Charleston Personal Injury FAQs

If you were injured due to the negligence of someone who could have—and should have—acted more safely, you may be able to seek compensation through a personal injury claim.

You’ll need evidence and arguments to show that negligence caused your injury.

If you live in West Virginia, or your accident occurred in West Virginia, the experienced personal injury lawyers at Shaffer & Shaffer can help. Our attorneys have more than 200 years of combined legal experience.

Shaffer & Shaffer itself has been serving West Virginians for more than 115 years.

Since 1909, Clients, Community, Commitment.

The West Virginia personal injury attorneys at Shaffer & Shaffer help clients in all of these situations and more:

• Bucket Trucks
• Car Accidents
• Semi Truck Accidents
• Delivery Truck Accidents
• Slip-and-Fall Injuries
• Industrial and Coal Mining Accidents
• Other workplace Accidents
• Medical Malpractice Injuries
• Nursing Home Injury or Neglect
• Injuries from Defective Products
• Garbage Truck Accidents
• Logging Accidents
• Drunk Driver Injuries

Don’t delay pursuing compensation you need to move forward from your injury. Allow time for your personal injury lawyers to gather evidence and build your case.

Most of the time, when you’re injured on the job in West Virginia, your medical care and compensation for lost work will be covered by workers’ compensation insurance. You usually can’t sue your employer for personal injury liability under workers’ comp laws.

But in extreme cases, where your employer acted egregiously to the point where their behavior is considered “deliberate intent,” you may be able to file a personal injury claim.

Or if the person who injured you was a contractor visiting your work site and not a part of your company, and acted with simple negligence, you may have a claim against them.

Property owners have a responsibility to maintain safe conditions on their grounds. If they allow blatantly dangerous conditions to persist, and you visit and get hurt, they may be negligent, which is the core of any personal injury claim.

Talk to Shaffer & Shaffer West Virginia personal injury lawyers to see if you have a case.

People in car accidents can suffer head injuries, back injuries, broken bones, cuts, burns, abrasions, whiplash, mental trauma, pain and suffering, and just about any other injury you can think of.

Get medical care right away so you’ll be OK.

Your medical treatment will also be an important part of how you recover financially.

Medical reports, records and evidence go into your personal injury claim for compensation.

Different injuries require different types of medical treatment, medical testing, X-rays, MRIs, scans, and doctor reports.

Shaffer & Shaffer car accident lawyers in West Virginia know what kinds of medical evidence will make a stronger case for you to get what you’re due after this disruption to your life.

First off, your well-being is the most important thing after a traumatic collision, so make sure to get medical attention for yourself and anyone else who’s injured.

Call the police out to the scene. It’s important to get the report that a police officer will write about the accident.

If you can drive your vehicle, move it away from a dangerous position, like if it’s blocking traffic. Move it to the side.

Only share essential, factual information with the other driver. Don’t admit fault, even if you think you were the one who made a mistake. Don’t even say, “I’m sorry this happened.” Don’t have a long conversation about what happened.

Get the other driver’s name, contact information, driver’s license state and number, vehicle type, license plate number, insurance company contact and policy information. Only share the same, most basic information about yourself.

Get names and phone numbers for anyone who witnessed the crash.

If you can, take photos of your injuries, the damaged cars from different angles, their license plates, wreckage in the street, and the road and area around the accident.

Write down a description of what happened soon afterward, while the memory is still fresh. Include as many details as you can.

Inform your insurance company about what happened, but only provide basic details. Don’t speculate about the accident.

If you’re injured, contact a personal injury lawyer.

Don’t sign anything from anyone other than the police until you talk to a lawyer.

Your lawyer can work with your insurance company and the company for the other driver on your behalf, negotiating for the best possible result for you and looking out of your rights and needs.

If you or anyone in your car was injured, you should get a lawyer for your car accident claim. When injuries are involved, accidents get more expensive and legally complicated, and you need to protect your rights.

There are several other reasons you might want a lawyer: the other driver disputes who was at fault, the insurance company is denying your claim or paying too little, you had to miss work because of the accident, or the other driver was uninsured or underinsured.

Your lawyer does a lot of things for you, handling bureaucratic hurdles so you can focus on recovery.

Your lawyer gathers evidence about the wreck. They make sure you get the proper medical reports on your injuries. They negotiate with insurance companies. They help you avoid saying something that hurts your case for compensation.

If you can’t reach a settlement with the other driver and their insurance company, your car accident lawyer can take your case to court.

These are tasks you need an experienced legal professional to do. The good news is you pay no injury attorney fee until you win compensation.

Personal injury lawyers work on what’s called a contingency fee basis. That means they only get paid if you do.

If you do not receive a settlement or other payment for your accident and injuries, your lawyer doesn’t collect a fee.

When you do win compensation, your personal injury attorney’s fee comes out of that compensation, not your bank account.

West Virginia law gives you two years to file a personal injury claim from the date of accident. After that, you risk losing your right to file a lawsuit over your injuries.

Talk to a personal injury lawyer long before it’s been two years, so you and your lawyer have time to build the strongest possible case for the best possible compensation.

Special regulations apply to commercial drivers. If they failed to follow those rules, that information could be part of your legal claim showing how the big truck’s driver acted with negligence in causing your injury.

For injuries on the highways in our state, experienced West Virginia personal injury lawyers will know what to look for in a driver’s behavior and logs of their trip.

When you’re injured by an 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer, coal truck or semi-truck, an important part of your claim for fair payment will be the cause of the wreck.

Common truck accident causes include speeding, distracted driving, truck driver fatigue, overloaded trucks, wide turns, braking errors and tire defects.

The experienced truck accident attorneys at Shaffer & Shaffer can help you pinpoint the cause of the collision that hurt you, get the evidence you need to confirm what happened, and pursue compensation.

Head, neck and spinal injuries can be particularly devastating in a collision with big trucks like semi-trucks and coal trucks.

But any time a tractor-trailer crashes into your personal vehicle, all kinds of severe injuries are possible, from broken bones to internal bleeding to emotional trauma.

The top priority is always getting you safe and getting the medical treatment you need to recover.

Medical treatment is also a crucial part of your legal claim to recover from this accident financially.

Medical records generated by your hospitalizations, doctor visits, tests, procedures and treatments form the core of your personal injury case.

When you have the Shaffer & Shaffer truck accident injury lawyers in West Virginia working for you, they make sure you get the right medical evidence for a successful claim and a better future.

If you’re hit and hurt by a coal truck or tractor-trailer on the roads of West Virginia, you deserve compensation from the responsible parties.

And in a big rig accident like this, there could be several responsible parties, including the truck driver, the trucking company, the company that loaded the truck, and even the company that made the truck.

The West Virginia personal injury lawyers at Shaffer & Shaffer can help you sort out who has liability for your accident and fight for you to get maximum compensation to recover from it.

Read more about who has responsibility for coal or tractor-trailer accidents:

Filing a claim for injury compensation from an accident with a big truck gets highly technical.

Special laws govern the trucking industry. Truck accidents involve causes and factors that can be different from other collisions. Establishing who was negligent in the crash and how much responsibility they had is a legalistic process.

For those reasons, you’ll want to work with a truck accident lawyer. And for this big reason—to fight for the highest compensation possible to rebuild your life.

Payment you can claim after you’re hurt by a big rig truck driver includes recovering the cost of medical bills and missed work and paychecks.

You can also seek compensation for the damage to your daily life that doesn’t come with a simple price tag, such as your pain and suffering.

They hurt you, so don’t hesitate to pursue the maximum compensation available. Shaffer & Shaffer West Virginia truck wreck lawyers help you do it.

A settlement after a truck accident means agreeing to the final compensation you’ll receive for medical treatment, lost income, and disruption to your life.

Personal injury claims often end in settlements, but you want to make sure yours is fair and full.

Don’t rush the decision. Get Shaffer & Shaffer truck wreck lawyers to guard your rights in this process.

After an accident or injury, always seek medical attention right away. That’s for your own well-being.

If you’re able, take as many photos of the accident scene as you can, get contact and insurance information from the other driver, and gather contact information from any witnesses who saw what happened.

Also, talk to a West Virginia personal injury lawyer to make sure your rights are protected from the very beginning of the process.
Shaffer & Shaffer lawyers can provide a free initial review of your case.

A personal injury claim can give you monetary compensation—but even more importantly, it can help you move past a major setback and recover a full life.

These are types of damages available from a personal injury claim in West Virginia:

• Medical expenses you’ve already incurred, along with future expenses
• Costs of long-term care needs resulting from your injuries
• Reimbursement for missed work time and pay—and payment for future loss of earning ability
• Compensation for the pain and suffering this incident imposed on you
• Compensation for the annoyance and inconvenience you’ve suffered because of the harsh disruption of your life
• Reimbursement for property damage to your car
• Special payment if your injuries are catastrophic and have lifelong effects
• Wrongful death compensation for family members of people killed in an accident

Getting a lawyer helps you protect your interests and needs after an injury.

Personal injury lawyers handle the legwork of gathering evidence, talking to insurance companies, filing court documents and more.

They know what you need, and don’t need, for a personal injury claim. They can help you decide whether to settle your claim or go to court.

They can help you maximize your compensation.

Your personal injury attorney will be paid out of the settlement or judgment you receive after you win your claim.

You pay no attorney fee until you win.

The lawyer fee is a percentage of the compensation you recover.

Many factors go into calculating how much your injury claim is worth: the extent of your injuries and the cost for medical care, the amount of missed work and income, the effects on your future earning ability, and any damage to your property.

The Charleston personal injury lawyers at Shaffer & Shaffer explain more on this page:

Shaffer & Shaffer also helps West Virginians and people with legal business in West Virginia with these kinds of cases:

• Employment Discrimination
• Social Security Disability Claims
• Corporate and Insurance Defense
• Local Counsel in West Virginia

If you’ve experienced discrimination in a work setting based on age, sex, disability, or other protected aspects of your identity, Shaffer & Shaffer’s employment lawyers may be able to help you pursue compensation.

You may also have a legal case if you’ve suffered retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim, exercising your rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA),or for taking any other action that is protected under the law.

Social Security Disability benefits provide monthly income and Medicare or Medicaid health coverage access when you can’t work because of serious health problems. In turn, you also get more stability and independence.

You must be unable to work any significant amount for at least one year to qualify for disability benefits. And you have to prove it.

Most people get denied benefits at least once. Your disability lawyer from Shaffer & Shaffer relieves you of the legwork of applying for benefits or appealing a denial.

Your lawyer will gather your medical evidence and work history, make sure your application forms are complete and correct and build a legal argument for why you should receive benefits.

In complex insurance disputes, Shaffer & Shaffer represents businesses and insurance companies. Our law firm also helps employers establish their human resources policies and represents employers in proceedings before regulatory and administrative agencies.

With its long and respected experience with the legal system in West Virginia, Shaffer & Shaffer is often called upon to serve as local counsel for out-of-state attorneys to help represent their out-of-state clients.

We’ve been in West Virginia for more than a century, and our attorneys have hundreds of years of combined experience helping thousands of clients, including taking hundreds of cases to trial.

Our firm’s pro hac vice (PHV) work includes insurance cases, personal injury cases, defective product cases and more.

Shaffer & Shaffer has been in West Virginia putting clients’ needs above all else for more than a century. Our offices are in Charleston and Madison.

You can contact us several ways:

• Visit Our Contact Page
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