Frequently Asked Questions

Personal injury law enables people who have been harmed to recover or otherwise be compensated for their losses, whether it’s by filing an injury claim or personal injury lawsuit. You may be eligible for different types of damages, depending on the circumstances of your personal injury. A loss can be any of the following, or a combination of these things:

• Physical injury
• Emotional trauma
• Damage to property
• Pain and suffering

The acts may be intentional, or they may be the result of negligence.  In most cases, you only have a limited amount of time to take legal action. If you wait too long, you may lose your rights due to the statute of limitations.

If you or a loved one was injured, or a loved one was killed, take action promptly to make sure your rights are fully protected.

Liability is the measure of a party’s responsibility or obligation in the event of an accident or other source of personal injury. The degree of liability determines the extent the party may be required to compensate you for appropriate damages and applies whether the party’s acts are intentional or negligent.

Damages describe the monetary compensation an injured party may be owed. Insurance coverage, which is commonly involved in injuries such as auto accidents or slip and falls, only compensates for very narrow, specific losses.

Personal injury law is important for the ways it enables victims to recover damages for their broader loss, such as the time they have lost from work, or the pain and suffering they have endured.

Most personal injury cases have a statute of limitations that sets a certain time limit for recovering damages. It can be crucial to promptly seek expert legal counsel so that your settlement is not diminished or negated by failure to meet these time limits.

If you have been injured because of someone’s irresponsibility, you very likely will want justice and compensation for your losses. Should you pursue a settlement on your own? It’s not a wise move. Personal injury victims typically are up against big insurance companies and their teams of attorneys. In many cases, the insurance companies will attempt to minimize your compensation or deny your claim altogether. Knowing that most non-lawyers do not fully understand their legal rights, insurance companies may offer a quick settlement and try to convince you that it’s the best deal you can get. They may try to take advantage of you by eliciting statements from you that can damage your case.

With knowledge of the legal system and insurance regulations, an experienced personal injury lawyer knows how to fight insurance companies. When you retain a qualified attorney, you have someone who can stand up for your rights so you obtain a fair resolution. A good lawyer can get you the maximum compensation you deserve for your losses. With an experienced attorney on your side, you will have peace of mind knowing that no avenue was overlooked. You can focus on recovering and moving on with your life.

Every personal injury law has a statute of limitations that can limit a victim’s ability to seek compensation for his or her injury or loss. By acting quickly to secure legal representation, you can solidify your personal injury claim before any insurance company has bound you to a written statement. There is also the matter of witnesses and other supporting evidence (for instance, photography showing a broken railing), which can become harder to document if too much time goes by.

Of course, getting treatment for any injury should be your first concern, ahead of any claim you may be considering. With that in mind, your symptoms, your diagnosis, and your treatment are medical decisions that should be made between you and your doctor(s).

If you choose to involve an attorney, all discussion of your condition remains strictly confidential as attorney/client communication, though some medical evidence and/or testimony may need to be brought forward to advance your claim. Keep in mind, though, that medical treatment in and of itself is no assurance that you have a valid personal injury claim.

At the Law Offices of Joe Bornstein, our people are your resource. We will answer your questions and advocate for your rights. The more information you are able to provide, the better able we will be to do our jobs.

Valuable information may take the form of any or all of the following:

• Photograph of injury
• Photograph of the accident site
• Photograph of damaged property
• Statements and contact information from any witnesses
• Record of any medical costs incurred
• Record of any medical procedures performed
• Record of secondary expenses incurred, such as a rental car to replace one damaged in an accident
• Police records

Many times, injury victims receive a settlement offer from the insurance company of the at-fault party. This is a one-time check designed to pay for a lifetime’s worth of injury-related expenses. And if you have a lot of bills and expenses due to a personal injury accident, a settlement offer can seem like a lifeline.

But many times, settlement offers don’t come close to covering all of your expenses. And if you agree to accept a settlement offer, you can’t ask for more money in the future. Your case is settled. As a result, you might have to pay for any future bills out of your own pocket.

This is why you should carefully consider any settlement offer before you agree to accept. An experienced Maine personal injury attorney at our law firm can help you decide if you should accept a personal injury settlement offer or ask for more money. If you believe you deserve more, our legal team can work to negotiate a better settlement offer with the insurance company.

Many websites and lawyers often throw around a lot of numbers when it comes to how much money injury victims can expect to receive if they were hurt in a personal injury accident. But the truth is, every personal injury accident is unique. As a result, there is no real average personal claim amount. How much money injury victims can expect to receive from one case to the next often varies widely. So if someone tells you how much money you can expect to receive if you get hurt in an accident without knowing what happened, you should be suspicious. The best thing to do is to talk to a Maine personal injury lawyer who can help you understand your legal options.

The most important thing is you should be financially compensated for all your financial losses due to your injury. What you might not realize is just how many expenses this includes, which you can read more about below.

In general, the main factors that often influence how much money your personal injury claim or lawsuit is worth include:

• The severity of your injury
• The amount of medical care you need
• How much time do you need to recover
• Whether you can return to work.

Take all these factors into consideration, and your personal injury case could be worth thousands of dollars or significantly more.

As noted above, if someone caused your injury, you should be financially compensated for all your financial losses, including:

• Emergency medical care
• Surgical procedures
• Hospital bills
• Follow-up doctor’s appointments
• Physical therapy
• Replacement income if you need time off from work to rest and recover
• Lost future income if you cannot return to work due to your injury
• Any property damaged as a result of your accident
• Pain and suffering (in many circumstances)

A number of factors need to be investigated before a claim is determined; trying to “get to a number” too quickly often leads people to agree to a settlement that is lower than what they deserve. We make sure to consider all the ways the injured party has been affected: their income, their ability to support their family, their future ability to live independently, etc.

Different accident and injury scenarios involve different insurance coverage, perhaps from more than one party who may share liability for what has happened. Turn to Joe to get the full due diligence of looking at your case from every angle, to be sure that you get the justice you deserve.

Whether it is your employer, the other party involved in the case, or the general public, nobody will have access to any details that you do not wish to be divulged. At the Law Offices of Joe Bornstein, we will always get your specific written permission before any information protected by attorney-client privilege is provided to any entity outside the firm. This enables us to work closely with you, and to consider every detail of what has happened, without any fear that an aspect of your case may become public without your consent.

You don’t need to hire a lawyer after a pedestrian accident. However, you will discover there are numerous benefits to retaining an attorney. People who pursue pedestrian accident claims on their own often end up with a dramatically reduced settlement amount when compared to those who have legal representation. Pedestrian accidents often involve serious injuries or fatalities. Accident claims cannot be taken lightly by insurance companies. A Maine pedestrian accident attorney can provide aggressive and knowledgeable legal representation to maximize the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to learn more.

Damages – the compensation available to injury victims after an accident – come in many forms. No two accidents are the same. Each pedestrian accident case is unique. Depending on the circumstances around the case and injuries sustained, you may be entitled to damages for medical expenses and cost of future medical care, lost wages from missing work and loss of future earning capacity. An attorney can evaluate your claim and help determine your best options. You may need to pursue damages for pain, suffering and emotional distress. In rare cases, injury victims may be entitled to punitive damages designed to punish drivers who act with gross negligence or malicious intent.

Maine pedestrian accident victims may be entitled to collect compensation when partially at fault for an accident. Determining fault in a pedestrian accident case can be complicated. The insurance company for the driver who hit you may try to say you were to blame for the accident. Even if a driver is clearly at fault – such as a drunk driver, somebody texting while driving or somebody who sped through a red light – an adjuster might try to point the finger at the injured pedestrian and say the driver was minimally at fault. You can level the playing field today. Contact Joe Bornstein’s office before speaking with an insurance adjuster or admitting fault in your pedestrian accident.

You owe us nothing until you win. At the Law Offices of Joe Bornstein, our Maine pedestrian accident attorneys work on a contingency fee basis. When you’re dealing with the physical, emotional and financial impact of an accident, we believe you shouldn’t have to worry about how you’ll pay an attorney. We believe you have a right to receive legal advice – and to access state courts – without concern about out-of-pocket expenses