Frequently Asked Questions

At its most basic form, personal injury law is all about helping people hurt by someone else’s carelessness or deliberate actions. Whether physical, emotional, or psychological injuries, these lawyers fight for the compensation you deserve.

Their primary responsibilities include:

• Investigating the circumstances surrounding the injury.
• Gathering evidence to establish liability and damages.
• Negotiating with insurance companies and opposing parties.
• Representing clients in court if a settlement cannot be reached.

The ultimate goal of personal injury lawyers is to ensure that their clients receive fair compensation for the cost of medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other related damages.

Just remember: When hiring a personal injury lawyer, ensure they’re a good fit for your case. Not all lawyers are created equal—and some may be more interested in fees than your well-being. Do your research, read reviews, and trust your instincts. The right lawyer should be transparent about your case, easy to reach, and have a track record of success.

The fallout from an accident or injury can be overwhelming. You might face high medical bills, lost income, and the complexities of legal processes, all while trying to recover. That’s where personal injury lawyers come in handy.

5 Ways Personal Injury Lawyers Ease Your Burden

Build a Strong Case: Personal injury lawyers gather evidence, interview witnesses, consult with experts, and build a compelling case to establish liability and the full extent of your damages.

Determine Fair Compensation: They’ll calculate the full extent of your damages, including current and future medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.

Negotiate with Insurance Companies: It’s no secret insurance companies prioritize their financial interests over compensation payouts. Personal injury lawyers go toe-to-toe with insurance adjusters, fighting for your rights and maximizing your settlement.

Represent You in Court: If a settlement can’t be reached, personal injury lawyers take your case to trial.

Handle the Paperwork: From filing claims and legal documents to communicating with insurance companies and the defendant, personal injury lawyers handle the behind-the-scenes tasks, so you don’t have to.

Each suit presents its own challenges and considerations, which can influence how your attorneys try the case. Let’s look at some of the most common types of personal injury claims.

Car Accidents

There are a few different types of damages you can claim after a car accident, from minor cuts and bruises to catastrophic injuries. In cases involving more severe injuries—like spinal cord damage, traumatic brain injuries, or permanent disabilities—personal injury lawyers will seek higher compensation to cover ongoing medical care, rehabilitation, lost wages, and other long-term expenses. Factors like the severity of the crash, available insurance coverage, and negligence involved all play a role in determining whether you have a case.

For example, personal injury lawyers will represent individuals who are injured by drunk drivers, as their actions constitute negligence and a breach of duty to operate a vehicle safely. However, they don’t take cases where their client was the drunk driver who caused the accident. Personal injury law is designed to protect victims of negligence—not those who engaged in negligent or unlawful behavior themselves.

Premises Liability

Premises liability is a broader type of personal injury claim. The severity of each case varies based on the property involved, the specific hazard and the injuries sustained.
A slip-and-fall at a grocery store? That usually results in minor injuries. But let’s say that the same grocery store cut corners on its security measures, which led to an assault. There’s a huge payout difference between these cases.

Personal injury lawyers will investigate the property owner’s duty of care, the foreseeability of the hazard, and the extent of the injuries to determine whether or not you have a compensation case.

Wrongful Death

Wrongful death claims are among the most tragic, emotionally charged cases personal injury lawyers handle. They’ll investigate the circumstances surrounding the death, gather evidence of negligence or wrongdoing, and seek just compensation to hold responsible parties accountable—not for the death itself, but for the loss of companionship and emotional distress placed on surviving family members.

Spine, Back, and Brain Injuries

Injuries to the spine, back, and brain can have life-altering consequences, like years of medical expenses, ongoing rehabilitation, permanent disabilities, or cognitive impairments. Personal injury lawyers work with medical experts to better understand the long-term implications of your injuries and calculate the costs of future care, living accommodations, lost earning potential, and your pain and suffering.

Construction Accidents

Construction work is dangerous. Accidents always happen due to safety violations, defective equipment, or negligent supervision. Personal injury lawyers representing those injured on the job site help you identify all responsible parties (e.g., contractors, subcontractors, equipment manufacturers) and work to get you compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages.

Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, which means they only get paid if you get paid. As a result, they’re selective about what they take to trial and need to evaluate the merits of your claim before agreeing to represent you.

Some factors that personal injury lawyers consider when deciding whether or not to take a case include:

• Liability: Is there clear evidence of negligence or wrongdoing by another party that directly caused your injury?
• Extent of Damages: What’s the value of your claim? Is it worth pursuing?
• Statute of Limitations: Has the statute of limitations passed, making it too late to pursue legal action?
• Availability of Evidence: How strong is the evidence (like medical records, witness statements, and other documentation) for building a solid case?
• Potential for Recovery: Are there viable sources of compensation, like insurance policies or assets owned by the liable party?

“Duty of care” is a fundamental principle in healthcare that applies to everyone involved in your treatment, from doctors and nurses to the hospitals themselves. Essentially, it means that they’re required to treat you with reasonable skill, care, and diligence.

Understanding Your Doctor’s Duty of Care and Professional Obligations

Your doctor is not just providing a service; they’re fulfilling both a legal and ethical obligation to offer medical care that meets the professional standards expected in their field. This includes:

Accurately diagnosing and treating medical conditions based on their education, training, and experience.

• Obtaining informed consent from patients before performing any procedures or treatments.
• Maintaining accurate and complete medical records.
• Providing appropriate follow-up care and monitoring.
• Referring patients to specialists when necessary.

How Nurses’ Duty of Care Protects Your Well-Being

Nurses do most of the heavy lifting regarding day-to-day patient care. In return, they shoulder a set of duties to safeguard your well-being.

• Closely monitoring and assessing your condition.
• Administering medications and treatments as prescribed by the attending physician.
• Providing compassionate and attentive care.
• Communicating any changes or concerns about your condition to the appropriate medical staff.
• Follow established protocols and procedures.

Expectations of Healthcare Organization’s Expectations to Uphold Duty of Care Standards

Even if an individual doctor or nurse makes a mistake, the hospital can still be held responsible if they have not provided proper training, resources, or safeguards. Some organizations will voluntarily take responsibility in those cases. Other times, it will need to be proved through the legal system that they are liable for their employees’ negligence on the job.

At the end of the day, hospitals should do more than hire good staff. They have an expectation to create an institutional environment conducive to safe, helpful patient care—at every level.

These expectations include:

• Ensuring adequate staffing levels and appropriate staff-to-patient ratios.
• Providing comprehensive training and continuing education for medical staff.
• Implementing effective communication channels between healthcare professionals.
• Maintaining a clean and safe environment for patients.
• Have safeguards to help prevent medical equipment failures.

When hospitals fail at that duty, the consequences can be catastrophic—and they must be held accountable in the courtroom.

So, if you’ve been looking at your experience and wondering, “Did my healthcare providers seriously neglect their duty of care here?” run through questions like:

• Did the healthcare provider fail to properly diagnose or misdiagnose your condition?
• Were there delays in receiving treatment or receiving the appropriate treatment?
• Did the healthcare provider fail to obtain your informed consent before performing a procedure or treatment?
• Were there medication errors or incorrect dosages administered?
• Were there any surgical errors, such as operating on the wrong body part or leaving foreign objects inside you?
• Did the healthcare provider fail to adequately monitor your condition or respond to changes?
• Were there any issues with communication or coordination between healthcare providers involved in your care?
• Did you experience complications or injuries that could have been prevented with proper care and precautions?
• Were you discharged prematurely or without proper follow-up instructions or care arrangements?

If you’re answering “yes” to any of those, it’s a huge red flag that your duty of care was violated in a big way. Time to get a top-notch malpractice lawyer on your side.

You Deserved a Duty of Care: You must demonstrate that the healthcare provider owed you a duty of care based on the patient-provider relationship.

Your Healthcare Provider Breached that Duty: Evidence must be provided to show that the healthcare provider failed to meet the accepted standard of care, breaching their duty.

That Breach Directly Caused Harm/Injury: It must be proven that the breach of duty directly caused your injury or harm.

Damages as a Result of Harm/Injury: You must demonstrate that you suffered quantifiable damages, such as additional medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, or other losses.

In theory, it sounds simple. But in reality, it’s a thorough process of gathering medical records, expert witness testimony, and any other evidence to build the strongest case. It’s not something to do alone—you’ll want an experienced malpractice lawyer who knows how to advocate for your rights.

Medical malpractice is a general term often used to describe any case where a doctor causes harm to a patient. While this is somewhat true, there are two types of cases an injured patient could bring against their doctor, depending on their individual facts. Medical malpractice cases are brought when there is the presence of ‘intent,’ whether obvious or discreet. Medical negligence cases are brought when there is no intent, but the act that caused harm is a mistake.

The duty of care is a pivotal ethical and legal responsibility for medical professionals, representing their commitment to providing a standard of treatment consistent with prevailing norms. This obligation includes:

• Establishing a patient-provider relationship
• Delivering standardized care
• Prioritizing patient well-being
• Obtaining informed consent
• Ensuring continuity of care

In legal terms, the duty of care forms the basis for actions in medical negligence or malpractice cases. Compliance is crucial for maintaining professional licenses, as violations can lead to disciplinary actions.

Medical practitioners are held to a high standard due to the critical nature of their responsibilities. All types of employees make mistakes every day, but mistakes made by doctors can sometimes be fatal. Negligence is a legal concept arising when a healthcare professional fails to meet the standard of care expected in their field, resulting in harm or injury to the patient. Medical negligence claims do not rely on intent but rather on the act or omission considered a mistake by the doctor that causes injury or harm.

For the incident to be considered medical negligence, certain elements must be present, including:

• A breach of the duty of care owed by the healthcare provider to the patient.
• A casual connection between the breach and the patient’s injury.
• Identifiable damages suffered by the patient as a result of the mistake.

Medical negligence cases often require expert testimony to establish the standard of care and demonstrate how it was not met in a particular situation.

The key difference between the two types of actions is the presence of intent. Because any medical malpractice case requires the intent element, the injured party must prove that their doctor knew or should have known the action would result in harm, which led to the standard of care being breached. For negligence cases, the injured party must only prove an unintended act or omission committed by the doctor resulted in harm.

There are various, diverse scenarios in which medical negligence can occur. Medical professionals have an obligation to maintain a high standard of care to ensure the well-being of their patients, but complacency can easily lead to these mistakes.

Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis: A common form of medical negligence occurs when a healthcare provider fails to accurately diagnose a common medical condition or makes a late diagnosis that leads to complications or advanced disease progression.

Surgical Errors: Negligence during surgical procedures can take various forms, such as operating on the wrong body part, leaving surgical instruments inside the patient, or performing unnecessary surgeries. Any of these errors in surgery can cause severe physical and emotional distress to the patient.

Medication Errors: Administering the wrong medication, incorrect dosage, or failing to consider a patient’s allergies or potential drug interactions constitutes medical negligence. Making such medication errors adversely affects the patient’s health and well-being.

Birth Injuries: Negligence during prenatal care or childbirth can lead to birth injuries, affecting both the mother and the newborn. Failure to promptly address complications or performing inadequate monitoring can result in long-term consequences.

Lack of Informed Consent: Patients have the right to make informed decisions about their healthcare. It can be considered negligence when healthcare providers fail to adequately inform patients about the potential risks, benefits, and alternatives of a medical procedure or treatment.

Failure to Follow Up: Medical negligence may also manifest in a healthcare provider’s failure to follow up with a patient after a procedure or treatment. The lack of continuity can lead to undetected complications or exacerbate existing health issues.

Adhering to high standards of care is critical to the medical profession to prevent harm and ensure patient well-being. Unfortunately, the actions of healthcare professionals can deviate from these standards, but medical malpractice claims aim to hold them accountable for these mistakes. Those mistakes could include a medical error at the hospital, an undiagnosed condition in the office, and more.

Anesthesia Errors: Administering too much or too little anesthesia during a medical procedure can lead to serious complications, including brain damage or death. Proper monitoring and precise dosage administration are crucial to avoid malpractice in anesthesia.

Failure to Obtain Informed Consent: Patients have the right to be fully informed about the risks, benefits, and alternatives before undergoing any medical intervention. Medical malpractice can occur when healthcare providers perform a procedure without obtaining informed consent from the patient.

Failure to Diagnose or Delay a Diagnosis: If a healthcare professional fails to diagnose a medical condition in a timely manner, it can result in the progression of the disease and diminished chances of successful treatment, potentially constituting medical malpractice.

Inadequate Follow-Up Care: After a medical procedure or treatment, healthcare providers must provide appropriate follow-up care to monitor the patient’s recovery. Failure to do so may lead to complications or the worsening of a patient’s condition, constituting medical malpractice.

Improper Use of Medical Equipment: Healthcare professionals are expected to be proficient in handling medical equipment. Incorrect use of medical equipment, such as surgical tools or diagnostic devices, can lead to severe injuries.

Obstetric Negligence: Medical malpractice in obstetrics can occur during prenatal care, labor, or delivery. Examples include failure to monitor fetal distress, improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors, and inadequate response to complications, resulting in birth injuries.

Prescription Errors: Providing the wrong medication, incorrect dosage, or overlooking potential drug interactions can lead to serious harm. Prescription errors constitute medical malpractice and can have severe consequences for the patient.

Simon Law is where cases become causes.

That means when we take on a case, it becomes part of the fabric of this firm. That’s why we are selective about the cases we take. The firm wants the cases it pursues to ultimately affect change in our client’s lives, but also affect change at the government level, private company level or beyond to ensure justice is served.

We are also a firm built on the backs of trial attorneys. That means we are not afraid to take a case to a jury, and insurance companies, defense attorneys and others know that when they see our name on a plaintiff’s case. We are not willing to settle a case for any amount less than what our clients deserve.

We are also a family firm. Our founder, John Simon, is proud that his brother, Tony Simon and his children, Johnny Simon and Mary Simon, and his nephew, Kevin Carnie Jr., work alongside him in this profession. John also handpicks the attorneys he hires after following their careers himself. We don’t use recruiters or legal hiring services; we use the relationships we have built with other firms as well as looking within for those who have clerked here earlier in their careers to continue to build a strong network of legal professionals.