Areas Served
Norvelt residents who sustain injuries due to someone else’s actions can seek compensation from the parties responsible for their injuries by filing personal injury lawsuits. These lawsuits seek to hold at-fault parties financially liable for the harm they caused and make the victims whole again.
If you were injured in Norvelt, Pennsylvania, contact Stine & Associates, P.C., for a free consultation with our highly qualified personal injury lawyer. Attorney Cindy Stine will review your case, identify the likely at-fault parties, estimate the value of your case, and explain your options for recovering compensation.
Personal Injury Cases We Handle for Clients in Norvelt
Our firm handles all kinds of personal injury cases for Norvelt clients, from motor vehicle accidents to premises liability. Some of the most common types of cases our firm sees include:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Dog bites and animal attacks
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Premises liability cases
- Defective product cases
- Workplace injuries
- Asbestos exposure and mesothelioma
Every case is unique, which is why we don’t use a one-size-fits-all strategy. Our team investigates every case we handle to identify the at-fault parties and gather evidence to hold them liable. Even among similar cases, like two car accidents, what our team needs to prove and the evidence we have available may differ, leading us to pursue different strategies for seeking the compensation you need.
Common Injuries Seen in Norvelt Accident Victims
The injuries victims can sustain in Norvelt personal injury cases vary widely. Some of these injuries may keep victims out of work for a few days and result in moderate medical bills. And others may prevent a victim from returning to work at all, leaving them with permanent disabilities and significant treatment costs.
Common and severe injuries frequently seen in personal injury cases include:
- Traumatic brain injuries that may lead to permanent cognitive and physical disability
- Spinal cord injuries that may result in complete or partial paralysis
- Bone fractures that require surgery or extended recovery periods
- Soft tissue injuries that limit a victim’s mobility and cause chronic pain
- Crushing injuries that may require the amputation of limbs
- Lacerations that need stitches and may lead to permanent scarring
- Burns that put victims at risk of serious infections and cause disfigurement and disability
- Internal organ damage that may not be immediately apparent, causing it to worsen over time
- Psychological injuries, such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder
Compensation Available to Norvelt Personal Injury Victims
Through your personal injury lawsuit, you could recover damages (compensation) for various losses suffered due to your injuries. In personal injury cases, losses refer to how your injuries affect your finances and life, and damages refer to the compensation you seek for those losses.
Damages are typically broken down into economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are compensation for your losses with tangible value, while non-economic damages are compensation for everything else.
For example, you could seek economic damages for your past and future medical bills, lost wages, loss of future earning capacity, and other out-of-pocket expenses related to your injuries. You could also seek non-economic damages for your physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and permanent disabilities caused by your injuries.
To maximize your compensation, it’s crucial that you work with a knowledgeable, experienced, and compassionate personal injury lawyer serving Norvelt, Pennsylvania. Your lawyer must not only assess your existing losses but also your future losses and the intangible impact your injuries will have on your life going forward.
What If I Was Partly Responsible for My Injuries?
Your compensation could be affected if you were partly responsible for the incident that caused your injuries. Pennsylvania uses a modified comparative negligence rule that reduces a plaintiff’s trial award by a percentage equal to their degree of fault. It also bars plaintiffs from recovering compensation if they are more than 50 percent at fault for the accident that harmed them.
The other party’s insurance company will do everything in its power to cast at least some of the blame for the incident onto you to reduce its liability. However, your lawyer can minimize your liability and maximize your compensation by gathering robust evidence and building a strong case.
How to Build a Strong Personal Injury Case
Building a strong personal injury case involves gathering various types of evidence that point to the other party being at fault for the incident. Evidence your lawyer may gather includes:
- Accident scene photographs
- Surveillance or traffic camera footage
- Eyewitness statements
- Expert witness testimony, such as from accident reconstruction specialists or medical professionals
- Medical records
- Business records
- Maintenance records
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Your Norvelt Case
Several common mistakes could negatively impact your personal injury case and result in lower compensation. Understanding these common mistakes is the best way to avoid making them:
- Not Following Up with Treatment – Always continue your medical treatment until you fully recover. If a full recovery isn’t possible, continue your treatment until your doctor says you have reached maximum medical improvement. This is the point at which further treatment will not result in additional recovery, and medical complications are less likely to arise from this point forward.
- Posting on Social Media – Never post about your injuries or legal case on social media. The insurance company will likely be monitoring your accounts and the accounts of your friends and family, looking for anything it can use to deny or devalue your claim. In general, it’s best to lock down your accounts and not post on social media at all while your case is active.
- Speaking to Insurance Adjusters – Despite what the insurance adjuster may say, they are not on your side and are not looking out for your best interest. They work for the other party’s insurance company, and their job is to get you to say something that will harm your case. If an insurance adjuster contacts you, politely decline to speak with them and direct them to your lawyer.
- Not Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer – Some individuals believe they can handle their personal injury case alone, particularly if their injuries aren’t serious. This is a huge mistake. The other side will have lawyers, so you will be at an immediate disadvantage if you don’t have a lawyer of your own.
How Pennsylvania’s Statute of Limitations Might Affect Your Claim
Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations provides two years for victims to file lawsuits against the parties responsible for their injuries. Missing this deadline will result in the courts preventing you from recovering compensation, which is why it’s essential that you begin working with a lawyer as soon as possible.
Investigating the incident, identifying the at-fault parties, and gathering evidence takes time, and the more time you give your lawyer, the stronger your case will be.
Contact Our Personal Injury Lawyer Serving Norvelt, Pennsylvania
Attorney Cindy Stine has over 30 years of experience helping Pennsylvania injury victims seek the compensation they need. She understands the challenges injury victims face when trying to recover compensation from insurance companies and is prepared to take cases to trial if settlement negotiations aren’t progressing.
Contact Stine & Associates, P.C., for a free consultation with an experienced legal team member. We’ll explain your legal options and answer any questions you have about your case.