Breckenridge Personal Injury Attorneys

Your Strongest Advocate After an Accident

Following a catastrophic injury, you may be looking at a long road to recovery. In addition to an emergency room visit, you may need to be hospitalized, have to attend physical therapy, and require additional treatment throughout the rest of your life. But serious injuries do not happen out of nowhere, and oftentimes a negligent party is responsible. Following an accident, all negligent parties should be held accountable and provide proper compensation to the people they have injured.

If you were injured by a negligent party in Breckenridge, reach out to our team at Whitaker & Penix, LLC. Our experienced Breckenridge personal injury attorneys can go over your accident in a free phone consultation and explain how to recover compensation in a civil claim. If you choose to let us represent you, we will use all of our knowledge, experience, and skills to advocate for the highest possible award in your personal injury claim. Call us today at (970) 368-0602 to learn how.

What Is a Personal Injury Claim?

Most people cannot handle the costs of an emergency room visit, much less long-term hospitalization. A serious car accident or dog bite can easily drain your savings account and still leave you with costly medical bills. However, if your injuries were caused by another person or company’s actions, you may be entitled to compensation in a personal injury claim.

A personal injury claim is a legal process where an accident victim (plaintiff) can seek compensation from an at-fault party (defendant) who injured the plaintiff through an act of negligence. An act of negligence can cover a variety of scenarios such as speeding, or failing to clean up a wet floor, or allowing an untrained dog to run free in a park, etc. Each of these actions can directly contribute to a serious accident and injure an innocent person. When that occurs, the negligent party is responsible for paying compensation to the plaintiff.

In order to recover compensation, you will need to clearly show that:

• The defendant had a duty of care towards you and a responsibility to keep you safe;
• The defendant committed an act of negligence that broke that duty;
• You were injured due to that act of negligence; and
• You suffered damages due to your injuries.

Why Should You Talk to an Attorney?

Most plaintiffs face uphill battles when filing personal injury claims on their own. Defendants are often covered by extensive liability insurance policies, such as auto insurance or commercial liability coverage. When you file a claim, you will have to deal with a dismissive insurance company that will want to pay you as little as possible.

However, with a skilled attorney at Whitaker & Penix, LLC at your side, you can trust that we will fight aggressively to get you the highest award possible. We are experienced trial attorneys who are not afraid to take on big insurance companies if it means standing up for our clients. We can use all of our knowledge to investigate your accident, collect evidence of negligence, and negotiate on your behalf.

Cases We Handle

Personal injury claims can apply to any scenario where a negligent party injures a plaintiff. At Whitaker & Penix, LLC, we can use our legal expertise to represent you after a:

• Car accident
• Bicycle accident
• Motorcycle accident
• Truck accident
• Slip and fall accident
• Pedestrian accident
• Dog bites

How Much Is My Claim Worth?

One of the biggest questions you may have is how much you can recover in a personal injury claim. Compensation is directly related to the amount of damages you have suffered and the policy limits of the defendant’s insurance.

Damages can be split into two groups in Colorado: economic and non-economic. Economic damages include all of the financial costs of an injury, including past and future medical treatment. Emergency room bills, hospitalizations, medical equipment like wheelchairs — all of this can be included in your economic damages.

But you can also pursue compensation for how an injury has affected your career. For example, if you had to take time off work to recover from your injuries, then you can recover the lost wages you should have earned. In addition, if you had to change careers or leave a job due to an injury, then you can recover the lost earning potential of your job.

Non-economic damages cover all of the non-financial aspects of an injury, such as the amount of pain you have to deal with, the mental anguish of an accident, and the personal toll of your injury. These damages are more fluid than financial costs, but your attorney can work with you to determine a proper amount.

Altogether, a personal injury claim can allow you to recover:

• All medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Lost earning potential
• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Disfigurements
• Loss of enjoyment of life

An important element of every personal injury claim is the policy limit of the defendant’s insurance. In Colorado, every driver is required to have a minimum amount of insurance coverage in the event of a collision, which includes $25,000 for one plaintiff’s injuries, $50,000 per accident for injuries suffered by two or more plaintiffs, and $15,000 for property damage. In this instance, a single plaintiff can only recover $25,000 in a claim. However, if you have underinsured motorist coverage or were injured by a commercial driver, you may be able to recover more in compensation.

Our team at Whitaker & Penix, LLC always advocates for the highest possible amount when representing injured clients. We can review every applicable insurance policy, calculate the full costs of your injuries, and negotiate for your best interests. If necessary, we are prepared to take your case to trial to get you proper compensation from a judge and jury.

Speak to Whitaker & Penix, LLC Today

We know you just want to get your medical bills covered, go back to work, and get back on your feet after an accident, but you should never go into a personal injury claim without an attorney at your side. Insurance companies use a lot of pressure to force plaintiffs to accept small settlements that hardly cover emergency room bills and may even blame you for the accident if it means making you give up on a claim. Instead of dealing with their dismissive tactics alone, let our Breckenridge personal injury attorneys at Whitaker & Penix, LLC fight for your best interests.

If you were injured by a negligent party in Summit County, our legal team can provide the compassion, knowledge, and experience you need to get the highest possible award in a personal injury claim. Whitaker & Penix, LLC will dig into the details of your case and evaluate all of your options for compensation. Call us today at (970) 368-0602 to get a free phone consultation and learn how we can stand up for you.