As the capital of Connecticut, Hartford and its residents have played a central role in the state since its founding in 1635. However, even in this historic heartland, accidents leave people with serious injuries. In 2023, 68 crashes on Hartford, Connecticut, streets resulted in fatalities or suspected serious injuries.
However, a car accident is far from the only reason Hartford residents should consult a personal injury lawyer. A law firm can navigate you through a wide variety of situations and could help you recover damages to rebuild your life. The sooner you talk to a personal injury attorney, the faster you may recover compensation.
This post will explore when you should book a free consultation with a personal injury attorney and how he or she can help you pursue justice fast.
Act Fast After a Personal Injury
After sustaining a personal injury, the first step is to seek medical attention. Some serious injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and whiplash, do not have immediate symptoms. So, even if you feel fine, get yourself checked out by a doctor as soon as possible.
Free consultation with a personal injury attorney
As soon as you feel well enough, get a free consultation with a Hartford personal injury lawyer. This can be in person or over the phone. He or she will listen carefully to your story and talk you through the legal process.
An accident lawyer can use his or her legal knowledge and experience of past cases to tell you how likely your case is to succeed. He or she may also estimate how much compensation you may be able to recover. The sooner you get legal representation, the faster you may obtain compensation and regain financial stability.
Do not talk to insurance companies
After sustaining a personal injury, you may be inclined to first reach out to your insurance company. The insurance companies or personal injury attorneys of other parties involved may also call you to discuss your case. However, do not talk to any of them until you have secured legal representation for yourself.
An insurance company – even one supposed to represent your best interests – is only interested in paying out as little as possible for insurance claims. Let a lawyer in Hartford handle all discussions with insurance companies to protect your legal rights and give you a better chance of securing fair compensation.
Do not miss your chance
While it is always good to contact a personal injury lawyer as fast as you can after an accident, sometimes life gets in the way. However, Connecticut General Statutes § 52-284 states that you have up to 2 years from the date of your accident to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Some people may hesitate to contact a personal injury attorney because they feel they were at least partially responsible for their accidents. However, it may be possible to recover compensation in Connecticut even if you were 50 percent liable for the accident. So don’t hold back from talking to a personal injury lawyer about your legal options.
Road Accident Cases Personal Injury Lawyers Handle
Sadly, there are many ways to get injured on Hartford, Connecticut, roads. Whether you are behind the wheel, a passenger, or simply minding your own business as a pedestrian, an accident can happen fast and leave you needing urgent legal representation.
Car accidents
In May 2024, a 26-year-old man died when his pickup truck got involved in a rollover collision. In January of the same year, several people were injured in a multi-car accident on the Hartford stretch of the I-84.
Hartford car accident attorneys can represent people who have sustained severe injuries in car crashes like these. They can also help people who have lost a loved one in a car accident to seek compensation due to losing the financial and emotional support of a beloved family member.
Motorcycle accidents
In May 2024, a 20-year-old man died, and his passenger was severely injured after being thrown from their motorcycle in a collision with an SUV in Hartford, Connecticut. Accidents like these highlight the dangers motorcyclists face and why they need the legal knowledge of an experienced Hartford personal injury lawyer to pursue justice on their behalf.
Motorcycle accidents can be complicated by several factors, including:
- Proving fault: It can be more challenging if lane splitting, lack of helmet use, or violations of Connecticut’s traffic laws are used to argue that the rider is to blame for the accident.
- Serious injuries: Motorcycle riders have much less protection than passengers in other vehicles. Therefore, motorcycle injuries may be more severe, resulting in higher medical bills and long-term medical expenses.
- Visibility challenges: Due to the relatively small size of motorcycles, drivers may not see them as easily as other types of vehicles. This could complicate a personal injury case, as each side tries to shift the blame onto the other.
An experienced Hartford personal injury lawyer can conduct a thorough investigation into your motorcycle accident. He or she may work with other professionals, including medical experts, accident reconstruction specialists, and financial expert witnesses, to build a strong case for compensation.
Pedestrian accidents
Sometimes, simply walking on or crossing a Hartford street is enough to wind up with serious injuries. The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT) reports that there is an increasing amount of pedestrian deaths in the state each year.
These figures have risen 50 percent since 2009 due to a combination of more pedestrians, more traffic, bigger vehicles, more distracted driving, and drug or alcohol-impaired driving. Pedestrians are completely unprotected and may sustain severe injuries that result in extensive medical expenses and other financial losses.
If another person was negligent or caused you intentional harm as a pedestrian, Connecticut personal injury law gives you the right to pursue damages for your losses. A Hartford pedestrian accident lawyer will listen to your story and evaluate the strongest route to compensation. If the accident attorney agrees to take on your case, he or she will use all resources at the law firm’s disposal to fight aggressively for a fast and fair result.
Truck accidents
Trucks are among the heaviest vehicles on our roads, and traffic accidents involving trucks can be especially catastrophic. Hartford is transected by I-84 and I-91 and is no stranger to truck accidents.
Hartford truck accident lawyers understand the complexities of these cases and how to navigate a path that gives you the best chance of success.
Some considerations include:
- Establishing liability: This can be more complicated in truck accident cases, as the driver, trucking company, maintenance company, and local municipality may all share liability.
- Workers’ compensation: As trucks are work vehicles, you may be covered by workers’ compensation insurance if you get injured as a driver. This insurance could also cover you if you get injured in a truck accident while on the job.
- Catastrophic injuries and wrongful death: As truck accident injuries are often severe or even fatal, you need the legal knowledge of an experienced Hartford personal injury lawyer to fight aggressively for maximum compensation.
Leave a complex case to an insurance company, and it is very unlikely you will recover compensation that meets your long-term needs. Instead, hire a Hartford personal injury lawyer focused on fighting for maximum compensation on your behalf.
Benefits of Hiring a Hartford Personal Injury Lawyer
A lawyer in Hartford brings local knowledge, an in-depth understanding of Connecticut law, and a dedication to the table that other law firms may not be able to match.
Local knowledge and reputation
If you choose a Hartford law firm to represent you, they have more at stake than a large, national firm. They are not just fighting for your rights; they are defending their local reputation, so you can expect them to prepare well and fight hard to get the best possible result for their clients.
You can also benefit from a Hartford law firm’s local connections. They will have established relationships with the judges and court clerks and know which arguments are most likely to stand up to scrutiny. They should also have connections with other local experts who could help your case to move toward completion faster.
Thorough investigation
Unlike insurance companies, a personal injury lawyer aims to maximize your compensation. An attorney can do this in two ways – through a thorough investigation of your case and by exploring all potential damages you may be entitled to.
A lawyer in Hartford will examine the circumstances that led to your accident. The goal is to identify the at-fault parties and build a strong case for liability.
He or she may use:
- Police reports
- Footage from surveillance cameras and dashcams
- Eyewitness testimony
- The services of accident reconstruction specialists in complex cases
Calculate the full impact of your personal injury
Next, a personal injury attorney will assess the full impact of the accident on your health and finances. This would include calculating the economic impact by totaling your medical bills, lost wages, and property damage expenses. If your personal injury caused a long-term disability, accident attorneys will also consider your ongoing medical expenses and lost income.
A personal injury lawyer can also seek compensation for your non-economic losses. This may include factors it is hard to put a dollar figure on, such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment in life
- Loss of a normal marital relationship
Depending on the seriousness of your injuries, a personal injury attorney may use one of two methods to calculate this compensation. The per diem method is used for injuries that will fully resolve quickly and determines a dollar amount for each day of suffering. The multiplier method multiplies your total economic compensation by a figure between 1.5 and 5 – the more serious your injuries, the higher the multiplier.
Fight aggressively for fast results
Negotiating with insurance companies requires skill, experience, and dedication. Choose a Hartford car accident lawyer with a great track record of negotiating fair settlements for his or her clients.
After calculating what the accident attorney believes to be a fair settlement, he or she will send a demand letter to the insurance company or the lawyer representing the negligent party. Then, the negotiations will begin. With good preparation, legal knowledge, and tenacity, your personal injury lawyer will play hardball in pursuit of maximum compensation.
If it’s impossible to resolve your case out of court, your accident lawyer will file a personal injury lawsuit. If the case goes to trial, a six-person jury will settle questions of liability and damages.
For Fast Results, Hire Gould Injury Law
If you are the latest victim of Hartford’s busy and sometimes dangerous streets, you need a Connecticut accident attorney who will take your case seriously – a Hartford personal injury lawyer who cares about your best interests, not the insurance company’s. Most importantly, a lawyer who will fight aggressively to get you a fair settlement as fast as possible.
You need the experience and legal knowledge of Gould Injury Law, “The Fast Firm.” Our Hartford, Connecticut, law firm is committed to tenaciously pursuing the best results for our clients, either through negotiation or in the courtroom. Our outstanding results for past clients include a $1.6 million payout for a pedestrian accident and a $1.5 million settlement in a motorcycle accident case.
If you want to get fast results in your personal injury case, there is no time to lose. Schedule a free consultation with Gould Injury Law today. Call us at 888-WIN-FAST or contact us online, and we will get back to you fast.
