction with a personal injury lawyer typically is a free consultation and case review. This gives you the opportunity to share details of your case and discuss potential strategies with a qualified attorney. If you choose to have the lawyer represent you, he or she will work on your case without upfront payment, often referred to as a contingent fee basis. This means attorney fees are contingent on your attorney getting results for you. He or she will recover fees from any compensation that you receive in the form of a settlement or verdict in your favor.
When you are injured, the last thing you want to do is deal with the headache and confusion of working with an insurance company to try and receive compensation. Leave the hard work and headaches to the professionals here at Groth Law Firm S.C. We can provide thorough and timely representation for your personal injury case, no matter the type. We have years of experience working with personal injury cases. We know all the ins and outs of dealing with insurance companies, and the best strategies to ensure you get you the full compensation that you deserve. Often, insurance companies and at-fault parties do not want to take responsibility. They will try to get you to settle and take less money than you deserve, but we won’t let that happen.
There is a statute of limitations on your personal injury case, so don’t hesitate. Call our offices today at (414) 240-0707 for a free, confidential consultation. We can help you determine if you have a case and let you know what the next steps need to be.