truck driver neglect - injured in an accident

If you have been wronged in some way you might be wondering if you should be filing a personal injury lawsuit to get restitution for your pain and suffering. There are many people who think that they should pursue legal action but don't know exactly how to do it. Here are some things that you should know about filing a personal injury lawsuit.

1. You Can File Criminal and Civil Lawsuits

One thing that many people are confused about is what they can file a lawsuit about. For instance, if you were wronged by someone and the state charges the person with criminal actions you might be wondering if you can file a personal injury lawsuit as well. The answer is an absolute yes! Just because the state is pressing charges it doesn't mean that you will get any restitution from the guilty party. If the person is found guilty of the criminal charges they will serve jail time, pay fines to the state, or have other punishments given by the state, but the state will not force the person to pay you back.

This is why it is up to you to file a personal injury lawsuit to make sure that you get what you deserve. You will need to take the lawsuit to civil court.

2. Have Proof Of All Injuries

Another important thing when it comes to personal injury lawsuits is that you need to have proof of all of your injuries. You cannot simply give a number of what you believe you deserve. Instead, you need to itemize all of the injuries that you sustained, and how much they cost you. If you do not have proof of an injury you will have a harder time getting restitution for it. This is why getting proper medical care, and having medical records is important. Additionally, you should keep bills and anything that proves the amount that the injury cost you.

You can also ask for lost wages in some cases. In this case, you may have to prove income through tax returns or W-2's and show that since the injury your income has changed because you missed work.

If you think you might have grounds to file a lawsuit you should talk to an accident attorney right away. In some states and some situations you only have a certain amount of time to file the suit, so you should do it sooner rather than later.