Category: Kona Personal Injury Lawyers

Becoming a victim of a personal injury due to the negligence of someone else can be frustrating. The physical pain and suffering can seem never-ending when you start receiving bills, calls, and visits from insurance companies, doctors, and law enforcement authorities, while you’re still grappling with your injuries.

It can be extremely difficult to focus on recovering when you feel overwhelmed by thoughts of how you will pay for your treatment. At the same time, you also want to ensure that the party responsible for your injury is brought to book.

This is when an experienced personal injury lawyer comes into the picture.

A Kona personal injury lawyer can be your strongest ally if you have sustained injuries in an accident. Not only will they fight to protect your rights, they will also help you recover financial compensation from the responsible party for your injuries. You can use the compensation money to pay your medical bills while also making up for lost wages. Your compensation may also include certain non-monetary damages.

A. What Is a Personal Injury Lawyer?

Personal injury lawyers specialize in tort law. This law covers all civil litigation for injuries and offenses caused due to negligence. Personal injury layers who practice tort law primarily aim to make their injured client or the plaintiff receive justice and deter others from committing similar offenses.

Some common personal injury practice areas include motor vehicle accidents, workplace injuries, slip-and-fall accidents, medical malpractice, nursing home accidents, and defective products.

B. What Does a Kona Personal Injury Lawyer Do?

A personal injury lawyer is well-versed with personal injury law. He/she uses his knowledge and skills to bring victims justice as well as peace of mind. Let’s take a look at the various tasks that a Kona personal injury attorney performs.

1. Explains and Upholds Your Rights

You may have several legal queries and doubts about personal injury law on your mind after your accident. You can turn to a personal injury lawyer to get reliable answers. The lawyer will explain how an accident and the various legal considerations can affect your rights.

Different states have different personal injury laws, especially for the statutes of limitations or how Hawaii negligence laws can affect your case. A seasoned lawyer will be well-versed with all the laws applicable in your state, and be fully equipped to protect your rights.

2. Investigates Claims

It is crucial to conduct a thorough investigation after the accident to determine who is legally liable for the injuries you have suffered. Insurance companies may conduct their own enquiries before offering you a settlement. However, insurance companies may spend little time investigating your claim as they tend to have heavy caseloads. They may, therefore, offer you a settlement amount that is much lower than the actual worth of your case.

A dependable Kona personal injury attorney, on the other hand, will do a thorough job. He/she will dedicate the necessary amount of time to discover all the facts and evidence related to your case. He/she will also be in a position to better assess the damages to you and arrive at an accurate estimate of the settlement amount.

3. Gathers Evidence

Having strong evidentiary backup is critical to support your claim. You can count on your personal injury lawyer to gather the required evidence. This means getting police and/or incident reports, tracking down witnessing, getting their statements, photographing the accident site, and more.

Evidence also includes the victim’s medical bills and reports, medical records, employment documents, and property damage reports. He/she may also retain certain evidence for case-related research purposes.

4. Negotiates with Insurance Companies

Most people are not used to conducting negotiations, especially with professional negotiators like the ones at insurance companies. However, experienced personal injury lawyers are adept at it.

He/she will review the insurance policy details and determine the maximum compensation that you stand to gain, depending on your case facts. Your Kona lawyer will also manage all communication with the insurance company. He/she will guide you throughout the process so you do not end up jeopardizing your claim in any way.

5. Sends Demand Letters

After a detailed investigation of your case, your personal injury lawyer may send a demand letter to the concerned insurance company. This letters is sent to state the facts and circumstances surrounding the case. It also mentions the amount of damages for the personal injury caused by the responsible party.

6. Prepares Pleadings

In case the insurance company does not offer a fair settlement, your personal injury lawyer will prepare a formal complaint against the responsible party (defendant). The complaint will mention the legal arguments that establish that the defendant is responsible for the accident. It will also include the settlement amount that the victim is seeking.

7. Works with Medical Providers

Most personal injury lawyers share a good working rapport with medical practitioners who may be willing to provide medical services in favor of a lien on any impending settlement or verdict.

They may also have considerable experience in understanding serious injuries. They may, therefore, recommend a particular expert medical professional who has provided desirable results in past cases.

8. Represents You in Court

Most personal injury cases are settled before going to trial. However, if the insurance company denies the victim’s claim, going to court may be the only option.

Litigation can be complicated and requires strict compliance with proper procedures and rules of evidence. A reputed Kona personal injury lawyer is your best bet if you need to go to trial.

Conclusion

If you’re inflicted with a personal injury due to another person’s recklessness, you should have an experienced Hawaii personal injury lawyer by your side. He/she will ensure that you are fairly compensated as per the legal stipulations. You will also be relieved of the daunting task of dealing with insurance companies and creditors.

Connect with an Accomplished Kona Personal Injury Attorney

To schedule a confidential consultation with a practiced Kona personal injury lawyer, contact Olson & Sons, L.C. Reach us at our Kona office at (808) 331-3113. We do not charge upfront legal fees in personal injury cases.

If you or a loved one was injured because of someone else’s negligence, Hawaii’s personal injury law usually applies. As outlined below, negligence is generally a lack of ordinary or statutory care.

Car crashes, medical malpractice, and other such injuries are not “accidents.” People accidentally leave the water on. They do not accidentally drive drunk and cause car crashes. They certainly do not accidentally misdiagnose their patients.

That being said, personal injuries are usually unintentional. Some people might call them “mistakes.” We all make mistakes, and we all must accept responsibility for our mistakes. In this context, that responsibility means paying compensation for damages. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Vehicle Collisions

Car crashes are one of the leading causes of injury-related death in the United States. Driver impairment causes about half of these wrecks. Some specific kinds of impairment include:

• Alcohol/Drugs: These substances impair motor skills and judgement ability. This impairment usually begins with the first sip of alcohol, the first pill, or the first puff.
• Fatigue: Drowsiness and alcohol have roughly the same effect on the body and brain. Driving after eighteen awake hours is like driving with a .05 BAC level. Additionally, most people are naturally drowsy early in the morning and late at night, no matter how much rest they had the night before.
• Distraction: Hand-held cell phones are not the only source of distracted driving. Other sources include hands-free cell phones, eating while driving, and drinking while driving.

Impaired driving is generally a lack of ordinary care. The duty of reasonable care requires non-commercial drivers to concentrate on the road and be physically fit enough to safely operate a motor vehicle. If the tortfeasor (negligent driver) breached the duty of care and that breach substantially caused injury, the tortfeasor is liable for damages.

Traffic violations, mostly speeding and making an illegal turn or lane change, also cause a number of vehicle collisions. Legally, these claims work differently, because of the negligence per se doctrine. In Hawaii, tortfeasors who violate safety laws and cause wrecks are presumptively liable for damages. So, it is easier for a Kona personal injury attorney to obtain compensation in these cases.

Falls Leading to Personal Injuries in Hawaii

Many fall injuries occur away from home. These incidents are especially common in nursing homes. Other away-from-home falls occur in grocery stores and hotels. Property owners are liable for fall-related damages if:

• Legal Duty: Many jurisdictions draw duty distinctions based on the relationship between the owner and victim. But in Hawaii, most property owners have a duty of care to protect most visitors from injury. This duty also includes a responsibility to conduct periodic safety inspections.
• Knowledge of Hazard: Owners are only liable for damages if they knew or should have known about the hazard that resulted in the fall. This evidence can be direct, like a restroom cleaning report which indicates a spill was on the floor, or circumstantial.

Common defenses in fall injury claims include the “open and obvious” defense and assumption of the risk. Owners are not liable if an open and obvious hazard, like a grocery store aisle display, caused the fall. Assumption of the risk usually involves a “Caution: Wet Floor” or other sign. The insurance company has the burden of proof, and the burden of persuasion, in these matters.

Fall injuries are the most common type of premises liability negligence claim. Other claims include dog bites, third-party assaults due to inadequate security, and swimming pool drownings. The same basic principles discussed above apply in all premises liability claims.

Medical Negligence

Property owners and vehicle operators have a duty of reasonable care. Because of their education and experience, doctors have a higher duty of care with regard to their patients. Most physicians have a fiduciary duty. That’s the highest level of legal responsibility in Hawaii law.

As mentioned above, misdiagnosis is one of the most common forms of medical negligence. Some commonly misdiagnosed conditions include:

• Head Injuries: Many head injury victims show no serious symptoms, other than disorientation and nausea. As a result, doctors frequently misdiagnose car crash-related head injuries as shock from the accident or early onset dementia.
• Cancer: General and specific misdiagnosis is common in these situations. Since many doctors consider cancer a lifestyle or genetic disease, they do not consider cancer unless the patient fits a certain profile. Specific misdiagnosis means the doctor mistakes an aggressive form of cancer, like mesothelioma, for a non-aggressive form, like non-small cell lung cancer.
• Heart Disease: Many heart patients do not exhibit signature symptoms. For example, female heart attack victims often do not experience severe chest pains. As a result, doctors often mistake heart disease for something simple, like indigestion.

The higher duty of care makes it easier for a Kona personal injury attorney to establish negligence in these situations. The higher duty of care also raises the possibility of additional punitive damages. These damages are available if the tortfeasor intentionally disregarded a known risk.

Connect with Seasoned Kona Personal Injury Attorneys

Personal injuries can occur at any time. We understand that victims of personal injuries need physical and emotional support to move forward with their lives. If you or your loved one has been hurt in a car crash, slip-and-fall, misdiagnosis, or other serious accident caused due to someone else’s negligence, you have the right to fight for justice and claim fair compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced Kona personal injury lawyer, contact Olson & Sons, L.C. at 808-331-3113 . We do not charge upfront legal fees in personal injury cases.

Experts predict that, by 2022, the last-mile delivery market will continue growing and exceed $50 billion in North America. The rise of online commerce has fueled much of this increase. Last-mile delivery is also rather perilous. Many delivery drivers load heavy packages into their personal vehicles and depend heavily on GPS navigation devices to get them to their destinations.

Because of these hazards, a Kona personal injury lawyer can usually obtain substantial compensation in these situations. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. However, this process is usually not easy. These wrecks are often legally complex, as outlined below.

Collecting Evidence

All successful claims are built on evidence. The victim/plaintiff has the burden of proof in a negligence case. Additionally, there is usually a connection between the amount of evidence a Kona personal injury attorney presents and the amount of damages the jury awards. So, evidence is not just valuable at trial. It also drives up a claim’s settlement value.

Traditionally, the police accident report, medical bills, and the victim’s own testimony are the three evidentiary pillars in a negligence claim. In many situations, that’s still the case. However, these sources are sometimes insufficient.

So, in many truck accident claims, Kona personal injury lawyers need additional evidence. Frequently, the delivery vehicle’s Event Data Recorder fills in the evidence gaps. These gadgets track and record operational data such as:

· Vehicle speed,
· Engine RPM,
· Steering angle, and
· Brake application.

Items like these help Kona personal injury lawyers piece together what happened. This information could be invaluable, but it is not always available.

Hawaii has very strict vehicle information privacy laws. So, an attorney must convince a judge to issue a court order.

Additionally, many insurance companies “accidentally” destroy physical evidence, such as the EDR. So, a Kona personal injury lawyer typically sends a spoliation letter to the insurance company. This correspondence creates a legal duty to preserve all potential physical evidence in the case. That includes the EDR.

Establishing Liability and Kona Personal Injury Lawyers

Evidence can usually establish fault, but it cannot establish liability. Fault is a fact question, and liability is a legal matter. Victim/plaintiffs must establish both these things to obtain fair compensation.

Contributory negligence is probably the most common defense in delivery driver crash claims. This legal loophole shifts blame for the accident from the tortfeasor (negligent driver) to the victim. Pedestrian accidents are a good example. Drivers must normally yield to pedestrians.

But many walkers cross against the light, cross outside marked crosswalks, or are not paying attention to traffic.

In these situations, the Hawaii County jury must divide fault on a percentage basis. State laws vary in terms of distribution of damages. Hawaii is a modified comparative fault state with a 51 percent bar. Therefore, even if the victim was 49 percent responsible for the crash, the tortfeasor is still responsible for a proportionate share of damages.

Other insurance company defenses in delivery driver claims include sudden emergency and last clear chance. However, these defenses usually only apply in limited situations.

Negotiating a Settlement

About 96 percent of these claims settle out of court. So, an attorney must be more than a good investigator, a legal scholar, and a good litigator. The best Kona personal injury lawyers are also good negotiators.

Settlement can occur at any time. But many times, cases settle during mediation. Mediation usually takes place after medical treatment ends and before the judge assigns a trial date. A neutral third party meets with both sides, and after listening to them, this person tries to facilitate a settlement.

Assuming both parties negotiate in good faith, mediation is almost always successful. Mediated settlements are usually better for everyone. These agreements reduce legal costs, save time, and give parties more control over the outcome.

How Can Kona Personal Injury Lawyer Help Me?

Negligent delivery drivers often cause serious injuries. For a confidential consultation with an experienced Kona personal injury lawyer, contact Olson & Sons, L.C. at (808) 745-1565. We do not charge upfront legal fees in injury cases.