Getting injured due to someone else’s error leaves most people wondering what to do next. Medical bills begin to accumulate, work is impossible, and there is suddenly a legal issue to untangle. Each injury is different, but knowing your legal rights allows you to make sense of the chaos and decide if you should pursue a claim and if so, what assistance you might need.
People often turn to the internet for information, but this is a complex task. Knowing where to go for information and how to separate legal facts from legal marketing is a challenge.
Finding Quality Content About Legal Rights First
The first step to properly researching your legal rights is to find educational content about the legal issue you are facing. Look for a reputable personal injury law blog written by attorneys practicing personal injury law on a day-to-day basis. These resources provide valuable information about the legal concepts you will likely face and even the most common questions that arise for injury victims.
Quality resources will often discuss how an insurance company would handle a specific kind of claim or what types of evidence tend to be the most important. Quality law blogs break down concepts and avoid using unnecessary legal jargon. They also often include information that is specific to those who have been injured, such as questions about medical bills and pending cases, why some cases settle early, and why others take years to resolve.
Government Resources All Over The Web
State government resources are another great source of legitimate information about legal rights. Most state government websites contain information about local laws and how they could potentially affect an injury claim. This would be a great place to look when searching for state statutes.
There are also many informative sections about basic legal rights on state attorney general websites. Most states have consumer protection sections that detail the information about various scams and how they impacted the victims, as well as what they should have avoided to ensure that this did not occur to them in a given situation.
Another government resource exists in the form of court websites. These will provide valuable information about how the court process works and what people can expect at various stages. Most federal courts also have valuable self-help sections that offer the public assistance in various common scenarios they might find themselves in.
Many federal courts publish civil and criminal procedural rule books. These court resources could be of great assistance to you if you ever find a need to file a federal claim.
The rule books are only a few pages long and contain relevant information that most people should be able to easily understand.
Another great government resource is state district courts with their informative websites about how lawsuits work. Many state district courts have handbooks and even pamphlets that explore this topic further. Most state district courts have websites containing handbook guides about how small claims court works.
Other incredible resources come from the federal level in the form of databases for Consumer Product Safety Commission and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. These databases often contain valuable recall and crash data that could be of use when certain injuries occur.
Professional Legal Databases
State bar associations have many informative pamphlets that can be found online. This information explores the various attorney referral services available and what people can expect from attorneys in general.
These associations offer state bars and can give people valuable insight into when they should pursue an attorney and when they might not need to hire professional assistance.
State Bar Associations have many records that may include:
- Records About Discipline
- Record of Complaints About Attorneys
These documents show if attorneys have faced complaints about their practice and if they were sanctioned for the mistakes they made while representing clients. These associations also have documents regarding referral services that can provide individuals with attorney referral services upon calling for assistance.
Legal assistance organizations also publish various pamphlets about self-help resources that explore the various legal rights that people have. These resources are less about obtaining legal assistance and more about what individuals can do to help themselves.
Clients can use research published by the following organizations:
- American Bar Association
- State Bar Associations
- Local Legal Aid Organizations
- National Legal Aid Organizations
Red Flags To Avoid Researching Your Claims
As helpful as the internet is, there are numerous websites that should be avoided when looking to learn about potential legal claims. Many of them are pure marketing websites for legal firms that help them generate leads for their services. Be wary of research websites that promise individuals will end their search with a great legal outcome after filing a claim. Many sources present a very simplified view of the law and how it works.
Do not trust websites that simplify all types of claims and promise individuals a specific settlement amount regardless of their claim’s underlying details. These sources of information should be avoided, as they are misleading and ignore the multifaceted view of law. Do not trust websites that present a blanket promise of settlement of all claims in exchange for a fee. This is a marketing tactic that many people fall victim to, but it holds no legal merit.
Be wary of research sources that over-simplify all types of claims into one settlement promise. These sources of information make it impossible for potential victims to understand the complex ecosystem of success in civil claims systems.
Be careful researching marketing websites with promises of huge settlements regardless of the value of an injury. The actual value of an injury is based on the evidence presented in each claim as well as the strength of the case presented by the attorney. Other mitigating factors also impact the value of an injury.
Be wary of asking for legal advice from general forums about your situation on social media platforms. While this may sound like a useful idea and may present various insights from those in the same position, this should not be sought as proper legal advice.
Researching the Basic Laws Is Valuable But Know When to Stop
Researching the process is valuable as it gives people insight into what happens once they file a claim and even what happens if they do not choose to file a claim. However, this information has its limitations.
Each state has different provisions based on their situation regarding how long people have to make their claim. This is a very critical point for them to pay attention to, as not pursuing a claim within the correct timeframe will have dire consequences.
Be mindful that many insurance claims contain rules that limit the injuries covered under the policy. While the injuries may come in all shapes and forms, these exceptions were made because the injuries were not likely to significantly impact various roles or professions.
Even though insurance companies do require windows of time to file claims, they call these “departures” rather than “statutes of limitations.” The rules also apply to them, and failing to file a claim within this timeframe will likely be detrimental to anyone’s ability to file another claim.
Contact An Experienced Professional Service Provider
Research has limited uses after a person understands their injury and how it fits into various legal concepts. Lawyers will help you make sense of what has happened and, more importantly, what you can do next.
Most personal injury lawyers take advantage of a free consultative process that allows injured parties to present insights into their case without actually feeling pressured. This free session is critical as clients may feel vulnerable after experiencing another party’s mistakes.
Individuals should contact professional services if there are multiple parties that could have made their case happen or if the environment that led to their injury was unstable in any way.
Injuries should always be treated by medical professionals before you pursue other parties for damages resulting from their negligence. Even if injuries are not extensive, those who have been injured should consider contacting an attorney as soon as possible to prevent losing evidence of the case that could help them later on.
