How a Silver City, NM Personal Injury Lawyer From Harmonson Law Firm Can Help
Being injured in an accident that was due to the negligence of another person can be traumatic. One moment you are going about your day, and the next moment you find yourself in the hospital, dealing with injuries, lost wages, and ongoing physical and emotional pain. Clark Harmonson founded the Harmonson Law Firm in 2012 because he wanted to help those injured in personal injury accidents as well as those injured by medical malpractice.
Harmonson Law Firm is a small, highly focused law firm whose overarching goal is to help secure a full and fair settlement—covering all damages—for those who have suffered injuries. Attorneys Clark Harmonson and Hadley Huchton offer a free consultation, plus we work on a contingency basis. This means that you pay nothing unless we secure a settlement or court award on your behalf.
We want to get to know our clients and have a relationship with them. This highly personalized service is a major benefit of our smaller law firm. But don’t let our “small firm” status fool you—we bring the same level of knowledge, experience, and resources to your case as a larger firm. At Harmonson Law Firm, we help good people who have been injured in bad accidents—or by medical errors—get the medical help and financial compensation they are entitled to.
What Damages Might You Be Entitled to Following a Silver City Personal Injury?
Your exact damages will depend on the facts and circumstances surrounding your accident or instance of medical malpractice, as well as the extent of your injuries and how long treatment for those injuries can be expected to last. Medical expenses include the cost of an ambulance, hospital expenses, physician costs, surgical expenses, prescription drug costs, and the cost of rehabilitative therapies. Lost wages are applicable if your injuries prevent you from returning to work for a few weeks or months.
If you will not be able to return to work for many months, years, or ever, you will be entitled to lost future wages. Lost future wages are calculated based on your age, education, specific job, training, position, and likelihood of advancement in your career. You are also entitled to pain and suffering damages for actual physical pain as well as emotional pain and trauma. An experienced Harmonson Law Firm attorney will determine exactly what damages you are entitled to receive following your Silver City personal injury.
What Types of Personal Injuries Can Harmonson Law Firm Help You With?
- Car accidents include minor bump-ins, accidents with moderate injuries, and those with severe or catastrophic injuries. Head-on collisions and T-bone accidents at high speeds often result in severe injuries, although virtually any type of car accident can result in major injuries to those involved. Most car accident claims are settled without litigation, but if the insurance company refuses to agree to a full and fair settlement that covers all of your damages, then your Silver City, NM personal injury lawyer will be forced to file a lawsuit. In some cases, simply filing a lawsuit convinces the insurer to pay what the claim is worth. If this is not the case, then your case will be litigated in a court trial, and a jury will determine what your claim is worth. You can usually expect your settlement or jury award check within about six weeks after the settlement is agreed to by the insurance company or the jury’s decision has been reached. You may receive your settlement in a lump sum or as a structured settlement. Whatever your car accident situation, it is extremely beneficial to have an experienced personal injury lawyer from the Harmonson Law Firm by your side and to advocate on your behalf.
- Rideshare accidents bring their own set of complexities to the table. The rideshare driver must be using the app in order for Uber or Lyft’s insurance to apply. Company insurance is not a factor unless the rideshare driver or the other driver’s insurance limits have been exceeded.
- Bus accidents are not particularly common, but when they do occur, the injuries can be severe. If the bus accident occurs on a city bus, then the claim will be filed against the city or other governmental entity. This requires specialized knowledge and generally has a shorter statute of limitations.
- Semi-truck accidents cause death and severe injury to those in the smaller passenger vehicles thanks to the significant disparity in vehicle size and weight. Truck drivers, like all drivers, may be distracted, impaired, overly fatigued, or could simply be driving recklessly by exceeding the speed limit or changing lanes without properly looking for smaller vehicles. In some cases, a semi-truck accident could be caused by improperly loaded cargo or a poorly maintained truck. If this is the case, then the maintenance company and/or loading company could be held partially responsible. A defective truck part could also be responsible for the accident, in which case the attorney would file a product liability claim. The trucking company may have failed to fully vet the driver or ensure that the driver was properly trained. The trucking company may also have been aware that the driver was exceeding his or her hours of service, therefore driving while overly fatigued.
- Motorcycle accidents can be more complex in some ways than auto accidents. If the case goes to court, juries tend to have stereotypes of motorcyclists that can prevent them from awarding a fair settlement. The motorcyclist’s injuries are often severe to catastrophic, so it is essential that the personal injury attorney prove that the motorcyclist was not at fault and was not driving recklessly.
- Medical malpractice claims require highly experienced personal injury lawyers who have handled a significant number of these cases. A medical malpractice claim can be filed against an individual doctor, a hospital, another type of healthcare facility, or any other healthcare provider. Medical malpractice claims generally require a clear breach of standard of care and significant injuries. The standard of care requires all medical professionals to act in a way that another medical professional, given similar training and situation, would have done. Misdiagnoses and failure to diagnose can result in serious injury, as can surgical, anesthetic, and obstetrical procedures. New Mexico has enacted laws to make medical malpractice claims more patient-friendly, with larger damage caps. Attorney Hadley Huchton is a medical malpractice “ace,” having focused her entire career on medical malpractice.
- Other Personal Injuries:
- Catastrophic injuries are usually the result of motorcycle accidents, semi-truck accidents, head-on car accidents, or other types of high-speed car accidents. A catastrophic injury is usually one that alters the victim’s life, either for a significant length of time or forever. Severe injuries like traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputated limbs, loss of eyesight or hearing, or severe internal injuries all fall under the category of catastrophic injuries.
- Wrongful death claims usually begin as personal injury claims. In the event that the victim dies, the personal injury claim becomes a wrongful death claim. Each state has its own requirements as far as who can file for wrongful death. In the state of New Mexico, the personal representative of the decedent’s estate, the spouse, or the next of kin are all allowed to file a wrongful death claim for damages. These damages may include funeral and burial expenses, medical expenses that occurred prior to the decedent’s death, and lost future wages based on the decedent’s age, occupation, education, and likelihood of advancement. The calculation of lost future wages is also dependent on how many people depend on the decedent for their financial support.
- Premises liability claims usually involve slip-and-fall injuries that occur in grocery stores, restaurants, parking lots, bars, retail stores, and other public places. While a slip-and-fall may sound like a minor injury, these accidents can result in severe injuries, including traumatic brain injuries.
- Dog bites may cause minor injuries, or can cause severe injuries, including facial deformities. Even though New Mexico operates under the “one-bite rule,” a dog owner who is clearly negligent may still be responsible for your injuries.
- Pedestrian accidents are virtually always severe. In some cases, the driver who hits a pedestrian may flee the scene of the accident, particularly if he or she is impaired. This can make it more difficult to collect damages and is a good reason to have a highly experienced Silver City personal injury lawyer from Harmonson Law Firm on the case.
- Bicycle accidents, like pedestrian and motorcycle accidents, often result in severe injuries or even death. A bicyclist may be wearing a helmet, which would protect the head against traumatic brain injury, but this is not always the case. Drivers often fail to give bicyclists enough room or may open a car door into traffic, causing the bicyclist to slam into the car door.
- Workplace injuries can be severe, and usually such injuries are covered under workers’ compensation. In the state of New Mexico, the only time a workplace injury would not be handled under workers’ compensation is if the employer deliberately or maliciously caused the workplace injury. Sometimes, third parties like a subcontractor may be responsible for your damages outside of the workers’ compensation system.
How to Choose the Best Silver City, NM Personal Injury Lawyer for You
The qualifications of your Silver City, NM personal injury lawyer matter. You need a personal injury lawyer who not only knows and understands the laws governing personal injury claims, but one who is equally adept at negotiation and litigation. Your attorney should always be over-prepared, highly experienced, and compassionate regarding your current plight. The Harmonson Law Firm is unique in that, while we are a smaller firm (which means highly personalized service), we can offer every benefit that you would find in a larger firm, including extensive resources and significant experience. Don’t attempt to handle your injuries and settlement recovery on your own—give the Harmonson Law Firm a call today.
The Harmonson Law Firm—Helping Good People Injured in Bad Accidents
With offices in El Paso, TX, and Las Cruces, NM, the Harmonson Law Firm will go above and beyond to ensure that you get the settlement you need and deserve—one that will cover all of your damages. Our firm is small but mighty—lawyers Hadley Huchton and Clark Harmonson offer exceptional skill, experience, and knowledge when building your case.
Our focus and expertise centers around personal injury and medical malpractice and we have devoted our careers to these areas. We help good people who have been injured in bad accidents, or by medical errors, get the medical attention and financial assistance that they should. Contact the Harmonson Law Firm today for a free consultation and comprehensive answers to your questions.
Clark Harmonson is licensed in New Mexico and Texas. Hadley Huchton is licensed in Texas.