Whether it be a motor vehicle accident, slip-and-fall, trip-and-fall, medical malpractice, defamation, products liability or other types of cases, there are Attorneys In Anchorage Alaska capable of prosecuting such a claim on your behalf. Without having a competent and experienced advocate working with you, there are many pitfalls that could lead to a steep reduction—if not total diminution of—any recovery you may have otherwise been entitled to.
First, and the biggest pitfall, is the failure to comply with Alaska’s statute of limitations, or the two-year time period (from the date of the incident or the date you “discovered” your injuries) within which you must file the lawsuit. The failure to meet this timeline almost always renders your case dismissed.
Second, there are multiple factors that must be proven in order to prevail on a personal injury case. Indeed, Attorneys In Anchorage Alaska understand and prepare a case based on the fac that you must demonstrate that a defendant was negligent, or failed to exercise reasonable care. Examples of such would be failing to stop at a red light, speeding, failing to remove snow and ice, etc.
Third, you must demonstrate that you were actually injured. Just because you were involved in an auto accident or slipped and fell on ice does not automatically entitle you to money.
Fourth, you must be able to prove that the injuries you sustained were due to the negligence committed by the defendant. In the auto accident case, if the defendant’s car collided with you because he was not watching where he was going, but your injury occurred when you tripped over a sidewalk getting out of the car, there is not likely going to be any award for you against the driver of the other car.
Fifth, you must prove your damages, or the value of your injuries and the effects they had on you. There are economic damages, such as medical bills, pharmacy bills, loss of income and the like, all of which are pretty easily proven through documents. However, there are also non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, loss of services and loss of consortium, which are more subjective and require the telling of a story to a jury that involves incredible trauma to you in order to increase the award of damages. Notably, in Alaska, there is no right to punitive damages in a personal injury case.
Attorneys In Anchorage Alaska know that there are many factors involved in prosecuting a personal injury case, from time deadlines, to process, to what must be proven, and so on. Attempting to prevail on such claims without the assistance of an attorney is dangerous, and often results in a significantly reduced award, or even none at all, no matter how strong your case may have been.
