Have you been injured in a store? If you have and believe that the accident shouldn’t have happened if the staff had been more diligent, then you may have grounds for claiming compensation.
A personal injury claim can help to pay for medical treatment, replace any lost wages because of your injury and help to compensate for the pain and suffering experienced. It is never easy filing a claim against a major retailer, but a personal injury attorney can help prepare a well documented claim that can satisfy their insurers that their client was liable for your injury.
How Soon You Should Settle
It is hard to know just how long a personal injury claim can take before a settlement is reached. A personal injury attorney may be able to give you his or her opinion based on previous experience.
Personal injury claims can drag on for months, so you are best to try and have your claim prepared sufficiently for an earlier, rather than later, submission to the insurer. In any event, you are limited in time by the statute of limitations in force in the state where the injury took place.
This is normally two or three years from the date of the injury, so unless you have been so badly injured in a store store that you have had no opportunity to look into legal options, this is more than adequate time to file a claim. The other advantage of making a claim earlier, rather than later, is that eye witnesses may be the crucial evidence you need to prove that your accident and injury were preventable and was caused by negligence on the part of their management or one of its employees.
Why You Should Take Your Time to Settle
It is a good idea to start preparing a personal injury claim as soon as your injuries allow, but that doesn’t mean rushing the claim. You will need to have suitable evidence that the store was at fault as this is the crucial part of the claim that will make insurers think of settling.
If you have this evidence (e.g. eye witness statements, photos of what it was that caused the accident, etc.) then you will also need to justify your claim amounts by compiling all the documents that prove how much it has cost you. If you rush your claim then you may leave out important documents or forget to include any estimates of future costs.
If you have had a serious injury, you may find that it will take many months, perhaps years, before full recovery. This is going to be a financial burden unless you can include future needs in your claim.
How a Lawyer Can Help
Because negotiating with any large corporation is more difficult than negotiating with an individual, you are strongly advised to seek legal representation. A personal injury attorney can provide valuable advice, suggest when to file a claim, what to include with your claim and negotiate with their insurers on your behalf. To consult with an experienced lawyer, complete the Free Case Evaluation on this page.
*Disclaimer: The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Kroger, or any other party, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
