After suffering serious injuries due to someone else’s negligence or reckless behavior, you may have a long and expensive road ahead when it comes to recovering from your injuries. Those injuries may have changed your life in significant ways, and it’s possible that you may never fully recover.
Coping with the changes that your injuries may cause can certainly be difficult. You may even need more financial help than you anticipated and wonder how you can go about seeking compensation for the damages that resulted from the injury-causing incident. Fortunately, you do have legal options.
Personal injury claims
As mentioned, the incident that led to your injuries may have resulted from someone else’s negligence or recklessness. If so, that person or entity could bear legal liability for the damages that you have experienced as a result of the event, whether it was a car accident, slip-and-fall incident on someone else’s property or a dog bite, for example. If you wish to attempt to hold that party responsible for the part played in your suffering, you may wish to take one of the following options related to a personal injury claim:
- Coming to a settlement: A settlement is an agreed-upon amount of money that the accused party will pay you in order to avoid a formal lawsuit. Negotiations for an acceptable amount of compensation will take place, but you may want to remember that negotiations are not always successful.
- Moving forward with a lawsuit: If you do not want to work toward a settlement or if the negotiations do not come to a result you find acceptable, you could choose to file a formal lawsuit. This lawsuit would take place in court, and proving the other party’s negligence is necessary.
Some parties prefer settlements because it could help them avoid the stress of a formal lawsuit. However, if a settlement offer will not cover the needs you now have as a result of the incident and your injuries, do not feel obligated to accept that offer.
Having support
You may also want to remember that you do not have to try to work through this type of case alone. Having legal support could allow you to understand your personal injury claim options and whether accepting a settlement could work in your best interests. Discussing your situation with a Tennessee attorney may be wise.