Those who have experienced a personal injury in New Mexico may be eligible for compensation by filing a personal injury claim. Types of personal injuries that are covered by personal injury law in New Mexico include those caused by motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls, motor cycle accidents, truck accidents and more. As long as you can provide evidence that proves the accident, and your injury was not your fault you may be eligible to file a New Mexico personal injury claim for compensation from the person or entity which caused your accident.
How Do I File a Claim in New Mexico?
In New Mexico anyone who lives in the state and who has been a victim of an accident that was not their fault is allowed to file a lawsuit against the at-fault party for a personal injury. However, to help ensure your New Mexico personal injury claim is successful you need to provide enough evidence that shows who caused the accident. This could include any of the following:
- police report if it was a motor vehicle accident;
- photos taken at the scene of the accident showing how the accident took place;
- footage retrieved from security cameras;
- eye witness reports of the accident;
- doctor’s medical report describing the injury.
As soon as you have gathered all the evidence to prove who caused your accident you can contact a New Mexico personal injury lawyer who will guide you through the legal process of recovering personal injury compensation.
What is the Statute of Limitations in New Mexico?
New Mexico has a "statute of limitations" which limits the time given to file a court case following an accident which has caused an injury. In New Mexico, you are given 3 years from the accident date to file your case in court. If you fail to file your case within this time limit given, you may not have any chance of filing for compensation at all.
A person who has suffered an injury caused by a government agency or on government property is required to file their New Mexico personal injury claim within 90 days of the injury and also follow the rules set by the New Mexico Tort Claims Act.
How Do I Prove Negligence in New Mexico?
There are several parts to proving negligence in New Mexico. The first is concerned with owing duty of care to another person and if that person failed in fulfilling that duty which is a breach and is therefore negligent behavior. For example, everyone driving on a highway owes a duty of care to drive safely, but if a driver acts recklessly that is breach of that duty which is negligence. When filing a claim for personal injury compensation the person or group’s breach of duty of care must have been the cause of the plaintiff’s injuries who can now file a damages claim based on negligence.
The New Mexico personal injury claim for negligence must be supported by the relevant documentation which provides proof that the person or entity which caused the injury was negligent.
However, New Mexico state negligence laws state are based on "pure comparative negligence," which typically means you may still entitled to compensation in, for example a car-accident lawsuit, but your award will be reduced according to your share of negligence. If you are found to be more at fault than the other party you may not be not be eligible to any compensation at all.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Receive in New Mexico?
Generally there are two parts to a New Mexico personal injury claim which are economic and non-economic damages. The former is the financial hardship caused by the injury while the later is the emotional and pain and suffering caused by the injury.
In New Mexico, an injured person may be able to claim the following economic and non economic damages in a personal injury claim:
- attorney’s fees;
- damage to property;
- loss of wages until return to work is possible;
- medical treatment, including medications;
- out of pocket expenses like taxi rides for medical treatment;
- pain and suffering;
- physical therapy, if required;
- punitive damages.
How Do I Get Personal Injury Help in New Mexico?
Often it is difficult to find the best evidence to prove who or what caused your accident and personal injury, but a personal injury lawyer may offer personal injury help with a free case evaluation. They can assess your evidence and make a decision if it is possible to win a favorable personal injury settlement on your behalf.
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