Brockton Personal Injury Lawyer

An unexpected injury can send you reeling, confronting sudden physical, emotional, and financial pain. The challenge can feel especially overwhelming when the injury happened because of someone else’s wrongful actions.

In the difficult days and weeks following an accidental injury, many people wonder where to turn for help. They realize they might need a lawyer to help them recover compensation from those who harmed them, but they sometimes struggle to understand just how a lawyer can help.

If an unexpected injury has turned your life upside down in the Brockton area, contact The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan today at (508) 588-0422. You may have the legal right to recover substantial compensation.

How Can The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan Help in Your Personal Injury Claim?

At The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan, we have extensive experience in a wide range of personal injury claims. While our history of successful results for our clients does not guarantee the results in any future claim, our clients can always rest assured that they have a team of highly qualified legal professionals working to get them justice and compensation.

Some of our past results include:

  • $300,000 awarded in a wrongful death drowning accident
  • $279,000 awarded after a slip and fall in a parking lot
  • $225,000 awarded after a motor vehicle accident
  • $225,000 awarded for a slip and fall accident
  • $215,000 awarded in a premises liability accident

Many of our clients have discovered that having us on their side likely increased the compensation they received for their injuries, alleviated their stress during a difficult time in their lives, and accelerated their case so that they received compensation for their injuries sooner.

Common Personal Injury Claims

If someone else’s inattention or negligence leaves you injured, you likely have legal rights to seek compensation as “damages” by pursuing a “personal injury claim”. Personal injury claims arise out of a wide variety of circumstances that inflict severe injuries such as traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and amputations.

At The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan, we have experience representing clients who sustained injuries or tragically lost loved ones in:

This is just a sampling of the matters we can handle for clients, however. No matter how your Brockton-area personal injuries occurred, contact The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan to speak with an attorney about your rights to seek compensation from those who did you harm.

Finding the Party Liable for Your Injuries

In pursuing compensation for a client’s injuries, a personal injury attorney works to identify all parties who may have legal liability to the injured client. In some personal injury matters, more than one person or company will have liability for paying damages; for example, if you suffer a truck accident with a driver who, due to company policy, exceeded the legally-mandated number of hours he was allowed to spend behind the wheel, then you may have grounds for a claim against both the driver and the driver’s employer.

As a general matter, under Massachusetts law, you may have grounds for a personal injury claim if:

  • Someone else owed you a “duty of care” not to act in a way that could harm you;
  • That person or company violated the duty of care through actions or inactions; and
  • You suffered injuries as a result.

Though it is not always the case, the more parties who have potential legal liability to you, the better chances you may have of recovering every dollar of compensation you deserve. That is why it is important to hire an attorney who works tirelessly on behalf of his clients to get them the money they deserve from anyone whose actions led to their injuries.

How Much Can You Expect From Your Personal Injury Claim?

Every personal injury claim has a unique set of facts and circumstances that determines how much money an injured person might receive as compensation. No two personal injury claims are identical. To figure out how much money you might receive for your claim, speak with an experienced Brockton personal injury attorney who has represented people like you who got injured because of someone else’s carelessness or recklessness.

As a general matter, if you have a right to receive compensation, you may take legal action to recover:

Medical Expenses

You should not have to carry the burden of medical expenses resulting from an accident or incident that was not your fault. In a typical personal injury claim, you may have the right to receive payment for:

  • Emergency treatment, including ambulance transport if needed
  • Hospitalization, including long-term hospitalization for long recoveries from serious injuries
  • Scans and tests
  • Treatments, including surgical treatments, for your injuries
  • Durable medical equipment, including wheelchairs, crutches, braces, and prosthetic devices intended to help improve your mobility following a serious accident
  • Physical therapy to aid in your recovery
  • Occupational therapy to help you relearn how to perform common tasks
  • Psychological therapy, if needed to cope with your injuries or the conditions of the accident
  • Any modifications you need to make to your home or vehicle to allow you more independence following your accident. An accident that leaves you in a wheelchair, for example, might require you to install wheelchair ramps in your home or to widen doorways to allow for greater access.

Keep all records of any expenses relating to your injuries, no matter how minor they might seem. In many cases, an attorney can help you identify categories of expenses that you might not have considered, but which you have every right to recover as damages.

Lost Wages

Some Brockton personal injuries prevent you from returning to work temporarily or permanently. Even if you do return to work, your injuries might make it difficult to work the same hours or to do the same job tasks. If an injury keeps you out of work or hurts your ability to work, you might have the right to pursue the parties who hurt you for payment of the wages you would have earned if it weren’t for their wrongful actions. That includes not just the time you have already missed at work, but also potentially the wages you would have earned in the future.

Pain and Suffering

Someone else’s carelessness, recklessness, or intentionally-harmful conduct left you feeling physical and emotional pain. That pain might not come with a price tag attached, but that does not mean it is any less real or costly to your relationships and quality of life. An experienced Brockton personal injury attorney can help you estimate the “value” of your pain and suffering so that you receive compensation for all of the ways your injury damaged your life.

Brockton Personal Injury FAQ

While “personal injury” seems like a relatively straightforward term, personal injury lawsuits can be quite complex. If you have suffered an injury, read on to learn the answers to commonly asked questions about personal injury lawsuits and seeking recovery.

Q: What is personal injury law?

A: Personal injury law, also known as tort law, is a broad area of a law that allows individuals to seek recovery for their injuries under certain circumstances. To seek recovery, the injured person must prove that their injuries resulted from the negligence or intentional act of another party.

Q: What types of claims are common in personal injury cases?

A: While any injury that results from a negligent or intentional act could potentially be the basis of a personal injury claim, the claims commonly arise in the following circumstances:

  • Car accidents: Car accidents are a common basis of a personal injury claim. If you were in a car accident that was caused by the negligence of another party, you may have a personal injury claim. Any violation of traffic laws or regulations is potential proof of negligence, from DUI to violating the speed limit to running a red light.
  • Medical malpractice: If a doctor or other medical worker acts outside the standard duty of care and it results in injury, the injured party may have a personal injury claim.
  • Product liability: Product manufacturers have the responsibility to test products before release, to manufacture the product in a way that complies with safety regulations and standards, and to accurately market the product. If you are injured by a product that was not properly tested, manufactured, or marketed, you may have a personal injury claim based on the theory of product liability.
  • Premise liability: Property owners have a duty of care for the people they invite onto their properties. The level of responsibility will depend on whether the property is a business or otherwise intended for public entry or private property. If they breach their duty of care, the property owner needs to pay for injuries that occur on the property. One common example of this would be a slip and fall case.
  • Workplace injury: Employers need to provide safe working conditions and training to promote safety. If you are injured because your employer didn’t live up to these responsibilities, they may be responsible for the resulting injuries. Recovery for workplace injury claims is generally managed through workers’ compensation, where fault is not usually an issue.

Q: What damages can I expect after a personal injury accident?

A: Damages will depend on the type and extent of your injuries. Common damages recovered in a personal injury lawsuit include:

  • Doctor’s bills, including prescriptions, physical therapy, the cost of hospitalization, and any long-term rehabilitation or care;
  • Loss of income if your injuries forced you to miss work, plus any income you might miss in the future;
  • Future earning potential if your injuries limit your ability to perform your job, to work full time, or to gain promotions;
  • Pain, suffering, and emotional distress resulting from the injuries including PTSD or any anxiety or depression resulting from the accident or dealing with the consequences of your injuries; and
  • Inability to participate in activities you once enjoyed;

Proving damages can require the hard work and experience of a personal injury lawyer with help from a medical expert or economist.

Q: What are punitive damages?

A: Punitive damages are damages that are not meant to compensate the injured individual but instead to punish the defendant for particularly egregious behavior. Punitive damages are generally not an available damages award in Massachusetts, except for wrongful death cases.

Q: What is the statute of limitations for a personal injury claim in Massachusetts?

A: The statute of limitations will dictate the window of time in which you must bring a lawsuit for your claim. For personal injury lawsuits, plaintiffs must bring any claim for recovery within three years. You will find it difficult or impossible to recover on any claim brought outside of this time frame.

Q: How long will it take to secure recovery in a personal injury case?

A: The length of time from claim to recovery will depend on a variety of factors including the complexity of the case, the strength of your evidence, the schedule of the court, and your willingness to settle. The legal process can be long and complicated. The first phase of the process will be discovery, where each party will have the opportunity to secure information from the other, including through interviews called depositions as well as written questions and document requests. This process can last from six months to a year. The trial itself can last anywhere from one day to several weeks. Even if you win, the other party may appeal the decision, which can significantly extend the timeline.

Q: When should I consider settling?

A: Settlement is common in personal injury cases, and is thought to occur in up to 95 percent of cases. A settlement is a strategic decision that you should make in conjunction with a lawyer who is skilled in handling personal injury cases. A settlement has many benefits, including a more speedy resolution of the case and a guaranteed amount of recovery.

You should not, however, settle for an amount that is not justified by the strength of your case. This can be difficult to prioritize given the costs that you are likely experiencing as a result of the accident. An attorney can work with you to review the evidence of your case, and develop both a settlement and if needed, a courtroom strategy.

Q: What should I do if I want to pursue compensation?

Go to a doctor to take care of your injuries. After that, contacting us so we can evaluate your case and see what we can do to help.

Do You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer in Brockton?

When someone else’s wrongful actions injure you or take the life of a loved one, you deserve a personal injury attorney on your side who knows how to get results. Contact The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan today at (508) 588-0422.