Personal Injury Law

It is a common and understandable misconception that someone injured in a car accident cannot successfully bring a claim unless the person they are considering going after was issued a traffic ticket as a result of the accident. While a ticket can help with the liability argument, it really is not necessary to proving a case. To understand why it is necessary to understand the difference between what is necessary to prove a crime and what is necessary to prove a civil wrong. The key here is what we call the “Burden of Persuasion”.Simply put, the burden of persuasion is the level of certainty the proponent must establish to the trier of fact that the proponent’s assertions are correct. In criminal cases, the burden of…

Jessica’s Law has been the law of New Hampshire for about fifteen (15) years now. It is a law that requires the clearing of ice and snow off the top of a vehicle prior to driving it. The basis of the law was a tragic accident that claimed the life of Jessica Smith in 1999. A piece of ice about nine (9) feet long flew off of a tractor-trailer, smashing into a box truck that veered into Jessica’s vehicle killing her. The accident in Peterborough is not long forgotten by her parents, as Jessica would be thirty-nine (39) years old coming up. However, we find that driving around that many people still do not clear their entire cars. We understand what it is like to…

her scenario, your doctors will tell you when you are no longer expected to improve. This is called reaching “maximum medical improvement”. At this point, it is time to try to evaluate the claim you have and find out what settlement you should take. The bulk of your claim is made up of the costs of your medical treatment. Typically, if you get back to 100%, this will only include your past medical treatment. If you find yourself permanently injured, then future medical expenses are included in the compensation, as is a potential permanent impairment. Other expenses that an injured party is entitled to compensation for our past and future lost income, the mileage you incurred medical appointments, and pain and suffering. All of these…

A large number of personal injury claims are based, at least in part, on a theory of negligence. Negligent conduct is conduct that falls below the standards of behavior established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. A person has acted negligently if he or she has departed from the conduct expected of a reasonably prudent person acting under similar circumstances. To use an old logical saw, that ultimately begs the question of who a reasonably prudent person is. To some, the definition of that person comes as a surprise. The reasonably prudent person can sometimes be generalized as “Debbie Do-Gooder”. The reasonably prudent person stops completely at lights and stop signs. They signal a full 100 feet before making…

When a person gets injured, the last thing they are thinking about is how the various insurances interplay with one another. The first thing that should always be focused on is getting the necessary medical treatment. At our firm, we have a textured knowledge of insurance law and how each policy affects the other and we can unwind the confusing mess that a personal injury claim becomes. This allows our clients to focus on the treatment they are receiving, while we focus on getting the right insurance to pay for our client’s medical bills. There are three basic sources for payment of medical bills. The first is obvious, and it the health insurance for our clients. The second is no-fault coverage, and not everyone is…