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The question in the title of this piece often emerges from an effort to answer a different question. The victims of an accident often challenge themselves with this query: Do you deserve money for your injury? At the time of a claim’s filing, the court seeks to determine the legitimacy of the filed claim.

What does the court examine, when seeking to assess a claim’s legitimacy?

The court looks at the presented evidence. That is why a claimant needs to collect lots of evidence, well before the two sides have their first confrontation. Thus, it always helps to have a lawyer in your corner.

In addition, the court takes a close look at all the circumstances surrounding the incident that harmed the plaintiff. Some of those circumstances were present at the time of the accident; others might emerge slowly, over time.

Medical evidence offers a hint, as to the plaintiff’s chances for winning a fight with the defendant.

What diagnosis was offered by the examining physician? If the examination was done in an emergency room, the plaintiff’s attorney might feel compelled to doubt the veracity of the offered diagnosis. In the setting created by ER facilities, doctors tend to suggest the most logical explanation for the plaintiff’s complaint.

If the plaintiff has been seeing a doctor for an ongoing medical condition, a regular check-up should have revealed the presence of a serious problem, one that might get mentioned in the Emergency Room (ER). In that case, the plaintiff’s physician should contact the doctor that performed that ER examination.

A plaintiff’s complaints about pain and suffering reflect the intensity of any pain or discomfort felt by the plaintiff/lawyer’s client. Still, the level of pain felt by the victim/client does not always reveal the chances for any future problems. Personal Injury Lawyer in Halifax must keep that fact in mind, when preparing their courtroom presentation.

Charged with comparative negligence

The plaintiff’s lawyer needs to consider the possibility that his or her client might be charged with comparative negligence. The client/plaintiff could be hit with such a charge, if he or she had contributed to creation of the accidental occurrence. The result is that if the plaintiff is even partially at fault, then the compensation is reduced considerably so be honest with the lawyer from the start.

On the other hand, the defendant might need to be held responsible for payment of punitive damages.

Defendants pay punitive damages if the court determines that their actions were decidedly egregious in nature. If the court sees proof that the defendant deserved to pay punitive damages, then it must admit to the plaintiff’s right to fight for compensation.