Photo: Anthony Maw / UnsplashHow injury claims work
- Accidents and injury
How Personal Injury Claims Work From Injury to Settlement
An overview of how injury claims are valued, negotiated and resolved, and why most settle before trial.
5 min read - Accidents and injury
Personal Injury Claim Timeline: Step-by-Step From Injury to Settlement
A realistic step-by-step timeline of a personal injury claim, from medical care and investigation to demand, negotiation, lawsuit, mediation and payment.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
Shared Fault in Car Accidents: Comparative and Contributory Negligence
How states reduce or bar recovery when you are partly at fault, the differences between pure and modified comparative fault and contributory negligence.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
How Long Do You Have to File a Car Accident Claim?
Insurance notice deadlines, state statutes of limitations for injury and property damage and special rules for government vehicles.
5 min read - Accidents and injury
Pain and Suffering Compensation: How It Is Calculated
What pain and suffering damages are, the multiplier and per diem methods insurers use and why there is no fixed formula.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
Car Accident Settlement Calculators: Why They Mislead
How online settlement calculators work, what they leave out and how to use them without being misled.
2 min read
Hiring a personal injury lawyer
- Accidents and injury
How to Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer: Questions to Ask
What to look for in an injury lawyer, how to check credentials, questions for the first meeting and warning signs.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
Is It Worth Hiring a Lawyer for a Car Accident?
When a car accident lawyer is likely worth the fee and when you may handle the claim yourself, with a simple checklist.
2 min read - Work and lawyers
Contingency Fees Explained: What You Pay a Lawyer If You Win
How contingency fee agreements work, what percentages are typical, and why costs are a separate question.
2 min read - Accidents and injury
What Percentage Do Lawyers Take From a Settlement? A Worked Example
How attorney fees, case costs and liens reduce a settlement, with a clearly hypothetical example of what a client actually receives.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
How Much Does a Car Accident Lawyer Cost?
How car accident lawyers are paid, typical contingency fee structures, what costs are separate and questions to ask before hiring.
5 min read - Work and lawyers
How to Prepare for a Free Legal Consultation: Documents, Questions and What to Expect
A practical guide to preparing for a free or low-cost legal consultation, including documents to bring, questions to ask and how to get useful advice in a short meeting.
4 min read
Settlements, liens and getting paid
- Accidents and injury
After a Settlement: How Long Until You Get Paid?
The usual steps and timeline from agreeing to a settlement to receiving a check, including releases, liens and attorney trust accounts.
3 min read - Accidents and injury
Medical Liens and Reimbursement in Injury Settlements: What Gets Paid Back From Your Settlement
How medical liens, health insurer reimbursement, Medicare and Medicaid claims reduce injury settlements, and how to negotiate and plan for them.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
Can You Sue After Settling With the Insurance Company?
How a signed release works, the limited exceptions and why you should not settle before the full extent of injuries is known.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
Insurance Bad Faith: When an Insurer Wrongly Denies or Delays a Claim
What bad faith means, examples of insurer misconduct, how to document it and your options including complaints and lawsuits.
2 min read - Accidents and injury
Car Insurance Claim Denied? What You Can Do
Why insurers deny auto claims, how to appeal, when to file a complaint with your state insurance department and when to call a lawyer.
5 min read
Types of injury claims
- Accidents and injury
Slip and Fall Accidents: When a Property Owner Is Liable
How premises liability works, what you must prove after a fall and what to do to protect a claim.
5 min read - Accidents and injury
Dog Bite Laws: Who Pays When a Dog Bites
How strict liability and the "one-bite" rule work, what to do after a bite and how insurance usually responds.
5 min read - Accidents and injury
Product Liability Claims: When You Can Sue Over a Dangerous or Defective Product
How product liability claims work: design, manufacturing and warning defects, who can be sued, what you must prove, evidence to keep and deadlines.
5 min read - Accidents and injury
Medical Malpractice Basics: What Counts and How Claims Work
What medical malpractice is, what must be proven, why expert testimony matters and the deadlines to watch.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
When to Hire a Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Signs your case may justify legal help, how malpractice lawyers evaluate cases, costs and the importance of early deadlines.
2 min read - Accidents and injury
Birth Injury Claims: When a Medical Error May Be Malpractice
What qualifies as a birth injury claim, what must be proven, special deadlines and how to find help. General information, not legal advice.
2 min read - Accidents and injury
Workers' Compensation Basics: Who Is Covered and How to File
How workers' comp pays medical bills and lost wages after a job injury, and the steps to start a claim.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
Wrongful Death Claims: Who Can File and What Is Recoverable
How wrongful death lawsuits work, who may bring one, what damages are available and the filing deadlines to watch.
4 min read
Serious and special cases
- Accidents and injury
Catastrophic Injury Claims: Brain Injury, Spinal Cord Injury and Life-Changing Damages
How claims for traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and other catastrophic injuries work, including life care plans, experts, damages and protecting benefits.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Claims: Signs, Reporting and Legal Options
How to recognize nursing home abuse and neglect, report it, protect a loved one and understand legal claims, arbitration agreements and deadlines.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
Injury Claims for Children: Minor Settlements, Court Approval and Protecting the Money
How personal injury claims for children work, extended deadlines, court approval of settlements, blocked accounts and trusts, and what parents should know.
4 min read - Family and estate
Special Needs Trusts: Protecting Benefits for a Person With a Disability
How special needs trusts let a person with a disability receive money without losing benefits such as SSI and Medicaid.
4 min read
Crash-related injury claims
- Accidents and injury
Car Accident Legal Advice: What to Do in the First Week to Protect Your Claim
General legal guidance for the first seven days after a car accident: evidence, medical care, insurance calls, deadlines and mistakes that can hurt a claim.
5 min read - Accidents and injury
Truck Accident Claims: Who Can Be Held Liable?
Why commercial truck crashes are more complex, the parties that may share responsibility and evidence that must be preserved quickly.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
Motorcycle Accident Claims: Fault, Insurance and Common Disputes
How motorcycle crash claims work, bias issues, helmet and insurance rules and steps to protect a claim.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
Uber and Lyft Accidents: Who Pays and What Insurance Applies?
How rideshare insurance works at different stages of a trip, claims for passengers and other drivers and steps to take.
4 min read - Accidents and injury
Pedestrian Hit by a Car: Rights, Insurance and Claims
What to do and what compensation may be available after a pedestrian accident, including fault rules and insurance sources.
2 min read - Accidents and injury
Bicycle Accident Lawyer: Cyclists Hit by Cars and Dooring Crashes
How bicycle accident claims work, fault rules for cyclists, evidence from bike gear and phones, insurance sources and when to hire a lawyer.
3 min read - Accidents and injury
Boat Accident Lawyer: Maritime Law, Reporting Rules and Deadlines
How boating injury claims work, when federal maritime law applies, Coast Guard reporting duties, cruise ticket deadlines and what a lawyer does.
2 min read - Accidents and injury
E-Scooter and E-Bike Accident Lawyer: Rental Scooters, Defects and Insurance Gaps
How injury claims work for e-scooter and e-bike riders, rental company terms, product defect claims and why insurance coverage is often unclear.
2 min read
Frequently asked questions
What does a personal injury lawyer do?
A personal injury lawyer investigates your claim, gathers evidence, deals with insurers, negotiates a settlement and files a lawsuit if needed.
How much does a personal injury lawyer cost?
Most work on contingency and take a percentage of the recovery, plus case costs. Percentages and cost rules vary, so get the fee agreement in writing.
How long does a personal injury case take?
Simple claims can settle in months. Serious or disputed claims often take a year or more.
How much is my injury claim worth?
It depends on medical costs, lost income, the severity and permanence of injuries, fault and insurance limits. Be wary of anyone who promises a number without the facts.
Do I have to go to court?
Most injury claims settle without a trial, but a lawsuit may be filed to protect the deadline or to move negotiations.