When should I contact a Personal Injury Lawyer?

You should contact a Johnson City personal injury lawyer as soon as you are able after being in an accident or receiving an injury. Whether it was a slip and fall accident on private or public property, or during a vehicle crash. There is so much more covered under personal injury, due to the fact personal injury law also known as “tort” law, allows for you (the injured party) to file a civil lawsuit and receive legal remedies (damages) for losses stemming from the accident or injury received at the accident.

Any good Johnson City personal injury lawyer, such as the ones available with The Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt, know that the purpose of the personal injury legal system is to allow you (the injured party) to be compensated if you have suffered harm due to someone else’s negligence or intentional conduct.

The Basics of Personal Injury

The basics of personal injury is that there are a wide variety of circumstances where personal injury law apply, but we’ll break it down a bit for you:

• Accidents come into the personal injury field where someone is acting negligently and their carelessness causes someone else harm. Some examples of this are car accidents, slip and fall incidents, medical malpractice, and more. Anything that can be classified as an accident may fall under personal injury as an accident. 
• Intentional acts come into the personal injury field of law when someone is intentionally causing harm to another, or acting in such a way that it is reasonable to expect them to know their actions will cause harm to another person. Examples of this include assault and battery, false imprisonment, false arrest, conversion, infliction of emotional distress, fraud or deceit, trespassing, and defamation. 
• Defective products such as when a vehicle component, consumer product, medical device, pharmaceutical, or other product is deemed to be defective or unreasonably dangerous, anyone that is harmed by the use of said product can file a product liability suit against the manufacturer. 
• Defamation, while it falls into the intentional acts section of personal law, is often given its own section because defamation can cause harm to a person and their reputation.

A Johnson City personal injury lawyer can help you to make decisions based on the laws in your state, and the laws surrounding your specific personal injury. A good John City personal injury lawyer is going to have the best tips and tricks for getting past the insurance companies—and believe us, you’ll need that help, insurance companies do not like to pay out and that’s why you’ll need a personal injury lawyer who is on your side and has the experience that you needed.

The Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt believes that you deserve to receive full compensation from those who are responsible for your personal injury, and like many law offices that deal with personal injuries, they’ll work with all types of injury matters.

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If you or a family member has been injured in Tennessee, or if a loved one has been killed, as a result of the negligence or wrongful acts of someone else, it’s important to retain an experienced, tenacious lawyer who will work vigorously in seeking every penny to which you or your family may be entitled.

At the Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt, we are such a firm. Our principal attorney and Founder, Mark Hurt, graduated with honors from Duke Law School in the top 10% of his class, and has been helping injured clients and the families who have lost a loved one obtain full and fair compensation for more than 25 years. Over this time period, he has helped families recover millions of dollars in compensation for clients in Virginia and Tennessee.

The Treatment that You and Your Family Deserve

Our firm does not provide “assembly-line” personal injury services. You and your matter will not be referred to another law firm, or “handed off” to a junior lawyer.

If you retain our firm, you’ll be working directly with Mark Hurt. Each client we help receives our full and undivided attention. We are committed to using the resources we have to make sure you receive the best legal representation possible. In addition to injury representation, we also assist with related case matters, including working with insurance companies and those providing medical treatment (such as hospitals and physicians) with respect to gathering records and keeping providers informed that we are pursuing litigation. Whatever your legal needs are, we are there to take care of it. That way you can devote more time and energy into your full recovery. 

It is especially important for a firm to work with insurance companies that may be paying medical and other costs, as such companies will usually have a lien on amounts recovered in a lawsuit. In other words, they will be entitled to recover the costs that they have paid from the costs paid by a defendant (such as the person causing a car accident). We will typically work with insurance companies and other providers to try to negotiate a reduction in the amount of their liens; any reduction that can be negotiated will usually result in an injury victim receiving a higher percentage of the settlement or jury award.

No Fee Unless Compensation is Recovered; Litigation Costs Advanced

We provide full-service injury representation. This means that we work on a contingency fee basis (we are only paid a fee if compensation is recovered, and such amount is based upon a percentage of that compensation). We also advance the costs required to litigate a lawsuit, such as the costs for experts, court filings, and depositions, so our clients do not need to be concerned about how such costs will be paid while their case is being litigated. These costs are then typically deducted from the settlement proceeds or a trial verdict. Every client deserves affordable high-quality legal representation. Cost should not be an obstacle that prevents you from getting the legal services that you need. 

The Types of Cases We Handle

Over our decades of experience, we have worked on many types of personal injury cases. Our law firm has achieved proven results, and we have recovered numerous settlements. We handle virtually all types of injury and wrongful death cases, including matters involving:

• Car accidents and crashes
• Truck accidents and crashes
• Pedestrian accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Slips and falls
• Dog and animal bites
• Injuries and death from defective products
• Worker’s compensation matters
• Construction accidents
• Wrongful Death

The Value of Your Claim

When determining the value of your claim we will examine several elements. Both economic and non economic damages determine the estimated value of your claim. Sometimes punitive damages will be added if it is appropriate. The extent of your injuries, the cost of your medical bills, lost wages, and general pain and suffering are some of the main factors we will look at. Once we determine your claim’s value, we will only accept a final settlement offer where the majority or all of your damages are covered. 

Why It’s Important to Retain an Experience Injury Attorney Quickly

In many types of cases, such as car, truck, pedestrian, motorcycle, and bicycle accidents and crashes, it will be important to investigate an accident scene before the conditions change. Often, when a crash occurs, accident responders or others will be taking action to clean up a scene, such as fixing guard rails and posts that may have been hit. Rain and other weather conditions can also serve to wash away skid marks. Insurance companies will often have totaled vehicles destroyed, along with the event recorders (or “black boxes”) in the vehicles, which often can provide important information about a crash. We need to gather as much evidence as we can so that we have a complete and accurate assessment of your case. The more time that passes after an accident, the more difficult it will be to gather every piece of evidence that we need. 

We will often work with accident investigation experts to examine crash scenes, and to prepare virtual or testimonial evidence regarding how a crash occurred. 

In addition to accident investigation matters, it is also important to retain a law firm quickly as there are time limitations regarding when a personal injury suit may be filed. Tennessee has one of the shortest statute of limitations in the country, as personal injury and malpractice cases must be filed within one year of the incident (such as when a crash occurred, or when a medical malpractice matter may have been discovered); otherwise, a person will lose the right to sue. In addition to the general time limitations, there may be even shorter limitations if a governmental entity is involved. As a result, it is important to contact an experienced injury lawyer as soon as possible.

Serving Johnson City and the Surrounding Communities

Located in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties, Johnson City has been cited in Forbes magazine as a “Best Small Place for Business and Careers” (#65), and in Kiplinger’s magazine as fifth in the “Least-Expensive Cities for Living in the U.S.A”.

With a population of approximately 63,000, Johnson City traces its roots back to 1769, when William Bean (the first settler in Tennessee) built a cabin just outside of town. The city itself was formerly founded by its namesake Henry Johnson in 1856 to serve as a railroad depot, and the town was incorporated in 1869. Since then, Johnson City has enjoyed a rich and successful history.

We are proud to serve not only the residents of Johnson City in injury matters, but also those residents in the surrounding towns and communities. To find out more about how we can help you in an injury or wrongful death matter, we invite you to call us for a free consultation.

How Insurance Companies Decide on a Settlement Offer

If you suffered a personal injury at the hands of another person or organization, you may have sat down to try to calculate your damages. Most people tally up the medical costs and property damage and assume that is the number that the company or person should pay them. Then, when you contact an insurance company, you discover that it is a completely different number. This is why many people decide to retain the services of a Johnson City personal injury lawyer.

Insurance Companies Use a Formula

Insurance adjusters will add up the medical expenses to come up with the medical damages number. This will provide a baseline for how much the injured individual deserves. Then, the adjuster generally multiplies this number by one and a half or three. This number is determined by how minor or severe the injuries are and how much it affects a person’s life. Then, once they calculate this number, they will add the income that the client lost. Now, this is just the average formula. Insurance companies are not going to tell you what formulas they use.

The damages formula is supposed to be a starting point when it comes to reaching a settlement. Other details may increase what you deserve or decrease it in the eyes of the insurance company. While you should have a general idea of the expenses that you’ve had to pay due to the injury, don’t rely on that being the final number. A personal injury lawyer in Johnson City can calculate all of your losses and determine their financial worth.

Insurance Companies May Cheat You

One of the major reasons that you want to have a Johnson City personal injury lawyer at your side during the negotiations process is that insurance companies have a tendency to offer lower settlements than you deserve. They are not incentivized to give you a reasonable offer that is even remotely close to what you are entitled to receive. This is why personal injury accident victims are strongly advised not to accept the first settlement offer that comes their way. Chances are that amount is not reflective of the maximum amount that they can receive. Keep in mind that insurance companies are businesses. They have to be able to make money. If they can offer a low-ball settlement and have it accepted, then this is better for the company.

Unfortunately, they sometimes get away with low-balling clients. If you do not have experience in personal injury law, you may not realize how much you are entitled to or what other people with similar injuries and cases received from the insurance company. Truth be told, even personal injury lawyers retain the help of personal injury lawyers when they have been injured in an accident.

When you were injured due to someone else’s negligence, you deserve compensation for your injuries. Sometimes, an insurance company’s offer might seem too low or may make little sense to someone who does not understand personal injury claims. We are highly familiar with the tactics and tricks that insurance companies will use so that they can avoid paying the proper amount. When you hire a personal injury lawyer to work for you and your best interests, you are more likely to receive full and fair compensation. To consult with a Johnson City personal injury lawyer about your settlement and the compensation that you are owed, call The Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt today.

When Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer in Johnson City?

Whether you were injured just a few hours ago, last week, or a couple of month’s back, there is a good chance you will, at some point, wonder whether you should retain a lawyer. In general, if you’re even considering this question, now is the time to call The Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt. Until you talk to a lawyer, you may not be able to understand the full context around your case. With complimentary consultations and no upfront fees for 99% of all clients, you risk nothing except a bit of your time. The sooner you get started, the better.  Any pressing questions that you may have regarding your case can be answered promptly.

At What Point Do Most People Contact a Lawyer? 

If you are like so many of our clients, you might not think about calling a lawyer right away. You might be hesitant because you think hiring a lawyer may not be worth it, or will only be more of a hassle. Some people are confident that they can handle their case without professional help. We understand that it can be difficult to decide if hiring a lawyer is the right decision. Often, it takes a few situations for a victim to decide legal advocacy is needed:

Realizing your injuries are serious – Shortly after the accident you might feel that you don’t want to make a big deal out of your injuries. You just want to get everything sorted as soon as possible. For this reason people in a situation like this might choose not to call a Johnson City personal injury lawyer right away. Sometimes they might not even see a doctor. When the pain lingers, or becomes worse, and you realize you are more hurt than you initially thought, you may change your mind. Seeing a doctor should be the first thing you do; afterwhich, calling a lawyer is highly recommended. 

Seeing the beginning of financial hardship – Medical care is very expensive, and bills can add up quickly. Medical expenses are some of the biggest reasons why it’s important to have a lawyer. They can help you recover compensation that can cover both your treatment and any future medical costs. The more serious your injury is, the more costly your treatment may be. You may even need ongoing treatment or rely on assistive devices while you are on the mend. If you’re facing high costs and struggling to get the insurance company to pay them, a personal injury lawyer in Johnson City should be consulted. 

Struggling to get medical care – Sometimes getting medical care after an accident is more easier said than done. Insurance companies might refuse to cover certain treatments, and doctors might expect you to pay for some or all of the services in advance. A situation like this can be exhausting and lead to feelings of hopelessness. A lawyer may be able to help. 

Dealing with difficult insurance companies – Insurance comanies will seek to pay the least amount of money possible. This could leave you to be offered a very low settlement, and one that doesn’t cover the total amount of expenses. 

Feeling frustrated with the claims’ process – The claims’ process should be easy; however, this is not too common – especially when serious injuries are a factor. Because you risk nothing to find out what a Johnson City personal injury lawyer has to say, calling our office should be your next step. 

As soon as you think you need a lawyer, you should act right away. The longer you wait, the more you put your claim at risk. Reasons for this include:

• Deadlines
• Loss of evidence
• Loss of witness testimony
• Loss of time to build the case

Calling a lawyer is one more call to make, and if you have a valid claim, you will be required to fill out some paperwork. However, the seemingly endless phone calls and documentation from your medical providers and insurance companies may be handed over to your new legal advocate. In short, your life could become a lot easier! To learn how a Johnson City personal injury lawyer can help, call  The Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt.