An accident can change your life in a split second. One moment you’re visiting the Mississippi Maritime Museum, picking up an order at Bozo’s Seafood Market, or spending a day out on Krebs Lake. The next, you’re dealing with a major fall, a devastating car accident, or a boat collision. Personal injuries are incredibly common across the United States, and while the majority result only in minor injuries, some have devastating consequences for victims.
If you’ve suffered a personal injury in Pascagoula, the team at Reeves & Mestayer is here to help you fight for compensation. Call us at 228-374-5151 to schedule a consultation now.
How a Personal Injury Can Change Your Life
Whether you experience a minor injury or a catastrophic one, a personal injury can affect your life in many ways. To start, you may suffer physical side effects. Many victims experience lingering pain, broken bones, lacerations, and other injuries after an accident. Depending on the severity of your accident, you could spend days, weeks, months, or the rest of your life recovering.
That leads us to the fact that an injury can seriously impact your career and financial stability. Even if you only spend a day or two off of work, that’s income that your family relies on. More serious injuries could leave you without income for months or permanently limit your ability to work. As a result, your family may have to go without, or other family members may have to step up their work to make up for the loss.
Personal injuries can also leave you with significant mental trauma. Many accident victims report symptoms of PTSD, particularly if an accident causes severe injuries. They may struggle to face what caused their accident, whether that’s driving, dogs, the place they fell, or the sport that left them injured.
If you’ve been injured, you shouldn’t face these negative effects alone. Working with a personal injury lawyer in Pascagoula can help you fight for the compensation you truly deserve.
Types of Personal Injury Cases Our Firm Handles
At Reeves & Mestayer, we help victims of many types of accidents. Some of the cases we have taken on include:
- Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle and pedestrian accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Defective products
- Slip and fall accidents
- Dog bites and animal attacks
- Wrongful death
- Catastrophic injuries
The Role of Liability in a Pascagoula Personal Injury Claim
Before you can recover compensation from someone involved in your injury, you have to determine liability. There are four components of liability:
- A duty owed to the victim. The liable party must have owed a duty of care to the victim. This is different in each type of personal injury claim. On the road, drivers have an implied duty to everyone else on the road to take reasonable steps to prevent accidents. Dog owners have a duty to keep their dogs from biting other people.
- Breach of that duty. The other party must have breached that duty in some way. A driver may breach their duty by driving while distracted or taking unnecessary risks. In the dog owner example, a dog owner may choose to let their dog run off-leash in an area where dogs must be restrained.
- Subsequent injuries. The victim must have measurable damages. This means that something bad must have actually happened. A personal injury claim does not exist simply because something bad could have happened.
- Proof that the injuries were caused by the breach. There must be substantial evidence showing that the damages were a result of the other party’s breach of their duty. After a car accident, you could show that the other party drove while impaired, ran a stop sign, and struck you, thus causing your injuries. In the dog bite example, there is a link between the owner’s actions and your injuries because the dog would not have been able to bite you if the owner had kept them restrained.
Compensation for Injuries
The compensation you receive for a Pascagoula personal injury depends largely on the severity of your injuries, the amount of insurance the liable party has, and how good your attorney is. Many personal injury settlements include compensation for:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Future medical expenses for severe or lifelong injuries
- Future lost income if you are permanently unable to work
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of quality of life
- Loss of consortium
Why You Should Choose Reeves & Mestayer
The outcome of your personal injury claim depends a lot on which attorney you choose for your case. You could choose an attorney that makes bold, flashy claims and promises an unbelievable amount of money. But choosing an attorney based on vague promises, rather than proven results, could hurt you in the long run.
If your attorney has a long history of settlements and no court experience, what happens if the liable party’s insurance company refuses to offer a fair settlement in negotiations? Is your attorney going to learn how to tackle your case in court, or are they going to push you to accept a bad offer simply so they can move on from your case? Either way, you aren’t getting the representation you truly deserve.
At Reeves & Mestayer, we are prepared for every possible outcome. Although most personal injury claims do settle out of court, we are more than prepared to go to court if the insurance company refuses to treat you fairly. We know that a personal injury can throw your life into chaos, and you deserve fair compensation if someone else’s negligence has caused you harm.
From investigating your accident and injuries to negotiating with the insurance company or taking your case to court, we will handle everything. You can focus on recovering while we take care of your legal needs.
Contact Us Now to Start Your Claim
It’s time to talk to Reeves & Mestayer and find out how we can help you. We’re committed to fighting for full and fair compensation for our clients—let our experience and knowledge work for you. Call us at 228-374-5151 or contact us online to set up a consultation now.
