Personal Injury resources

• An Accident. What do I do now?

rhode island personal injury service overview

Personal injury

Personal Injury (PI), or "negligence" claims, involve claims of physical and/or emotional harm to a person. These types of claims typically involve motor vehicles such as cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc., but can also be caused by other objects or by another person. These types of claims typically involve "negligence", or unreasonable conduct on the part of the person or business causing the harm. However, there are some situations under our law where a person or business may be held "strictly liable" for their actions regardless of negligence.

Motor vehicle PI claims are claims made by people to recover damages for injuries and loss of property caused by the actions of another driver or owner of the "at-fault" vehicle. Wrongful death claims are claims brought by representatives of the estate of a person who was killed as the result of the acts of another.

"Product Liability" claims involve injuries to a person, or sometimes to the property of another, caused by the negligence, breach of warranty, and/or strict liability of the party claimed against. Typical examples might be claims against the manufacturer of an automobile or medical device for injuries caused by poor design, defects in manufacturing, or a failure to warn of potential defects.

While the claim may be against a person or company, there may be insurance coverage available to pay for at least a portion of the total damages claimed.

An experienced PI attorney looks at two items in each case to determine whether it would be financially worthwhile to make a personal injury or wrongful death claim. First, the attorney looks at "liability", or who is "at fault". If it can be determined from the facts and evidence available that the other party is more "at fault" than the party making the claim, then the liability issue is favorable to the party who would like to make a PI claim. However, this is not enough by itself. There is one more issue an experienced PI attorney must review.

An experienced PI attorney looks at the amount of "damages", or what harm was caused by the party "at fault", to determine whether it would be worthwhile to make a PI claim. "Damages" include the injuries and resulting losses such as "pain and suffering", "inconvenience", "impact on a marital relationship", "medical and/or funeral expenses", "wage loss", and future losses which can be reasonably determined and are not purely speculative.

A claim's "damages" must be significant enough to support the bringing of a PI claim. Most attorneys are hired to represent a party for this type of claim on a contingent fee basis. This means that the client only pays attorneys fees if they are successful in getting payment from the "at fault" party, or insurance. In addition, if your attorney has advanced payment of the case expenses, they are normally deducted when payment is made on the claim. Therefore, an experienced PI attorney will review whether there is likely to be a financial recovery significant enough to compensate a person making a claim after deduction for attorney fees and case expenses before they accept a case for representation, or, sometimes, later after investigation.

Rhode Island law requires that all motor vehicle personal injury claims be brought within three (3) years from the date of the collision, or such claims are otherwise barred. There are some very limited circumstances where this limitation may be extended. There are also some requirements where "notice" of a claim must be given in a much shorter period of time, or the claim may not be made. Delay in making a claim does not work to the advantage of those seeking compensation for their personal injuries..

Rego & Rego has counseled hundreds of people who have suffered personal injuries involving motor vehicle collisions and improperly maintained premises. We provide free initial consultation and there is no obligation to hire one of our attorneys after a consultation. Most of our motor vehicle personal injury cases are handled on a contingent fee basis, which means that there is no attorney fee due unless there is a financial recovery made. Reasonable and necessary case expenses remain the responsibility of the client.

Rego & Rego practices in the areas of negligence law and other areas. Please visit our other webpages for additional information. There is no charge and no obligation to discuss your matter with one of our attorneys.