San Mateo is a large city in California with a population of just over 100,000. It is one of the most expensive cities in the US to live in. Industries like healthcare and education thrive in San Mateo.
San Mateo is a great city. But recently, the city started losing its reputation because of the recent hike in accidental deaths. The total number of accidental deaths has increased by 5% in 2021 compared to the previous year.
Negligence is a major issue in the city. Victims of negligence can seek the help of San Mateo personal injury attorneys to recover their losses and hold the negligent party accountable for their actions.
Hiring a personal injury lawyer is important for the following reasons:
- Holding the negligent party accountable
- Recover your losses
- Create awareness among people
- Deter the negligent party and others from engaging in such behaviors
While filing a personal injury claim is easy, winning one is not. To win a personal injury claim, the plaintiff (the victim) must prove the elements of personal injury law. Following are the elements you need to prove:
- Duty of care
- Breach of duty of care
- Causation
- Damages
You, as a victim, must prove all these elements to win a personal injury case.
You will face many challenges in proving the elements of personal injury law. Following are the challenges you will face in a personal injury claim:
- Lack of evidence
- Delayed medical attention
- Dealing with the insurance company
- Insufficient documentation
- Determining and proving liability
Lack of Evidence
To prove your case, you need relevant evidence. You can collect evidence at the accident scene itself. The following is a list of great evidence that can win you a personal injury case:
- Photos and videos of the accident
- Photos of your injuries and damages to your property (if any)
- Witness statements
- Documentation of your expenses, such as medical bills
Now, if you don’t have some of the above evidence, it can complicate your case. Proving negligence will become harder.
Delayed Medical Attention
Following an accident, getting medical attention as soon as possible is important. Prompt medical care means you can find out the hidden injuries you sustained in the accident.
Some injuries may not show immediate symptoms. If you don’t know the existence of those injuries, then it is not possible to claim compensation for those injuries. Also, you might miss the statute of limitations because of this.
In addition, the insurance company may claim that your injuries got worse because of the delayed medical care. This can complicate the case.
Dealing with the Insurance Company
Dealing with the insurance company is worse than the accident itself. They will try to make the situation much worse than it is. Their goal is to either reduce or reject your claim.
Yes, they claim that they will help people in their time of need. But all they do is the exact opposite of their claim.
They will try to drag out the process as long as possible in the hopes of you accepting a lowball settlement out of pressure and frustration. They will use many strategies to lower your settlement and make the process a lot more complex than it should be.
Insufficient Documentation
Documenting your injuries and expenses is a great way to measure your losses. To some extent, it can also be used as evidence to prove your case.
When you document all the expenses you incur, the loss calculation process becomes much simpler and easier.
On the other hand, it leads to not knowing your true losses when you don’t document your expenses or injuries.
Taking photos and videos of injuries and keeping a journal to document your pain can help prove non-economic damages. Lack of documentation can hurt your chances of fair compensation.
Determining and Proving Liability
One of the first things a lawyer will do is determine liability. Claiming compensation is not possible when you don’t know who is liable for the accident.
Accidents can happen for many reasons. There can be multiple liable parties for one accident. Determining liability can be quite a difficult process in such cases. Proving negligence is another headache. As said, to prove negligence, you need to prove the elements of personal injury law.
Final Thoughts
All of the aforementioned obstacles can be overcome with one simple action. Hire a lawyer. A lawyer knows what they are doing and can help you obtain fair compensation.
Blog Received from Andrew
