When someone injures you negligently or recklessly, you might be able to receive compensation for your injuries. This type of personal injury claim, however, is very complicated to bring, and someone without an attorney could easily make a critical error that costs them time and money.
As a leading law firm in Grand Junction, we represent people injured in motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls, and other personal injury claims. Contact one of our Grand Junction personal injury attorneys to identify how we can help. The less you delay, the stronger your claim.
You Need Evidence to Receive Compensation
It isn’t enough to show that you are injured. Instead, you need to show that someone else is at fault for your injuries if you hope to receive compensation. The most common type of fault is negligence, meaning a person did not use sufficient care and they injured you as a result. For example, someone might have failed to look over their shoulder while backing up in a parking lot or they might have become distracted by eating food behind the wheel.
These are both examples of negligence that make the driver at fault for a collision. An experienced attorney knows exactly the kinds of evidence you need to submit for your claim. Here is a list to get you started:
- Ideally, you will have eyewitnesses who saw the accident. They can offer testimony about what happened. The witnesses could be passengers in a car or a bystander.
- You should write down your own memories as soon as possible. For example, if you were hit by a truck, what happened in the moments leading up to it?
- You shouldn’t have any damaged property repaired just yet. An attorney might want to look at it to see if it contains clues about the accident. For example, your damaged car can reveal the angle in which another vehicle hit you.
- You must fully document your injuries and hang onto proof of how much money you spent treating them.
The quality of your evidence will determine how much compensation you can receive. If it is crystal clear that someone else was negligent, then you can probably receive more than if it is up in the air as to who is to blame.
Your Own Negligence Could Hurt Your Case
Colorado law recognizes that sometimes a victim’s own carelessness can contribute to their injuries. This is called contributory negligence. For example, you might have been rear-ended but you pulled out directly in front of the vehicle. In these cases, a jury will need to assign fault between all parties involved.
In Colorado, you cannot receive compensation if you were as much at fault as the other people involved. So if you were 50% responsible or more, you will not get compensation, but you could if you were only 49% or less responsible. The amount you receive will also be reduced by your percentage of fault. An attorney can help to strategically minimize your own contribution to a crash.
Why You Should Talk to an Attorney at Cimarron Ridge
To protect your ability to receive compensation, you should meet with a lawyer as soon as possible. At Cimarron Ridge Legal Group, we have brought personal injury claims on behalf of countless injured victims, and we have an impressive track record of success.
For help with your case, or for answers to your questions, please call us today, (970) 230-7658. We offer a free initial consultation.