Personal Injury Attorneys – Aggressive Representation for Injury Victims Since 1972
The compassionate and talented team of personal injury attorneys at Jacoby and Meyers has been helping families obtain justice and reconstruct their lives after suffering injuries caused by accidents and intentional acts for almost 40 years. We have refined our litigation skills by successfully guiding thousands of people toward large accident settlements and personal injury verdicts on a national basis.
Sometimes the full extent of the obstacles one faces after suffering catastrophic injuries or losing a loved one does not become apparent until your time off work stretches into months while you medical bills mount. While we cannot alleviate your physical pain or give you back a lost loved one, we can provide the financial resources that can facilitate your ability to recover and return to your job and family responsibilities.
Whether you are injured by a serious motor vehicle accident, slip and fall injury accident, defective product or suffer any other injury caused by a third party, Jacoby & Meyers provides extensive litigation resources, cutting edge technology in the courtroom, innovative legal strategy and tenacious advocacy. Our personal injury lawyers have been providing effective legal representation to those who suffer injuries ranging from soft-tissue issues to catastrophic injuries and even wrongful death.
At Jacoby & Meyers Law Offices, our experienced personal injury lawyers represent each of our clients with dignity, compassion and zealous representation as part of our continuing mission to build a reputation as the best personal injury law firm in the country. If you have been injured by the negligent, reckless or intentional conduct of a third party, we invite you to put one of the largest and most familiar law firms behind you. We deal with the insurance adjusters and legal challenges so that you can focus on getting better and back to normal life.
Proving Catastrophic Injury and Wrongful Death Caused by Negligence
If you suffer injuries or a family member dies because of the careless conduct of another, this may give rise to a personal injury lawsuit based on negligence. Negligence essentially refers to conduct that creates an unreasonable risk of injury to another. Negligence is the most common basis of personal injury lawsuits including those that result in catastrophic injury and wrongful death. When proving a claim based on negligence, an injury victim must not only establish negligent conduct but also establish that the conduct was the cause of an accident victim’s injuries.
Insurance companies frequently dispute that their insured’s unsafe conduct was the cause of a victim’s injuries. Our experienced personal injury attorneys at Jacoby and Meyers often use experts to prove a personal injury cases based on negligence including medical experts, accident reconstruction experts, forensic accountants and others with specialized knowledge to develop the most compelling case possible to present to a judge or jury.
Our personal injury lawyers have successfully represented clients in a broad range of personal injury cases including those that result in serious or even catastrophic injuries including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and amputation injury as well as broken bones and fractures. The vast spectrum of personal injury claims that our serous accident attorneys can handle include:
Motor Vehicle Accidents: Motor vehicle accidents are the most common type of personal injury lawsuits based on negligence. While the party who exercises careless or unsafe conduct that causes an accident is often another driver, this is not always the case. A wide range of parties may share some portion of responsibility for serious collisions involving motor vehicles. Responsible parties may include:
- Auto makers for product defects in the vehicle
- Owner of the motor vehicle
- Public entities for poorly designed or maintained dangerous roads
- Maintenance contractors who do not repair vehicles properly
- Employers of unsafe drivers when the employee is undertaking a job related task
- Parents for negligently entrusting their child with a vehicle or where the car is made available for family use
- Social organization that make vehicle available for members’ use
It is important to identify all potentially responsible parties because sometimes the most obvious defendant may be uninsured or lack sufficient insurance to fully compensate you for your injuries. Our personal injury law firm undertakes extensive investigations so that we are able to identify all appropriate parties liable for our client’s injuries. Some of the motor vehicle accident lawsuits that our experienced personal injury law firm handles include:
- Car Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Truck Accidents
- Bus Accidents
- Bicycle Accidents
- Delivery Truck Accidents
- Highway Accidents
- ATV Accidents
- Drunk Driving Accidents
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Van Rollovers
- Vehicle Rollovers
- SUV Rollovers
- Airbag Injuries
- Uninsured Motorists
- Crushed Roofs
- Dangerous Roads
Premises Accidents: A property owner that holds his property open to the public has a responsibility to maintain his or her premises in reasonably safe condition or warn visitors of potential hazards. While the exact responsibility varies depending on the jurisdiction, the controlling factor that determines the scope of a property owner’s responsibility to visitors often depends on the injury victim’s reason for being on the property. Someone who is on commercial or residential property to conduct some sort of legitimate business function is generally protected. However, even someone who is trespassing may be protected and have a claim for damages in certain situations, especially if the trespasser is a child. If you have been injured by dangerous conditions on the premises of another, you should contact one of our experienced premises liability attorneys so that we can analyze the scope of your protection and right to compensation for your injuries. A sampling of premises liability cases that we are qualified to pursue include:
- Amusement Park Accident
- Swimming Pool Accidents
- Construction Accidents
- Dog Bites
- Farming Accidents
- Gas Tank Explosions
- Lead Paint Poisoning
- Explosions and Fires
- Slip and Fall Injury Accident
- Negligent Security
Premises liability lawsuits are fact intensive cases that require extensive investigation to obtain a successful verdict or settlement. When an accident victim’s injury is caused by an unsafe condition on the premises, an inquiry into what the property owner knew may be critical. Sometime constructive knowledge is enough to impose liability on the property owner. When a grocery store fails to clean up a liquid that has spilled on the floor after several hours or after several patrons have complained to store employees, for example, this may be sufficient to find that the property/business owner should have known of the hazard and taken precautions. Even when negligent security issues are involved, the property owner’s knowledge of similar crime in the area may be important.
At Jacoby & Meyers, we carefully investigate the circumstances of an accident on the premises of another including:
- What the property/business owner knew or should have known
- Length of time the dangerous condition was present on the premises
- Whether the dangerous conditions occurred naturally or was created by the property owner
- Appropriateness of inspection and maintenance practices
- Lighting, warning, safety barriers and other similar factors
Personal Injury Lawsuits Based on Serious Injuries and Wrongful Death Caused by Intentional Actions
While personal injury claims are most commonly based on accidents caused by negligent (i.e. careless) conduct, sometimes injury victims suffer catastrophic injuries or suffer wrongful death caused by intentional misconduct. These types of claims often form the civil side of a criminal case based on some type of violent crime committed against the injury victim. These cases are fundamentally different than negligence cases and involve different evidence and challenges. Because the victim’s injuries are caused by intentional acts of wrongdoers, the issue of whether the defendant is at-fault is not typically at issue. These cases are typically defended based on challenging the seriousness of the plaintiff’s injuries, comparative fault by the plaintiff and the link between the conduct of the wrongdoer and the injury victim.
One common tactic in such cases is to challenge the seriousness of injuries or whether the injuries were caused by the intentional misconduct of the defendant. It is important that if you are the victim of an assault or other intentional criminal act that you file a criminal complaint. Depending on the specifics of your case, the criminal conviction of your attacker may be the basis for imposing liability on the perpetrator. You should also obtain immediate medical attention and complete your entire course of treatment to maximize your intentional tort claim. Examples of intentional injury claims for which Jacoby and Meyers may be able to help you seek compensation include the following:
- Assault & Battery
- Child Molestation
- Clergy Abuse
- Nursing Home Abuse
- Elder Law
- Sexual Abuse
Personal injury claims based on intentional acts may be the basis for imposition of punitive damages. Punitive damages are appropriate when the conduct of the defendant is particularly inappropriate and offensive. The goal of punitive damages is to provide a deterrent to such behavior in the future and to punish the wrongdoer. The amount of punitive damages awarded may exceed all other types of damages combined.
Product Liability Lawsuits Based on Dangerous Products or Dangerous Drugs
When a company designs, manufacturers or sells a product, the company has an obligation to make the product safe for the intended use and even misuse that is foreseeable. Product liability law is designed to compensate consumers for products that cause injury to the public. A product liability lawsuit may be based on negligence by the product manufacturer but not necessarily. Sometimes it is enough to establish that the product possessed the defect when it left the control of the manufacturer even if the defect was not necessarily the result of negligence by the company that produced the product. Anyone in the stream of commerce including the manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer may be liable for a defective product. A product liability lawsuit may also be based on breach of warranty or failure to warn a consumer if the product poses a risk of harm when used for the purpose intended or in the fashion promised as well as when consumers are not adequately warned of risks. Jacoby & Meyers can effectively represent you in a broad range of product liability lawsuits including:
- Motor Vehicle Defects (e.g. tire defects)
- Defective Drugs
- Recalled Products (e.g. consumer products)
- Defective medical devices
- Defective Tools
- Unsafe Children’s Products (e.g. defective car seats)
Determining Damages for Your Personal Injury Claim
While the specifics of your case may impact the damages that you can receive for your personal injury lawsuit, you may seek a broad spectrum of damages. Personal injury law is designed to make those injured by third parties whole by putting them in the position they would have been in if the incident had not occurred. When you suffer permanent injury, disability or disfigurement, the best the law can do is attempt to provide a measure of financial compensation for your injuries. Accident victims may seek compensation for the following damages depending on the specifics of their personal injury claim:
- Lost earnings
- Medical expenses and costs
- Disability and disfigurement
- Pain and suffering
- Impairment of enjoyment of life experiences
- Loss of consortium damages (adverse impact on marital relationship)
- Burial and funeral expenses – wrongful death cases
- Exemplary/Punitive Damages (cases based on extreme reckless or intentional misconduct)
Call Our Personal Injury Lawyers Today
Jacoby & Meyers has been representing accident victims who suffer personal injury nationally for almost four decades. Our caring team of personal injury accident attorneys has helped many families obtain the compensation that they need to protect their quality of life even after suffering serious injuries. Whether you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, unsafe premises accident, assault or defective product accident, our team will carefully analyze the facts and circumstances of your accident so that we identify all potential defendants and develop the strongest litigation strategy. We have developed a reputation for effective trial strategy and presentation so insurance companies understand that they risk a substantial jury verdict if they refuse to negotiate a fair settlement for our clients. Our personal injury law firm has become synonymous with effective representation for injury accident victims. We invite you to conduct Jacoby and Meyers to find out why we have this reputation.
We offer a free consultation so call our offices today for a no obligation case evaluation. We represent clients nationwide from our offices in Southern California, New York, Alabama, Florida and Arizona so call us today at 1-800-411-4LAW.
