“There’s this myth that personal injury lawyers are ambulance chasers, and people who file personal injury lawsuits are making their stories up, but the truth couldn’t be more different,” says Omar Ochoa, top personal injury attorney and founder of Omar Ochoa Law Firm. “These cases spring from traumatic events that dramatically alter the course of someone’s life.”
According to Ochoa, the field of personal injury is broad, yet all of these cases have a key similarity: “Essentially, what it encompasses is some type of physical, emotional, or mental injury as a result of someone else’s negligence,” he says.
For Ochoa, certain signs can help possible plaintiffs decide whether or not they have a case.
Was someone else to blame?
“To start analyzing whether you have a successful personal injury claim, ask yourself if you’ve been injured and someone else is at fault for it,” Ochoa says. “If you can point to some responsible party for the injury, that’s a good way to start determining whether you have a case or not.”
According to Ochoa, classic examples of personal injury lawsuits include car accidents in which the other driver is the responsible party, from fender benders to more severe incidents. However, even just falling on the sidewalk or in a store can lead to a personal injury case.
“Maybe you feel some pain after a visit to a business because of something that somebody did while you were there,” Ochoa adds. But that’s not the only key element of a successful personal injury lawsuit.
Do you have evidence?
Evidence is the next necessary component of a winning case. “To be able to say that you’ve got a good personal injury case, the injury itself must be documented,” Ochoa says. “This could be in some kind of an accident report, incident report, or visit to a medical provider either the same day or very soon after the injury occurred.”
This is called the “burden of proof,” which falls on plaintiffs in personal injury cases. “Without that documentation, you could say all day that it’s somebody else’s fault, or that you’re injured, and it wouldn’t matter,” Ochoa explains. “You have to show evidence to prove those allegations.”
Obtaining this evidence often requires the injured to act promptly. “The sooner after an injury you speak to a lawyer, the better it’s going to be for your case,” Ochoa advises. “The longer you take to consult an attorney, the weaker your case is going to get. That’s because the more time passes, the easier it becomes for the defendant to say that it wasn’t them who caused your injury, and it was something that happened after the fact instead. To preserve your case, the best thing to do is to talk to somebody very soon after your injury.”
Ochoa highlighted that every case is different, however, and sometimes the full scope of an injury might not be clear right away. “When an injury occurs, especially in a car accident, a lot of people are so full of adrenaline that they don’t feel all the aches and pains until the next day. Or, if you have some kind of internal injury or some kind of stretched or pulled muscle, you might not feel the effects of it even for a couple of weeks. The same is also true for brain injuries; you could have a brain injury from an impact and not know that for weeks or months at a time. Just because you don’t feel pain doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no injury.”
That is why Ochoa recommends consulting with an attorney as soon as you suspect you may have been injured.
Are you willing to talk about what happened?
Ochoa points to the willingness and ability to communicate what happened as the next important aspect of a winning case. “Some of these cases can be very difficult to talk about, especially if you’ve had a traumatic injury,” he says. “What’s occurred is something that’s thrown off your life, but the more you explain what occurred — as well as the circumstances around it and the pain you’re feeling — the easier it will be for an attorney to evaluate your case.”
Some people might think that the incident was minor or downplay their injuries. They might also be skeptical that their case would generate the kind of settlement that would be worth litigation.
For Ochoa, however, it’s best to consult with a lawyer anyway. “In any legal situation, you will always benefit from speaking with an attorney,” he says. “If you’re charged with a crime, if you want to start a business, if someone has given you a contract that they want you to sign — in all of these legal situations, it’s pretty obvious that you would talk to an attorney because you’re not going to know the ins and outs of those legal processes yourself. The same thing is true when you’re injured.”
Ochoa points out that, since personal injury lawyers often offer free consultations, there’s no reason not to seek an attorney’s advice. “You might not think you have a case. You might not think there’s any reason to engage an attorney. But attorneys who give free consultations will be able to walk you through what you rights are and guide you in how to determine the extent of your injury. These are experts who are able to advise you in this situation.”
Consult with a personal injury lawyer
While consulting with a personal injury lawyer may seem like a major step, Ochoa encourages possible plaintiffs to do so just to be sure. “Even if you think there’s nothing available for you or you’re just not sure what your rights are in a situation, consulting with an attorney is at the very least going to give you some kind of comfort,” he says. “Even if you don’t have a case, somebody can explain to you why you don’t. And of course, if you do have a case, then all the better.”
Since most states impose statutes of limitations on these kinds of cases, it is important to seek a lawyer’s advice as soon as possible. “In most instances, you will need to file a lawsuit within two years from the date of the injury,” Ochoa says, “so if you miss that date, then you will not be able to proceed with your case. You can still file it, but it will very likely get thrown out by a court, and you won’t be able to recover your damages even if you know someone else was clearly at fault for some catastrophic injury.”
If an injured party fails to bring their personal injury case to court before the statute of limitations expires, then they can never earn a settlement and will be on the hook for all the expenses related to their medical care. “If you lose the opportunity to hold another party responsible for your injuries, then the cost of that injury is left to you,” Ochoa says.
Ochoa’s parting words of advice emphasize the importance of hiring a lawyer who specializes in personal injury lawsuits. “You don’t want to engage a family lawyer who does divorces to handle your personal injury case because they’re just not going to be as well versed in the law and won’t have the experience of doing those cases,” he says. “Make sure you’re talking to a personal injury expert, someone who has a track record of proven results. That way, you can have more comfort and rely on that person’s advice.”
