If You Bought a Product That Made You Sick: Speak With a Civil Litigation Attorney in Rapid City

As a civil litigation attorneys in Rapid City, we help clients to receive financial damages for something that happened to them.  It is important to make this distinction because most people don’t understand the difference between a criminal and civil case.  A criminal case is one filed by a prosecutor (sometimes called the “States Attorney” or the “District Attorney”) and if a person is convicted, they will face potential jail time and/or fines. On the other hand, a civil case is a non-criminal case filed by your attorney and seeks other relief, such as financial damages to compensate for your injuries, medical bills, lost wages, and pain, and suffering, etc.

If you were injured by a defective machine or product, you would want to speak with a civil attorney to see whether you can recover compensation for your injuries and damages.

A defective product claim is often one of three types:  a failure to properly design a product; a failure to properly manufacture a product; and a failure to properly warn or instruct about a product’s use.

As a civil litigation attorney, we need to determine whether the person’s injuries or death resulted from a defective design, defective manufacturing, or a failure to warn and instruct on the product’s use.  Sometimes the person’s injuries resulted from a combination of these causes.  We then identify who is responsible for these steps in the process so that we can include the proper party(ies) in the lawsuit. We can’t know for sure until we start investigating the product, the event which injured the person, and other circumstances surrounding the case. This is similar to how a detective needs to build a case when catching a criminal. It takes time and focus, but we are confident in our ability to clearly identify and pursue the parties at fault.

The best way to get started is to schedule a consultation to discuss the details of your case further.  As a civil litigation attorney in Rapid City, we can then advise you as to how to proceed.

Work With a Personal Injury Attorney to Prove Negligence in South Dakota

If you have been in a car wreck you should speak with a personal injury attorney to ensure that you understand your rights and how to recover compensation for your injuries and damages.  In South Dakota, like any other state, this is important due to the laws governing liability for negligence. Just because you were in an accident, doesn’t mean that you will receive compensation.  You need a skilled attorney to review your case and to analyze whether the other party was at fault. 

The concept of negligence is important in any personal injury case.  Proving negligence is to prove that the other party caused the accident because they failed to use reasonable care by, such as by speeding, failing to keep a proper lookout, or failing to stop or yield at an intersection. For example, when someone drives drunk, which is negligent because everyone knows that you shouldn’t drive after drinking alcohol. The same applies to texting while driving.  If the other driver was texting and therefore distracted, not keeping a proper lookout, they would be negligent. The concept of negligence is fairly simple, but in some cases it is more difficult to prove, particularly if evidence is lost or not documented.

As a personal injury attorney in South Dakota, we will take the time to go over every detail of your accident starting with what you were doing before it happened, when it happened and after.  We want to know the details so that we can build a case and be able to prove that the other party caused the accident.  Proving, that they were negligent is necessary to hold them accountable for your damages.

In South Dakota, if you were failing to keep a proper lookout while driving (perhaps because you were  texting) and the other driver ran a stop sign, you could both be considered negligent since you both failed to use reasonable care.  In South Dakota, if the jury finds that you were also negligent – or “contributory negligent” – and your negligence was “more than slight” in comparison to the negligence of the other driver, you will not recover damages from the other driver.  It is our job to gather evidence that confirms that your account of the facts is correct, and to demonstrate your injuries and damages. The other party and their automobile insurance company will do whatever they can to minimize both their responsibility and the amount that they have to pay to you to settle the case.

Due to negligence laws, working with a skilled and experienced personal injury attorney is important.  

We invite you to schedule a consultation to discuss your case and the best way to proceed. Bring any documents, photographs, or other evidence you have so that we can review it and make the appropriate recommendations for what you should do next.

If You Were in a Bad Accident, You Need a Trial Attorney

If you were in a car accident, you may need a trial attorney to help protect your rights.  This is especially true if your accident was complicated, involved multiple vehicles, or involved a business, such as a trucking company or shipping company.  The more complicated your case is, the more likely you will benefit from an experienced attorney on your side if a settlement cannot be reached and your case goes before a jury. 

Many people are unaware that only certain lawyers handle litigation (i.e. argue a person’s case to a jury in court).  Movies and television shows can lead a person to think most lawyers argue cases to a jury in the courtroom.  This is not true.  In fact, there are more lawyers that do not argue cases in court than lawyers that do. As trial attorneys, we are able to handle your case whether through negotiating a settlement or if a settlement cannot be reached, by arguing your case to a jury in court.

Regardless of which direction your case takes, we can help to protect your rights and work towards a favorable outcome.  In the event that you are in a bad accident, we will start by gathering information about what happened leading up to the accident, during the accident, and afterward.  We will ask questions to find out what other vehicles were doing, how fast they were going, what the weather was like, where it happened, who was around, what was said, and more.  All of these details give us important information that we can use during settlement negotiations, and more importantly – at trial.  In the event that your case does go to trial, we will need to call witnesses to testify and explain what happened and why the other party (the defendant) party is to blame.  These early conversations and evidence gathering are important for doing so. 

If you know of any eye witnesses to your accident, let us know right away. We will want to interview them quickly while the details are fresh in their mind. We may even ask them to provide a written or recorded statement. The challenge is that if we don’t start building the case right away, witnesses may have forgotten some of the details by the time we get to speak with them. 

As trial attorneys, we will also start to gather evidence beginning with the police report and photographs of the scene and, perhaps, attempting to download information – “crash data” – from your or the other party’s vehicle.  If you possess any other evidence, let us know so that we can include it in our trial preparation.  Keep in mind that the other party will probably hire a lawyer and come prepared with their own evidence and witnesses.  Gathering information to confirm your side of the story is essential for receiving a positive outcome in court.  To learn more or to schedule a consultation, give us a call. 

As car accident attorneys, we understand the importance of filing a lawsuit timely.  Many people make the mistake of thinking that they have a long time to file a lawsuit and can do so many years after the fact.  This is simply not the case.  Every state has various statutes of limitations that set forth the time within which a lawsuit much be commenced. These laws exist to ensure that a suit cannot be brought many years down the road when evidence has been lost, destroyed, or gone stale.  Statutes of limitation also benefit the other party in that they don’t have to worry about forever living with the fear of a lawsuit hanging over their heads.

In South Dakota, there are statutes of limitations of differing lengths, depending upon the nature of the claim.  This means that if you were hurt in a car wreck, you only have a specific amount of time in which to file a lawsuit or your claim may be barred.  In a typical car accident case, this time limit begins to run not from the date from when you sought treatment, but when you were in the wreck.  

There are a few advantages to filing your lawsuit timely:

• The evidence is fresh.  It is often difficult for witnesses to remember every detail of an accident years later.  Most peoples’ memories of events are better closer in time to the event.  Things like the weather, how fast cars were going, etc. are more likely to be clearer. As car accident attorneys, we want to know about these little details as soon as possible. 
• Locating evidence.  Not only do you need to remember what happened, but we need to gather evidence in order to prove it.  If you wait too long, evidence may lost or destroyed forever.  For example, a traffic sign may have been added or removed, or a retailer may have replaced the sidewalk or floor where you tripped.  Getting to the evidence early and documenting it is important.

• Speaking with witnesses.  Whenever possible, we will also interview witnesses.  Over time, their memory may fade and even if they remember being there, they may not recall as many details of what happened.  We want to speak with them as soon as possible in order to learn what they observed. 

Follow These Steps After an Accident and Before Calling an Injury Lawyer in Rapid City SD

If you get into a car wreck, an injury lawyer in Rapid City SD can help you to get the compensation you need to pay for your medical expenses, any wages that you have lost or that you will lose in the future, and other damages.  Hiring the right attorney is important for ensuring that your rights are protected and you are treated fairly.  It is important to note, however, that there are certain steps that you can take immediately after the wreck, to better ensure your safety and protect your rights.

• Get to safety.  After you have been hit, take a deep breath and if it is a minor accident with no injuries consider moving your car to the edge of the road if you can do so safety.  If someone has been injured or there is major damage to one of the vehicles, consider leaving your car where it is as the locations of the cars will assist law enforcement in determining who was at fault.  Either way, turn on your hazard lights / four-way flashers. 
• Call the police.  Call the police and report the accident, and let them know that you want an officer to come to the scene.  Let the officer know that you would like to receive a copy of the Accident Report.  As an injury lawyer in Rapid City SD, we always want to obtain a copy of the Accident Report. 
• Exchange information. Get the other driver’s name, address, and telephone number, as well as his/her insurance information, and driver’s license number. If there were any witnesses, get their contact information at the same time.
• Document everything.  It can be difficult to remember details after the fact.  As soon as practical, take the time to write a few notes about what happened before, during and after the accident.  Try to recount every detail, including the weather, the area around you, how fast you were going, what the other driver did or did not do, what the other driver’s car looked like, any statements made by the other driver or any other witness immediately after the wreck, and more. It is also very important to get photographs of the vehicles before they are repaired.  You can also take pictures of the road, any debris, road signs and anything else that may shed light on what happened.  All you need is your cell phone in order to preserve some of the details that are frequently lost over time.
• Medical care.  If you think that you may have been injured in any way in the wreck, get checked out by a doctor and follow his/her recommendations.  Following your doctor’s recommendations is the best road to recovery and, at the same time, will prevent the other driver’s insurance company from saying that you are to blame if your pain or symptoms do not subside.

Once you are safe, call an injury lawyer in Rapid City SD so that we can walk you through the process of opening an insurance claim and getting your medical bills and other damages paid for. 

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Hire an Insurance Attorney in Rapid City to Make Sure you Get the Compensation You Deserve

If you have been injured, an insurance attorney in Rapid City can make sure that you receive the care and compensation you deserve.  Insurance companies are supposed to be there when we need them.  People pay monthly premiums for years without ever needing to use their policy benefits. Unfortunately, when they do, opposition is standard.  Whether it is an insurance company not wanting to pay for medical bills, a homeowner’s policy not willing to pay for damage to the home, or an auto policy that won’t pay to repair the car – we can help during the negotiations process to ensure that you receive the compensation and assistance that you are entitled to. 

It is important to remember that insurance companies are not there to pay you money.  They are in business to make a profit from you paying them money and never needing any in return.  To this end, they can be difficult to work with at times and many people are disappointed in how challenging the process can become.  We speak with clients all of the time that file a claim only to get shuffled from department to department while waiting for compensation.  We can help by ensuring that they address your concerns in a timely manner. 

Some of the ways you may have trouble with the insurance company is if you are in a car wreck, and the other party was uninsured.  This creates a challenge because your policy may or may not include provisions that pay for medical bills or car repairs when the crash involves an uninsured motorist. Fortunately, there are options for collecting from either your insurance company or through a civil action against the other driver.  As an insurance attorney, we can evaluate the case and let you know what the best course of action would be. 

If you are having difficulty getting your homeowners insurance to pay for home repairs – you are in good company.  Their goal is to minimize how much money they have to pay out in claims and will often do what they can to reduce the amount by claiming you were at fault for the damage and they don’t have to cover it.  Sometimes, they won’t even blame you but still will attempt to not pay out.  This creates a challenging situation since most people need to have their home fixed in order to live there.  By evaluating your policy, we can determine what they are obligated to pay for and as an insurance attorney in Rapid City; we are able to make sure that our clients are treated fairly.

Health insurance companies are notoriously difficult to work with.  The horror stories about procedures not getting paid for or approved have shed light onto how terrible the situation is.  Many people are afraid that if they get a major illness the insurance company won’t pay for the treatments that they need to recover.  This is an understandable concern and one that we can help to address. 

If you need to work with an insurance attorney in Rapid City, we are happy to speak with you and to review your case.  

Defensive Driving Tips from an Accident Attorney in Rapid City SD

As an accident attorney in Rapid City SD, we represent clients that have been injured in a car accident.  This happens to millions of people, and some of our clients have suffered from being in multiple car accidents.  As a personal injury lawyer, our job is to make sure that our clients' rights are protected and that they receive the compensation they deserve for their injuries.  What we do is important but we also want our clients to know how to avoid an accident and becoming injured in the first place. As such, here are our favorite defensive driving tips in order to stay safe and to avoid getting into a car wreck.

Stay focused on the road.  

This is a simple step that makes a big difference.  Distracted driving is a major cause of car accidents.  Now that virtually everyone has a cell phone, texting or talking while driving has become the norm and, as a result, distracted driving accidents are on the rise.  This is not the only thing that can cause an accident.  Talking to the kids, putting on makeup and eating can also cause a driver to be distracted and lose site of the road.  We recommend that you take extra precautions to focus on the road and what is going on around you so that if another driver is distracted and doesn’t see you, you have time to move out of the way.  You can start by removing any distractions that you face.  For example, tell the kids that when you are driving it is quiet time, and they should read a book.  You can also put your cell phone away so that you aren’t tempted to answer it.

Get a tune up.

It is important to keep your car in excellent condition.  If you are driving a vehicle that has worn out tires or bad brakes, you won’t be able to respond quickly and avoid an accident.  Instead, get your oil changed every 3,000 miles and have them check your brakes and tires when you do.  If they recommend getting them replaced, do so in a timely fashion in order to keep your car in good condition.  You should also check the lights on your car to make sure that they are working properly so that other cars can tell when you are braking or turning.  As an accident attorney in Rapid City SD, we have spoken with many drivers that were able to avoid a wreck by stopping suddenly or swerving out of the way.  This is possible when your car is in good condition. 

Watch for danger signs.

There are factors that can lead to an accident beyond another vehicle.  For example, a child or dog running into the road, bad weather, downed power lines, debris, etc.  All of these factors and more can lead to a car accident.  While practicing defensive driving, you need to be alert and look to see what is around you that could create a problem.  Slow down when you see these danger signs so that you can avoid them or stop suddenly if you need to. 

Practice being a defensive driver on a daily basis.  This way you can avoid a car accident.  If, however, you do get into a wreck call an accident attorney in Rapid City SD.