Personal Injury Attorney in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Every year, more than 1,200 individuals suffer serious injuries due to vehicle accidents in Idaho. In 2021, emergency rooms in the United States treated 11.7 million individuals for injuries related to products, with many of these injuries resulting from everyday products that are thought to be safe. Moreover, dog bites send around 12,500 people to hospitals annually. If you have been injured in a vehicle accident, a product-related incident, or due to a dog bite, it may be wise to consult a Coeur d’Alene Personal Injury Lawyer.
At the Bendell Law Firm, we fight to make sure that if you or a loved one suffers injury in an accident, the responsible party is held accountable. We don’t think you should ever settle for less than full and fair compensation. And we work hard to make sure that you get every penny you deserve.
A Tenacious Personal Injury Attorney In Coeur d’Alene
Attorney Jim Bendell has 40 years of experience in personal injury law. As a former litigator working for insurance companies, he knows how they think, what their strategy is likely to be—and can use that to your benefit. Count on us to bring the highest degree of:
- Professionalism: An advisor, an advocate, a negotiator and an evaluator. These are the standards put forth by the Idaho Bar Association. We take them seriously and strive to go above and beyond to represent the best interests of the injured assertively and with integrity.
- Compassion: Severe injuries cause more than physical pain; they cause emotional turmoil and financial stress for the injured and their families, especially when a family member dies as a result of the accident. We take the burden of dealing with insurance adjusters and their lawyers off your shoulders. We fight the battle while you heal.
- Aggressive representation: We always first try to negotiate the best deal for you, but we are not afraid to go to court if that’s what it takes to get you justice. Jim Bendell is a trial-tested lawyer who will not quit until he gets you all the financial compensation you deserve. And he has a track record of success to prove it.
Cases our Coeur d’Alene personal injury lawyer can help you with
If you have been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, contact us. Don’t talk to the adjuster who works for the insurance company of the defendant (the party that caused the accident). We can help you get the best possible compensation in cases that include:
- Car accidents: Perhaps the most dangerous roadway in Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls is Highway 95, with the majority of accidents occurring in Kootenai County. Regardless of where the accident happened, we have the experience to help you get full and fair compensation.
- Wrongful death: When you lose a loved one because of someone else’s negligent or reckless behavior, you need time to process what has happened; and you need time to grieve. We let you focus on your family while we make sure the party responsible for your loss is held accountable.
- Broken bones: The most common broken bone injuries occur as a result of falls from a height, followed by motor vehicle accidents. A broken arm or leg could keep you out of work, and cause loss of wages. A broken rib can puncture a lung, while a fractured skull could lead to seizures or brain damage.
- Spinal injuries: In the worst of all cases, a spinal injury can cause paralysis. Other complications may include deep vein thrombosis, muscle spasms, respiratory complications and chronic pain. Severe spinal injuries often mean long-term medical treatment and therapy. The cost of these over a lifetime can add up and must be included in your compensation.
- Brain injuries: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), traumatic brain injuries (TBI) “can have wide-ranging physical and psychological effects.” Like severe spinal cord injuries, the recovery from a TBI can take weeks, but it can also take years. Some patients may still need help with activities of daily living even five years after being injured.
- Neck and back injuries: A “broken back” is a serious injury in which a vertebrae becomes fractured or dislocated. In addition to being severely painful, damage to the vertebrae may lead to damage to the spinal cord, which can cause a host of complications from incontinence to limb weakness.
- Motorcycle accidents: Motorcyclists are especially vulnerable as they have no protection. Moreover, because of their smaller profile, motorcycles are harder to see than an automobile. Motorcycle riders are 28 times more likely to be killed in a collision than the occupant of a passenger vehicle.
Proving negligence in a Coeur d’Alene injury case
Insurance companies may be in the business of protecting people against injury, floods, fires, and collisions; but first and foremost, they’re in the business of making a profit. Even when proof is presented that shows the “other guy” was clearly at fault, the insurance company will try to shift as much of the blame as possible on you.
Yes, you do need some documentation such as police reports, a witness testimony, photos of a scene, and medical records. But moreover, negligence must be proven. The doctrine of negligence states that:
- The other party owed you a duty of care: For instance, if there was a spill on a supermarket floor that caused slippery conditions, the store owner or manager had a duty of care to place a “wet floor” sign over the spill.
- The other party breached that duty: Using the above example, no signage was placed over the spill for a long time, if at all.
- The other party’s breach of duty of care caused the accident: Called “causation,” it simply means that because a sign wasn’t placed over the spill or quickly cleaned up, you slipped and fell on the floor.
- There must be damages: In other words, the accident caused by the shop owner’s negligence caused your injuries which, in turn, cost you in medical bills, lost wages, and other expenses.
Once negligence is established, you can sue the negligent party. A personal injury claim can be made for car accidents, truck, or motorcycle accidents and in cases of defective products, premises liability or even dog bites.
Comparative negligence in a Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Idaho is a comparative negligence state. Also called comparative responsibility, it simply allows the court to “reduce the amount of damages that a plaintiff can recover in a negligence-based claim according to the degree of negligence each party contributed to the incident.” A simple example is one in which a driver is making a turn onto a busy road that has no stop sign but is not cautious about oncoming traffic.
In the meantime, another car that’s going well over the speed limit hits the car that just made a left turn onto the busy road. The court may determine that while the speeding driver bears 75 percent of the fault, the inattentive driver who made the left turn is 25 percent responsible. If the award is $100,000, it is reduced by 25 percent, making it $75,000.
What goes into determining the total compensation in a Coeur d’Alene personal injury claim?
In order to maximize your award, we typically follow two avenues of compensation:
Economic losses are those which are more easily calculable and have explicit monetary values. They include costs of:
- Loss of earnings
- Medical care—including physician, hospital, and pharmacy bills
- Domestic services
- In the case of wrongful death, funeral expenses
Non-economic damages are intangible and under Idaho law, are capped at $250,000. Non-economic damages may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of quality of life
- Emotional distress
Contact us about your Coeur d’Alene personal injury case
Our Coeur d’Alene Personal Injury Lawyer makes sure that insurance companies don’t add insult to injury by asking you to settle for less than everything you need and everything you deserve. Talk to us before you talk to the insurance company to make sure that you get full and fair compensation for your injuries.
To schedule a free consultation, please call us at 208-981-0555 or complete and submit tour free injury claim valuation form.
