Chances are, you'll most likely be involved in some type of accident in your life. That could be something minor as falling off a pair of ladders, or something more serious like being hit by a car. In the more serious cases, you have the option of filing a lawsuit for injury and getting monetary compensation.

In today's article, we'll be taking a look at how to go through the process of suing and getting the compensation you deserve.

Do You Have a Case?

This is the first question that has to come to mind if you find yourself in a situation like this.

Firstly, to even consider taking a case to court, you need to be able to prove that the person or persons you're making a claim against have actually caused the injuries you suffered. The primary reason for them causing your injuries is most usually negligence, although there are cases of someone injuring someone else on purpose.

It's also important to keep in mind that a person isn't the only entity you can sue. If you've been injured because your toaster exploded, that's obviously the fault of the manufacturer, not an individual person.

To prove that someone else's negligence caused your injury, you need evidence to support this claim.

This evidence can come in the form of a police report (most common when traffic accidents occur), eyewitness statements, incident reports (many different companies have their own incident reports that they file when an incident occurs). Audio and video records of the incident are also incredibly trustworthy pieces of evidence.

Something that also hold a lot of weight in court is the record of medical treatment and statements from doctors. A medical expert can often be a crucial witness, proving that your injury could only occur under certain circumstances, and that can often prove that the other person is at fault for what happened.

Hiring a Lawyer 

If you believe that you have sufficient evidence to prove that you've been wronged, then the next step is finding a good lawyer. There are many experts on personal injury, and their job is to piece all of this together and present it to the court, proving that you've been wronged by someone else.

Finding a high-quality lawyer may be difficult, but a simple browser search in your area should give you more than enough information about the person you're hiring. Keep in mind that some lawyers have a fixed rate, while others work on a percentage of what you earn.

It is highly recommended that you work with a lawyer. There are instances when people prefer to sue on their own, but law experts are usually worth their price as it's terribly difficult to navigate through law conundrums on your own.

How Much Should I Sue For?

This is a question your lawyer will answer once they do a thorough analysis, but there are many things that you can include in your lawsuit claim. James McKiernan, a personal injury lawyer from Santa Maria, CA, says that the compensation can include "lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering from their injuries."

Firstly, since you'll be taking time off work after your injury, you can sue for the wages you lost.

Then, we have medical expenses. There are differences from case to case, regarding whether your medical expenses were covered by insurance, but this is a very specific problem that your lawyer will handle.

You can also ask for money to replace the piece of equipment you lost in the accident, be it a vehicle, phone, computer, etc. 

An essential point in the case is the pain you've gone through during the accident. This deserves compensation, but it's very difficult to define a price for the amount of pain you've had to go through. Either way, this is something that your lawyer will include in the lawsuit, as it can often multiply the amount you receive!

Other Important Information

It's also important to know that you can sue for an accident that you were partly at fault for! However, it's best that you consult a lawyer before you decide to go through with this. Accidents where both parties are partly guilty are rare and courts will usually decide in the favor of a single party.

Another crucial thing to keep in mind is timing. Suing for an accident decades after it occurred is usually going to result in losing the court case. There are limitations regarding the claim for an injury, and current laws declare that you have a three-year window for suing after suffering an injury!