Being a personal injury plaintiff can feel intimidating. With your recovery on the line, filing a timely and strong case is important. Let our attorneys handle your claim for you. We can begin tracking your damages right away so we can prove them during a trial.
Medical bills, income records, and testimony prove damages. We must know your total damages before filing your lawsuit so we can make accurate compensation requests. New Jersey does not cap compensatory damages, which often leads to large jury awards. Even if you want to settle quickly, let our lawyers negotiate and confirm an offer is fair before you accept. Settlements are often paid in installments, and we will ensure terms are fair to you.
Call (201) 777-1111 to discuss your case for free with the personal injury lawyers of Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. today.
How Do You Prove Damages from a Personal Injury in Hillside?
When you file a personal injury lawsuit, you need to prove you incurred damages to recover them. We can calculate damages and get evidence of them for your case.
Bills
Bills are good evidence of damages. Keep bills from emergency room visits, extended hospital stays, referrals to specialists, and follow-up appointments. Give us copies so we can prove your medical damages.
Bills prove other out-of-pocket damages, too. Keep bills from in-home medical assistance, childcare services, and transportation accommodations so our personal injury lawyers can include them in your lawsuit.
Income Records
Injuries may stop you from working for weeks, months, or even years. A lawsuit can cover lost wages, and income records help us prove them. Tax returns and paychecks confirm your previous income, so give us this information for your case.
Testimony
Your testimony helps prove your non-economic damages, which are the “intangible” harms you experience due to negligence. Your injuries may be physically painful and emotionally distressing. They might cause mental anguish, embarrassment, or a lower quality of life. We can prepare you to testify if your case goes to court so the jury appreciates your pain and suffering.
Testimony from experts is also good evidence. Medical experts can explain upcoming procedures you need, and we can estimate their cost. Medical expert testimony can also support requests for future lost wages, as they can confirm whether your injuries are long-lasting or permanent.
How Do You File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Hillside?
You start a personal injury lawsuit by filing a complaint in court. If the complaint lacks certain information, it may be dismissed, which we can prevent.
The complaint must name you, the plaintiff, and the liable party, the defendant. It must also state the facts of the case and explain the accident’s events. We will state what happened, what the defendant did wrong, and why they are liable for your damages.
We will also make a request for relief in the complaint. The request reflects your economic and non-economic damages due to negligence. If the defendant’s behavior was especially egregious, we may request punitive damages as well.
N.J.S.A. § 2A:14-2 gives you two years to file a personal injury lawsuit in Hillside. Wait any longer, and the court may dismiss your claim. When you contact us about your lawsuit, we can pinpoint your filing deadline and see if your case qualifies for an exception to the statute of limitations.
How Long Do Personal Injury Lawsuits Take in Hillside?
Some injury lawsuits take weeks, while others take years. While rushing settlements is inadvisable, victims often want compensation fast. We appreciate this and can work to speed up your recovery.
The first several settlement offers from defendants are typically low. If you accept an initial offer, your case might take less time, but you may not recover enough compensation. Even when faced with strong evidence defendants may send low initial offers, just in case plaintiffs accept.
If settlement negotiations take too long, we can go to court. Trials may move quickly, especially when plaintiffs have strong cases. You may get a settlement offer during a trial, which you can accept if it is fair.
From the beginning, we can estimate how long your case might take and keep you updated on its progress throughout.
How Do You Get Paid After a Hillside Personal Injury Lawsuit?
How you get paid after a personal injury lawsuit depends on how your case ends. If it concludes with a settlement, we negotiate payment terms and amounts with the defense. If it concludes with a trial, the jury decides.
The two types of injury settlements are structured and lump sum settlements. In a lump sum agreement, the defendant pays the entire amount at once. In a structured agreement, the defendant pays the entire amount over installments. Structured settlements may pay over months or years, and we can make sure the terms favor you.
A jury may consider a defendant’s financial ability when awarding damages and may allow structured payments instead of a lump sum payment.
Does New Jersey Cap Damages in Personal Injury Lawsuits?
Your recovery from a lawsuit should reflect your total damages. Fortunately for plaintiffs, New Jersey does not cap compensatory damages, meaning you can make a full recovery, no matter how expensive your injuries are.
Compensatory damages include economic and non-economic damages. Juries can give large awards for pain and suffering and other intangible harms, especially after hearing plaintiffs’ testimony.
While New Jersey doesn’t limit compensatory damages, it limits punitive damages. Courts give these damages to punish defendants for their malicious conduct or wanton and willful disregard for plaintiffs’ safety. Despite caps, punitive damages could greatly increase the value of your claim. You only get punitive damages if you prove them during a trial, though the possibility of punitive damages could let us leverage a bigger out-of-court settlement.
Call Us for Help with Your Injury Case in Hillside
Call (201) 777-1111 to schedule a free case review from the personal injury lawyers of Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. now.