A Personal Injury Attorney and Government Accidents

When most people consider hiring a personal injury attorney, they do so to deal with injuries caused by other people around them. Car accidents, cases of negligence, and accidents that happen on someone's property can all be a reason to hire one of these lawyers. However, sometimes your injuries can happen as the result of something related to the government. The individual, property, or vehicle that injured you could belong to the government. In these cases you will need to follow special protocol, but you still may be able to get some compensation for your injuries.

The problem with these types of cases is that you must follow specific rules in order for them to be considered. That is why it is so important to have a personal injury attorney on your side when taking on the government in this way.

Remember, the government is the one who sets the rules about who can sue and for what. Because of this, they determine who they can be sued by and for what reasons. In order to successfully file a lawsuit against a government entity, you must play by these rules.

One of the rules is a time frame. If you have been injured by a government entity, you will only have a short time in which to contact them for help. Often this is between 30 and 180 days. If you do not file within this time limit, you are going to fail. For this reason, you need to contact your lawyer as soon as possible after you sustain your injury.

Next, you need to determine if the government entity was, in fact, at fault. This can be very hard to prove, and is one of the reasons why it is so important to work with a personal injury attorney. They will be able to look at all of the details of the case to determine if you do have a workable case or not.

Sometimes, your best bet is not a lawsuit, but simply filing a formal complaint. In many instances, the city or state will have a process already in place for dealing with these types of problems. You may be able to get compensation without actually going to court. However, you should consult with a lawyer before going this route. Sometimes the amounts offered in this way are far less than you would be able to get with a lawsuit.

If you miss the deadline to file the complaint, you may still have some recourse. Talk to a personal injury attorney. If you can prove that there was a good reason that you missed the deadline, such as that you did not know the government was responsible or you got incorrect information, then you may still be able to file after the deadline has passed. This can be challenging to do properly, so do not attempt it without the help of a lawyer. It is simply not worth the risk of losing the compensation you are due!