Resources & FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Personal Injury Law
If you have lost a family member or suffered injuries as a result of another person’s negligence or misconduct, you could be legally entitled to compensation for your loss. To learn more about your right to damages, contact our firm to schedule a consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney for straightforward solutions that will work for you.
Basic Information About Personal Injury Litigation
The personal injury lawyers of Kaminski & Pozorski represent people who have been hurt in accidents of all kinds in northeastern Wisconsin. We advise people with injuries ranging from soft tissue trauma to severe and disabling brain or spinal cord damage. We also advise people with wrongful death claims under Wisconsin law. Contact our office in Manitowoc for a free consultation about your potential claims for damages following a car accident, injury at work, or dangerous product mishap.
A: You must have suffered an injury to your person or property that was the fault of someone else. It is not always necessary to have a physical injury to bring a personal injury lawsuit — some personal injury claims can be based on a variety of nonphysical losses and harms. In the case of an assault, for example, you do not need to show that a person’s action caused you actual physical harm, but only that you expected some harm to come to you. Similarly, you also may have a case if someone has caused injury to your reputation, invaded your privacy, or intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon you.
Q: How soon after I am injured do I have to file a lawsuit?
A: Every state has certain time limits, called “statutes of limitations,” which govern the amount of time you have to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you miss the deadline for filing your case, you may lose your legal right to damages for your injury. Consequently, it is important to contact a lawyer as soon as you suffer or discover an injury.
Q: What should I bring with me for my meeting with a lawyer?
A: You should provide a lawyer with any documents that might be relevant to your case. Police reports, for example, may contain eyewitness information and important details about the conditions surrounding the event from which your claim arises. Copies of medical reports and bills from doctors and hospitals will help demonstrate the extent and nature of your injuries. Information about the insurer of the person who caused your injury is extremely helpful, as are any photographs you have of the accident scene, damaged property and your injuries. The more information you are able to give your lawyer, the easier it will be for him or her to determine if your claim will be successful. If you haven’t collected any documents at the time of your first meeting, however, don’t worry; your lawyer will be able to obtain them in his or her investigation of your claim.
Q: What if a person dies before bringing a personal injury lawsuit?
A: If a person injured in an accident subsequently dies because of those injuries, that person’s heirs may be able to recover money through a wrongful death action. Also, even if a person with a personal injury claim dies from unrelated causes (someone who broke their arm in a car accident, then died after falling down a flight of stairs, for example), the personal injury claim survives in most cases and may be brought by the executor or personal representative of the deceased person’s estate.
Q: What is negligence?
A: The critical issue in many personal injury cases is just how a “reasonable person” was expected to act in the particular situation that caused the injury. A person is negligent when he or she fails to act how an “ordinary reasonable person” would have acted. The determination of whether a given person has met the “ordinary reasonable person” standard is often a matter that is resolved by a judge or jury after presentation of evidence and argument at trial.
Q: If I can’t prove someone’s negligence caused my injury, is there any other basis for personal injury liability besides negligence?
A: Yes. Some persons or companies may be held “strictly liable” for certain activities that harm others, even if they have not acted negligently or with wrongful intent. Under the theory of strict liability, a person injured by a defective or unexpectedly dangerous product, for instance, may recover compensation from the maker or seller of the product without showing that the manufacturer or seller was actually negligent. Also, persons or companies engaged in using explosives, storing or transporting dangerous substances, or keeping dangerous animals can be strictly liable for harm caused to others as a result of these activities.
Q: Will the person who caused my injury be punished?
A: Not in the traditional sense of the word. Defendants in personal injury cases do not receive jail terms or similar penalties as punishment; those are reserved for the criminal justice system, and personal injury is a civil matter. However, in some cases, juries and courts can award what are called “punitive damages,” which are designed to punish defendants who have behaved recklessly or intentionally against the public’s interest. The goal in ordering the payment of punitive damages is to discourage the defendants themselves and others from engaging in the same kind of harmful behavior in the future.
DISCLAIMER: This site and any information contained herein are intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Seek competent legal counsel for advice on any legal matter.
Personal Injury Resource Links
The CPSC is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of property damage, serious personal injury or death from consumer products such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard or can injure children. The CPSC’s website includes recalls and product safety news, information on reporting an unsafe product, and more.
The National Safety Council offers safety resources that provide statistics, tips, and suggestions for staying safe at home and while on the road.
This website, maintained by the Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell University Law School, provides general information about tort law, including discussion of intentional torts, negligence, and strict liability.
This article from the Insurance Information Institute (III) discusses issues related to dog bite liability, including the responsibilities of dog owners, recent developments in state legislation, and important court decisions.
This website, also maintained by the Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell University Law School, provides general information about the law of products liability as well as links to federal and state judicial decisions and statutes.
This website, another from the Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell University Law School, provides general information about the law of damages, including discussions of both compensatory and punitive damages.
The NHTSA maintains this site to furnish the public with easy access to its data concerning the causes and injury outcomes of crashes, complete with investigation data, statistics and analysis.
This NHTSA tool allows users to quickly search its database of motor vehicle, equipment, child safety seat and tire recalls.
DISCLAIMER: This site and any information contained herein are intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Seek competent legal counsel for advice on any legal matter.
