If a person seriously injured due to someone else’s negligence wants to hire an accident lawyer in Hawaii, this must be done within the state’s statute of limitations for filing a claim or a lawsuit. Although technically there is a lot of time before reaching that limit, it’s better to hire an attorney as soon as possible. The guidance of the lawyer helps the claimant achieve the best possible outcome and avoid missteps during the process.
Slipping and Tripping
Being injured after slipping or tripping and falling is a relatively common scenario heard about by almost every accident lawyer in Hawaii. Slippery floors can cause falls, and so can ripped carpet on stairways and uneven concrete surfaces. The state allows two years after the date of the incident for the person to file a claim or lawsuit.
Partial Responsibility
Sometimes the property owner or insurer disputes the claim by trying to show that the injured person was at least partially responsible for the incident. Consider a situation in which someone slips and falls in a store because an aisle was wet from a spill or a cooler leaking. Eyewitnesses may verify that the person had been texting or reading a label on a box while walking through that aisle. Now the insurer can try to reduce the amount of compensation by explaining that the person was not paying attention. Another scenario would involve witnesses noticing that the person was visibly intoxicated, making clumsy movements while striding down the aisle.
Effect on Compensation
Most personal injury cases do not proceed to court, as they are settled either before a lawsuit is filed or soon afterward. Insurance companies, however, take into account what might happen if the case were to be heard by a judge and jury. That’s one way they determine how much they are willing to pay if the person was partially responsible for the accident. If a case should be worth $10,000 to the injured person, for instance, the insurance company might offer $8,000 after deciding the claimant was twenty percent at fault. This person needs assistance from a lawyer like Randal Ashida, Attorney at Law. More information can be found at Autoaccidentattorneyhonolulu.com.
