In the United States of America, there are over 2,000,000 vehicle accidents, of which over 40,000 are fatal.

Regardless of whether you are injured in a vehicle accident (car, truck, motorcycle, etc.), as a visitor (hotel guest, business customer, guest at an amusement park, etc.), or in other circumstances, there are three (3) fundamental and equally important factors to consider to determine whether you may have a legal right to compensation. The following analysis is not limited to the United States of America and can be considered as a starting point in almost every case law.

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The three (3) basic factors for a successful case of personal injury are 1) liability, 2) damages and 3) possible sources of payment:

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liability

Liability is the analysis of debt. The analysis can be reduced to determining whether an individual and/or an organization, apart from the injured or deceased person, is fully or partially responsible for what happened. The liable person (s) and/or organization (s) are the potential defendants in a lawsuit.

For example, in a vehicle accident case, the analysis focuses on whether the other party has failed to maintain the standard of care owed to other drivers on the road. In cases where the other driver crosses a red light, does not stop at a stop sign, or drives into the rear of another vehicle, the question of liability may be very clear and 100% of the other party's responsibility.

In other cases, such as an attack while you're staying at a hotel, motel, or AirBnB as a guest, the liability analysis might not be as clear. As a guest (for example, as a paying guest at the hotel), the hotel must provide you with appropriate security measures and may be held liable for security negligence if it fails to do so. Hotels and other businesses must also warn you of hidden dangers that aren't obvious. Such hazards may include wet soils, changes in ground level, and areas with a high risk of crime.

Urban Thier & Federer P.A.'s experienced lawyers can help you analyze the liability of others involved in your case and collect evidence to support it.

Follow this link if you would like to read a detailed analysis on liability in personal injury cases.

If you would like to watch a short video from John Urban, Head of Litigation at UTPA, on the subject of litigation, please follow this link: What is liability? (YouTube.com)

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damages

Once the adhesion factor has been addressed, the next factor follows: the damage. These consist of the economic and non-economic losses resulting from the incident.

The economic damage is relatively simple. These are the amounts of money you spent as a result of the incident. These damages include hospital costs, medical care and treatment (even if paid for by insurance or other third parties), property damage, and other items that can easily be reduced to a monetary sum. Economic damage also includes the amount of money you did not receive but would have received had the incident not occurred, such as lost wages, loss of earnings, loss of ability to earn money, future loss of income, etc., even though disability insurance or another third party may pay some or all of these damages.

Non-economic damage usually accounts for the much larger part of a claim for compensation. These damages include pain and suffering, disability, disfiguration, scarring, emotional distress, loss of ability to enjoy life, aggravation of an existing condition, etc. These amounts can be very high, particularly for permanent injuries such as bone fractures, surgery-requiring injuries, traumatic brain injuries, herniated discs, etc., which will leave you with the damage for the rest of your life. In such cases, a judge or jury may consider the rest of your life expectancy. For example, if you live with just one eye for the rest of your life as a result of an accident and are awarded 50,000 US dollars per year and you have a life expectancy of 35 years, you could be awarded non-economic damages of 1,750,000 US dollars (50,000 US dollars x 35 years) for that injury.

We can help you analyse the potential amounts of damage associated with your case and collect evidence to support it.

Follow this link to read a detailed analysis of personal injury claims.

If you would like to watch a short video from John Urban, Head of Litigation at UTPA, on the subject of litigation, please follow this link: What are Damages? - YouTube

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Possible sources of payment

Once the issues relating to liability and damages have been identified, it is equally important to determine whether there is a source of money from which the awarded damages can be recovered or recovered. This provision starts with an analysis of one or more insurance policies that could cover the claims in question. This includes the private assets and insurance of the responsible person, insurance that is held by you or that you have taken out in connection with your trip to the United States of America, for example in connection with a car rental agreement. Without a potential source of payment, a case might not be feasible.

We can help you analyse the prospects of actually collecting or reclaiming damages that have been awarded to you.

Follow this link to read a detailed analysis of potential sources of payment in personal injury cases.

If you would like to watch a short video by John Urban, Head of Litigation at Urban Thier & Federer P.A., on the subject of litigation, please follow this link: What is collectability? - YouTube