James W. Keene, Attorney at Law

A "Personal Injury" is an injury to a person as a result of another person’s or entity’s negligence or wrongful act. A personal injury may also be referred to as a bodily injury. Personal injuries can occur in a wide variety of ways. The following are examples of some common incidents that cause personal injuries:

- Motor Vehicle Collisions / Car Wrecks

- Dangerous or Defective Product Injuries (Product Liability)

- Aviation Disasters

- Medical Malpractice

- Slip or Trip and Falls Incidents

- Exposure To Dangerous Chemicals

- Construction Site Accidents

"Negligence" means a failure to do what a reasonable person would do in the same or similar circumstances. A negligent act can be either doing something that a reasonable person would not do in a particular circumstance or failing to do something that a reasonable person would do in a particular circumstance.

If you are injured in an accident, it is important to seek medical treatment immediately. Your good health can never be replaced. If your injury is serious, go to the nearest hospital emergency room. If you just feel sore, you can see your family doctor. Sometimes serious injuries do not cause immediate pain. In fact, even an injury that turns out to be fairly serious can initially seem like you are simply sore. If you experience even minor pain after an accident, seek treatment promptly. After you have seen to your immediate medical needs, consult an attorney.

If you need emergency care, most states have what are called "anti-dumping" laws. If you are seriously injured, all you have to do is go to a hospital emergency room and they have to render necessary emergency treatment to you regardless of your ability to pay. For your follow-up care, an attorney can help. Most attorneys who regularly represent injury victims know a variety of good doctors who are caring enough to work with injury victims and defer payment until after such time as the injured person’s claim is resolved.

In the old days, everyone knew attorneys by their reputations and knew who the good attorneys were. Today, unfortunately we live in a much larger society and unless you have had experience with an attorney, you simply don’t know who is good and who isn’t. TV or a billboard or a big ad in the telephone book isn’t the answer. That only means that particular attorney has spent money to buy advertising just like a beer company or a company that sells soap. Your relationship with an attorney shouldn’t be based upon a sound bite. It should be personal. You want an attorney who will personally talk with you about your case and your concerns. You want to know that the attorney that you hire is the attorney that is going to personally work on your case and who will take it to trial if it can’t be settled. When you interview attorneys, ask that attorney if he or she is prepared to personally take a case all the way from start to finish or whether they send their cases out to other attorneys when they can’t settle them. At my law firm, I only accept cases where I am going to be the handling attorney or one of the handling attorneys. Keep that in mind when you seek legal counsel.

Personal Injury Victims are entitled to recover money damages for all losses and expenses they incur as a result of an accident. The damages may include the following:

- Medical bills,

- Lost Wages, including overtime,

- Pain & Suffering,

- Physical Disability,

- Disfigurement or Permanent Scarring,

- Mental Anguish,

- Mental Disability, and

- Property Damage.