Schererville, IN Personal Injury Lawyer

Nobody should have to suffer from the fallout of negligently caused personal injuries. If another person was responsible for your damages, we can help you hold them accountable in a legal claim.

Personal injuries can be caused in many ways, but victims usually do not have long to make their cases. In most cases, you will only have two years to file your claim, so it is important to start soon. Our team will gather enough evidence that it is clear you have a valid claim and file it before the deadline passes. After your claim is filed, we can continue to assess your treatment progress and the additional damages you have sustained. When you settle your claim, you want to be sure it covers all your damages, including your economic and non-economic ones.

For a free case review with our personal injury attorneys, call Wruck Paupore at (219) 322-1166.

Deadlines to File a Claim for Personal Injuries Sustained in Schererville, IN

When another person injures you, a “statute of limitations” clock starts counting down. Once that deadline passes, you will have few options to recover compensation. Under I.C. § 34-11-2-4(a), personal injury victims in Schererville have just two years to prepare and file their claims. After the deadline, insurance companies need not entertain injury claims, no matter how valid they would have been. You will also be unable to turn to the courts for help.

If the statute of limitations has passed, our personal injury attorneys can determine if an exception will “toll” the limitations period. Perhaps the defendant concealed the fact that you had a cause of action against them. For instance, if a driver gave you a false name after an accident or a doctor concealed their malpractice, that time will likely not be held against you under § 34-11-5-1. Our team can help make efforts to identify the defendant or cause of your injuries so that you can show you did everything reasonably in your power to file your claim against them.

The time will also be tolled if the defendant does not reside in the state, according to § 34-11-4-1. Schererville is not far from the Indiana state line, so a person living outside the state may be responsible. However, the statute of limitations will run like normal if the defendant has someone authorized to accept service on their behalf. Suppose you were injured by an employee of a national company based in another state that operates locations in Indiana. If so, the claim can usually be served upon their local headquarters rather than their national one.

Those with a legal disability at the time of their injury will also have the limitations period tolled until the disability is removed, as per § 34-11-6-1. Legal disabilities include being a minor at the time of the accident or having a mental or physical disability that bars individuals from filing a claim. Once the victim turns 18 or the disability no longer prevents them from exercising their rights, the clock starts ticking.

Damages Assessed in a Schererville, IN Personal Injury Claim

Compensatory damages refer to the losses resulting from the defendant’s negligence. As the name implies, they are intended to compensate you for your economic losses, as well as your non-economic damages, known commonly as “pain and suffering.” The value of your financial damages, like medical expenses, usually informs how much your non-economic damages will be worth, which is why it is vital to assess your claim accurately. Depending on the conditions of your accident, we might also request the court grant punitive damages in addition to these.

Economic Damages

The goal is to precisely calculate each financial loss you suffered so that it is covered and that you do not settle for a lower value for your pain and suffering. Once you accept an offer to settle a claim, that will be all the money you can recoup, as you will not be allowed to refile for new damages or file in court. Thus, your current medical bills and lost earnings must be assessed, as well as future expenses for medical care and lost earning potential at work. Our team will work with your doctors and other experts to determine the extent of these future losses and ensure the insurance company accounts for them.

We can also include replacement and repair costs for property damaged in the accident. Perhaps you smashed your phone in a slip and fall accident or need your car repaired. Out-of-pocket expenses, like fuel or childcare costs while attending to your legal case and treatment, should also be accounted for, so keep your receipts.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages seek to compensate you for the physical, emotional, and psychological pain and suffering. Physical pain often starts the moment you are injured in the accident and sets in the long term, depending on the severity of your injuries. For example, if you injured your knee in a slip and fall accident, you would experience pain on impact and might have pain for months or years after you are no longer treating the injury.

Emotional and psychological pain and suffering can manifest in several ways. You might suffer feelings of anxiety and depression because your injuries limit you now or you can no longer work. If your injuries have impacted your overall quality of life, we can assess what damages would adequately compensate for these losses. Your economic damages are typically used as a baseline for determining your non-economic ones, which is why it is critical to document them thoroughly.

Punitive Damages

If the defendant’s conduct went beyond ordinary negligence and resulted from malice or gross negligence, you might be awarded punitive damages meant to punish the other party. For instance, if you were hit by someone driving under the influence, we would argue that constitutes gross negligence, and your compensation should reflect that.

Contact Our Personal Injury Lawyers in Schererville, IN Today for Help

Contact Wruck Paupore by calling (219) 322-1166 for a free case evaluation with our personal injury lawyers.