Personal Injury

GENERALLY, HOW ARE PERSONAL INJURY CASES HANDLED?

Typically, the client meets with our lawyers anytime after an injury, but the earlier the better.  Issues, including the applicable two or three year statute of limitations, often bar recovery to compensate the injured if not addressed fairly quickly.  After imparting to our lawyers the critical and important information about the events that led to the injury and other information, we get to work on the case immediately.  We gather all relevant medical treatment and other important information from a variety of sources and follow the client's ongoing medical treatment.  Upon the final determination of the client's treating physician that no further treatment is required or that some low-level of treatment will continue indefinitely, we determine the appropriate course of action in consultation with the client.  Then, we will utilize our best and vigorous efforts to resolve matters with the relevant insurers.  If that fails, the prospects of litigation and other relevant issues are discussed with the client and, if appropriate, a lawsuit is initiated.

WHAT DETERMINES THE AMOUNT OF CLIENT RECOVERY?

Client recovery in personal injury actions is governed by too many issues often unique to each case to be precisely analyzed here. However, generally, the strength of the liability of the person and/or business causing the injuries and the severity of the injury with the intrusiveness, degree and amount of past, present and future medical treatment along with the diminishment of quality of life and pain and suffering will determine the likelihood and amounts of recovery.

Under Colorado law, those injured may recover all economic damages, i.e. those out-of-pocket expenses and costs that they or their insurer will have to pay such as medical expenses.  Most people are unaware that Colorado has a maximum recovery amount for non-economic damages in personal injury cases.   Injured persons cannot recover more than $468,010.00 for most injuries and harm such as past, present and future pain and suffering, inconvenience, emotional stress, and impairment of the quality of their life.

In many serious injury cases, these forms of non-economic injury substantially exceed the amount of economic injury and may easily exceed the legal cap for recovery of those damages.  Only upon a showing by a higher burden of proof (clear and convincing evidence) of justification may the maximum amount of recovery be exceeded to not higher than $936,030.  Sadly, for most of those damaged so severely as to warrant more than the maximum recovery amount, only the maximum $468,010.00 for non-economic injuries (and very rarely, the absolute maximum $936,030.00) can be recovered in Colorado. 

Similarly, most of those injured from the intentional or willful and wanton actions of others cannot recover punitive or exemplary damages greater than the actual damages awarded.  In other words, despite the outrageous conduct of a person or business causing physical or mental injury, that defendant, in most cases, cannot be required to pay punitive damages in an amount equal to more than they have been compensated for their injuries.

PRACTICAL CONCERNS

Often, after an automobile accident caused by the other driver, that driver's insurance company will contact you to try to obtain a statement from you and/or settle the claim with you.  Insurers are savvy enough to know that they are more likely to extract a statement from unrepresented persons than after the injured person retains counsel.  Those injured should very carefully consider that there is no legal obligation to provide an insurer with a statement and statements will most definitely be used against you for the purposes of diminishing your recovery in the case.

Also, settlements should not be accepted without the supervision and review of a lawyer charged with protecting your interests.  Insurers often try to immediately resolve claims with you, so as to get your signature on a release, which prevents you from ever suing them over the events in the future.  Usually, the insurers push settlements for fractions of actual damages.  In this way, when you consult with a lawyer, the insurer knows that if you released them from future action, it will be too late for your lawyer to pursue claims against the person causing the accident (for which his insurer is obligated to pay) for the true value of your injuries.

In fact, often, injured persons either do not know they are injured or the extent of those injuries until examined properly by trained medical personnel.  So, what may look like a good deal and instant money from an insurer may represent an amount of money insufficient to even cover future medical expenses not including other non-economic injuries. 

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Taub & Taub, P.C. represents clients throughout Colorado in Douglas (including Castle Rock, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Lone Tree, Monument and all other towns and cities), Denver, Elbert, El Paso, Arapahoe, Jefferson, El Paso, Lincoln, Adams, Weld, Larimer, Morgan, Washington, Logan, Sedgwick, Phillips, Yuma, Kit Carson, Cheyenne, Pueblo, Crowley, Otero, Bent, Prowers, Baca, Las Animas, Huerfano, Larimer, Gilpin, Clear Creek, Park, Teller, Fremont, Custer, Costilla, Alamosa, Conejos, Rio Grande, Saguache, Chaffee, Lake, Summit, Grand, Jackson, Archuleta, Mineral, Hinsdale, Gunnison, Pitkin, Eagle, Routt, Moffat, Rio Blanco, Garfield, Mesa, Delta, Montrose, Ouray, San Juan, La Plata, San Miguel, Dolores and Montezuma counties.