Did you suffer a personal injury because of another individual’s negligent or careless actions? Contact our law offices today to learn if you may be eligible to seek compensation for medical costs and other damages.
Our licensed Lake Charles personal injury attorneys are ready to help and have over 25 years of experience. We have a proven track record handling a variety of personal injury claims, recovering millions in compensation for our clients throughout Louisiana. We are prepared to seek a maximum recovery on your behalf.
Partner John Jefcoat has decades of legal experience and is a member of the National Trial Lawyers Association Top 100.
If we represent you, there is nothing to pay us up front or while we handle your case. At Galloway Jeffcoat, we only get paid if you do.
Who is Eligible to File a Case?
We handle a variety of personal injury cases, but to determine whether you are eligible to seek compensation we need to understand more about the unique circumstances that led to your accident and injuries.
We offer a free case review, so you can find this information out at no cost or obligation to you – it is a completely risk-free meeting with one of our qualified attorneys.
To evaluate whether your case has merit, we will need to first determine if there was an act of negligence, which has four parts:
Duty of Care
Did the liable party have a legal duty to keep you and others reasonably safe from harm? An example of this might be a driver on the road who owes others a duty to follow traffic laws and drive safely.
Violation of the Duty of Care
Your attorney will need to establish how the other party failed to uphold his or her duty of care to help prevent you from being injured. One common example could be a business owner who knew of a spill on a floor but failed to either clean it up or warn patrons to avoid the area.
Causal Link to Your Injuries
A good way to think about this is if the accident had not occurred, you would not have suffered damages. If an attorney determines that he or she cannot link the breached duty to your injuries, you may not have a valid case.
Real Damages
The accident must have caused you to suffer damages. These may include economic damages related to your medical care, lost wages, loss of future income, property damage and more.
"I have used Galloway Jefcoat a few times and have always been very satisfied. Furthermore, all of the people who work there are very professional, nice, and courteous."
Why Should I Hire an Attorney?
Hiring an attorney to manage your case takes the burden off you. This means you can concentrate on your recovery and the challenges your injuries have created.
If one of our Lake Charles personal injury attorneys represents you, we are prepared to fully handle every aspect of your case, which may include:
- Thoroughly investigating the accident that caused you harm, which may involve hiring an accident reconstruction expert
- Talking to eyewitnesses and using their accounts of the crash to strengthen your claim
- Communicating with the insurance companies and other third parties on your behalf
- Guiding you through the legal process and keeping you informed about what is happening
- Negotiating for maximum compensation for your injuries and other losses
- Preparing to file a lawsuit if the insurance company does not offer fair compensation or denies your claim
Many victims may be concerned about the cost of hiring an attorney. However, if you hire an attorney at Galloway Jefcoat, this is not something you need to be concerned about.
Our qualified Lake Charles personal injury lawyers accept cases on contingency, so there is nothing for you to pay up front – or until your case concludes. We do not collect payment for our services until or unless we recover compensation for you through a settlement or jury verdict.
Can I Seek Compensation if I am Partially at Fault For My Injury?
Louisiana follows a pure comparative negligence system. What this means is that each party involved in the accident is liable for their percentage of fault.
In short, you can still seek compensation for your damages. However, your percentage of fault will be deducted from the final amount of compensation you receive.
For example, say you were in a car crash claim where an oncoming vehicle ran a red light and hit your car while you were attempting to turn left. Clearly the other driver was negligent. However, if you were negligent because you failed use your turn signal to alert traffic you were turning, you may share some liability for the crash.
"Galloway Jefcoat are amazing professionals who are very client focused. They will guide you thru all the details to help get your litigation solved. I was involved in a crash that ultimate required a knee replacement"
How Much Could My Case Be Worth?
The value of any personal injury case is determined by the damages suffered, the extent and severity of your injuries and other contributing factors.
The type of compensation you may be eligible to recover may include:
Economic Damages
Economic damages have a set monetary value and are therefore easier to calculate. These damages may include:
- Reasonable medical costs related to the accident: These costs could include surgeries, hospital stays, emergency room visits, mobility assistive devices (crutches, wheelchairs, etc.), physical therapy, prescription medication and more.
- Personal property damages: If your personal property was damaged or destroyed in the incident, the at-fault party may be liable for replacing or repairing that property at its fair market value.
- Lost wages and lost future earning capacity: If you missed work while recovering from your injuries, you may be eligible to receive compensation for those lost wages. Some accident victims may also sustain long-term or life-altering injuries, preventing the victim from doing the same work as before. If you suffer this type of injury, you may be also be eligible to recover earnings you would have made but for the injuries caused by the negligent party.
Non-Economic Damages
These are the psychological and emotional effects of an injury, and may include:
- Lost enjoyment of life: Sometimes accident victims are unable to enjoy life in the same way as before the incident that caused their injuries. They may be unable to participate in sports or play an instrument or they may permanently lose their eyesight or other senses that enable them to experience and enjoy life.
- Physical pain and emotional suffering: Depending on the severity of injuries sustained in the accident, victims may be able to recover compensation for the physical damages they suffered as well as for their emotional suffering. Pain and suffering damages could include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression and more.
- Loss of companionship or consortium: This type of compensation may be available when an accident victim’s injuries are so severe that they also damage his or her personal relationships.
"As a client of Galloway Jefcoat for over two years I want to take a minute to say how much I appreciate the team handling my case."
Are There Deadlines for Taking Legal Action in Louisiana?
In Louisiana, you have just one year from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit against the individual that caused you harm. If you attempt to file a claim after that deadline has passed, the court will likely dismiss it and you will be unable to seek compensation in the courtroom.
Are There Deadline Exceptions?
There are exceptions that may apply, causing the deadline to be pushed back or pushed forward, giving you more or less than a year to file. However, these exceptions are rare and should be discussed with an experienced lawyer.
One year may sound like a long time to some people. However, when you are attempting to negotiate a fair settlement, it can take time to get the insurance company to budge. Insurers are always looking for ways to pay out less on a claim. Sometimes, they may also try to purposely delay your claim in hopes you will miss the deadline for filing a lawsuit.
Our knowledgeable Lake Charles personal injury lawyers can help you determine the filing deadline that may apply in your situation.
"Great experience, from day 1 I felt like I finally had someone on my side and that feeling didn't leave me for 1 single moment."
Who Could Be Held Liable for My Accident?
Depending on the type of accident you are injured in, there may be multiple parties liable for the damages you sustained, including:
- Property owners
- Government entities
- Government employees
- One or more motor vehicle drivers
- Commercial truck drivers and employees
- Product manufacturers
- Owners of seafaring vessels
- Motorcycle riders
- Business owners
- And more
Our Lake Charles personal injury lawyers are ready to fight to hold all at-fault parties liable and secure maximum compensation on your behalf.
How to Protect the Value of Your Claim
While hiring an attorney is an important step for protecting your legal rights and the value of your claim, there are steps you can take before you even contact our Lake Charles personal injury lawyers that can help protect your claim’s value.
Seek Immediate Medical Care
Getting examined by a medical professional as soon after an accident as possible is a critical part of protecting both your health and your claim. Internal injuries, such as a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or internal bleeding can get a lot worse without treatment. The longer you wait to be examined, the more room you give the insurance company to argue that you could have been injured elsewhere.
Collect Evidence From the Accident Scene
You can attempt to collect evidence at the scene, but only if you can do so without causing further injury to yourself or others or putting yourself in danger.
Evidence you could find at the scene may include:
- Photos you take of the accident scene, your injury, your clothing, and the surroundings. If in a car crash, capture the vehicle damage as well – anything that may provide insight about what happened.
- Write down what happened as you remember it as soon after the accident as possible, while details are fresh in your mind.
- Gather statements and contact details from reliable parties who may have witnessed the accident.
File an Accident Report
File a police or accident report if it is possible to do so. This type of official document can help to provide further support for your claim and will help link your injuries to the accident. Filing an accident report also makes it more difficult for the insurance company to say your injuries happened somewhere else.
If you are in a car crash, call 9-1-1 to get police and first responders to the scene as quickly as possible. They will complete a police report on your behalf. Be sure to get a copy of this report as soon as possible and review it for any mistakes.
If you have a slip and fall or some other type of accident on a business property, the property owner will likely have his or her own formal report to complete. Ask how you can get a copy for yourself.
Contact Our Trusted Personal Injury Lawyers for Legal Help
Often people delay contacting an attorney because they are concerned about the cost. At Galloway Jefcoat, finding out if you may have a case is not only free, but there is also no obligation to hire our services. If we do represent you, there is also nothing for you to pay us up front. You pay us nothing while we work on your case, and we do not get paid unless we obtain compensation through a settlement or jury verdict.
Types of Personal Injury Claims We Handle
We handle many different types of personal injury cases that may occur in Louisiana, including:
- Oil rig accidents
- Crane accidents
- Uber accidents
- Offshore injury claims for those working on seafaring vessels
- Onshore injury claims covered by the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act
- Car crashes
- Motorcycle crashes
- Slip and fall accidents
- Truck accidents
- Work-related injuries
Call a Lake Charles Personal Injury Lawyer for Assistance
You can suffer a personal injury at any time or any place. The cost of treating your injuries can quickly add up and create a stressful financial burden for you and your family, especially if you are unable to work while recovering.
Our experienced Lake Charles personal injury lawyers are prepared to seek maximum compensation on your behalf. Start by scheduling your completely free consultation to find out whether you may have a case. Live agents are ready to take your call anytime, night or day.
"Galloway Jefcoat helped me at a time when I felt lost and taken advantage of by my employer."