Indiana Personal Injury Lawyers Who Fight For You

We’re focused on winning and can help you with your injury claim or lawsuit

An injury caused by someone else’s reckless or negligent behavior can happen in an instant. Without warning, you or a loved one suddenly might be in serious pain, discomfort or suffering due to a severe injury that requires medical care.

Knowing what to do next might not be clear. Even knowing what your rights are as an injury victim might be confusing. That’s why it’s important to talk to an Indiana personal injury attorney in Fort Wayne who understands how the legal system works and can get straight to work on your potential legal case.

Our dedicated team of trial lawyers at Glaser & Ebbs will not rest until justice is served. We have more than 100 years of combined legal experience helping injury victims in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and throughout Indiana. As a result, we thoroughly understand how the legal system works. We’re familiar with the state and federal laws covering such cases. We know what to do and will aggressively investigate your accident.

What is a personal injury?

A personal injury is a legal term used to describe a wide range of accidents caused by someone else’s actions or inaction. In most of these cases, injury victims and their attorney must provide evidence that someone else is liable (legally responsible) for their injury and therefore must pay for their injury-related expenses. Common examples of these cases include:

• Premises liability accidents, particularly slip and fall accidents that happen on someone else’s property, including at a restaurant, hotel or retail store.
• Dog bites or animal attacks on someone else’s property that result in a serious injury.
• Fatal accidents, which are also often referred to as wrongful death accidents.

This is just a small sample of some of the most serious personal injury accidents. Each one is different and requires a thorough investigation. That’s why it’s important to talk to a lawyer right away if you or a loved one was hurt due to someone else’s actions.

Why do these accidents happen?

In general terms, most personal injuries occur due to negligence on someone’s part or due to the reckless or malicious actions of another person. More specifically, these types of accidents occur for some of the following reasons:

• Lack of maintenance, particularly in cases involving public places such as parking lots, parking garages or shopping malls. Lack of maintenance can include:
  • Poor lighting
  • Loose handrails
  • Ice or snow left on sidewalks
  • Potholes or other unmarked hazards
• Lack of security, particularly in public places with a history of criminal activity. Property owners should take the necessary precautions to protect the public, including hiring security guards or installing security cameras.
• Unmarked hazards, particularly in cases involving slip and fall accidents. A common example involves water left on the floor in a restaurant or store which results in someone slipping and falling and injuring their head, neck or back.
• Lack of fencing around a swimming pool or property where a dog lives, resulting in a hazardous condition. A young child may wander into an unattended swimming pool or onto a property where a vicious or dangerous dog lives and attacks the child.

Property owners have a responsibility to make sure there are no hazardous or dangerous conditions on their property. When such conditions exist and accidents occur, property owners should be held accountable for their actions and other people’s injuries.

What should I do afterwards?

If you or a loved one got hurt on someone else’s property due to their actions, it’s important to take certain steps right away to hold the property owner liable (legally responsible) for your injury. Such steps often include:

• Seek immediate medical attention – Go to an emergency room (especially if you think you have a life-threatening injury) or see your doctor right away. That way, you will receive the medical care you need, and you will have an official record of your injury.
• Take your doctor’s advice – When you see a medical professional, they will likely advise you on what to do to get better. Take their advice. Following their instructions. If you do not, you could potentially jeopardize the outcome of your injury claim.
• Take pictures of the hazardous condition that caused your injury – Make sure you or someone you trust takes photos right away. In many cases, property owners often try to fix what caused your injury or destroy evidence afterwards.
• Keep records related to your injury – Whether it’s an accident report or written instructions from your doctor, keep everything related to your case. All these written materials may turn out to be important pieces of evidence in support of your injury claim.
• Do not talk to the property owner about your injury – While it may be tempting to tell them what happened, it’s important to remember that anything you say about your accident could later be used as evidence to deny your claim.
• Do not talk to the property owner’s insurance company – Don’t be surprised if the at-fault party’s insurance company contacts you soon after your accident. Their questions might seem straightforward or innocent. But anything you say could be used as evidence to deny your claim.
• Carefully review any settlement offer – Be prepared for the at-fault party’s insurance company to make an offer to settle your case. Specifically, they may offer you a lump sum payment in exchange for you agreeing to drop your case and not take legal action against their company or their client. Be very careful about accepting settlement offers. Many offers don’t even come close to covering all your expenses. Once you accept an offer, you often cannot ask for any additional money in the future.
• Talk to a lawyer right away – Personal injury claims often get very complicated very fast. The sooner you have an Indiana personal injury attorney on your side looking out for your best interests, the better.

Who decides who is at fault?

Many people often have an opinion about who caused an accident that resulted in a serious injury. The property owner where the accident took place may be very vocal about who’s to blame and why the accident happened. They might also deny any wrongdoing.

The opinions that matter the most when it comes to personal injuries often involve the insurance companies representing the property owner where the accident took place. They will often have a strong opinion about who was at fault.

Not surprisingly, they often take the property owner’s side. Why? Because these insurance companies often stand to lose thousands of dollars (or even more) if there’s evidence that their client’s actions resulted in your injury.

Your lawyer can help level the playing field and conduct an in-depth investigation into exactly who’s at fault and why your accident took place. That way, the facts can come out and you can demand the compensation you rightfully deserve if someone’s liable for your injury.

What can I be compensated for?

You might not fully realize everything you can be compensated for if you get hurt in an accident caused by someone else’s reckless or negligent behavior. It’s not just short-term expenses. If your injury has a long-term impact on your life, you deserve to be paid for everything related to your accident. Expenses may include:

• Emergency room care immediately after your accident
• Follow-up medical care
• Surgical procedures
• Physical therapy
• Pain medications or other pain management relief
• Replacement income during your recovery
• Lost future income if you cannot work due to a permanent disability
• Modifications to your home due to a permanent disability, including installing a wheelchair ramp
• Pain and suffering in certain circumstances
• Funeral expenses in the case of a wrongful death

The financial stakes can be very high. Your case can quickly add up to thousands of dollars or even significantly more. You should not have to pay for someone else’s mistakes. You deserve to be fully compensated for your injury expenses. That’s why it’s important to take your injury claim seriously right away.

Take your injury seriously. Contact our law firm.

You didn’t do anything wrong. You got hurt because someone else failed to take the necessary precautions to prevent your accident or address a hazardous condition. That’s why it’s critical that you take strong legal action right away to demand the money you deserve.

We can be your voice for justice. We know how to investigate personal injury cases. We can demand to see inspection reports, repair records or anything else that can be used as evidence in support of your claim.

Learn more about how we can help you. Contact our law firm and get legal advice from someone you can trust. Schedule a free consultation with one of our personal injury lawyers. We have offices in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Decatur, Warsaw, and Kendallville. Your personal injury matters here.