Colorado Personal Injury Law

The laws governing Personal Injury cases take years to understand and master. It is not a stretch to say that Personal Injury is one of the more legally complicated specialties that an attorney can have. The attorneys at Kinnaird Cloyes & Kinnaird, P.C. have dedicated themselves to understanding these legal complexities and are able to convey them to you in understandable everyday language. In fact the Attorneys at Kinnaird Cloyes & Kinnaird, P.C. have been handling PI cases for over 30 years and have vast experience in handling even the most complicated case.

A basic legal understanding is helpful. There are three elements that must be shown in every personal injury case. The first element is liability. Liability is demonstrated when one person breaches a legal duty. Running a red light or a stop sign is a breach of a legal duty, as is speeding or driving with a defective vehicle. If you are injured due to another party’s breach of a legal duty that party would be responsible for the damage.

The second element is Damages. Damages measure the losses to the person that was injured and are measured in many ways. Two of the most common ways are medical bills and lost wages, since both can be easily quantified. Lost wages can be shown with tax returns, pay slips, time sheets, and bank statements. Medical bills can be documented through insurance bills, hospital records and with the help of doctors and other medical providers.

Other damages such as inconvenience, loss of quality of life, the negative effect an injury has on others, such as family members, and other less quantifiable damages are just as real, but more difficult to prove. Journals, interviews and other methods can be used to show these losses.

The final element is causation. The injured party must prove that the breach of duty
actually caused the damage. Causation is most often demonstrated by using experts such as the police, accident reconstructionists, and doctors to show that the injuries sustained were caused by the breach of duty.

A final issue that arises in many personal injury cases is that of liens and subrogation. In fact this is often the most frustrating part of a personal injury case. With both liens and subrogation, third parties will claim to be entitled to a part of your settlement. Kinnaird Cloyes & Kinnaird, P.C. will negotiate all liens and subrogation issues for you. We will attempt to either eliminate or reduce these payments in order to maximize your settlement. The law governs who can and can not claim a part of your settlement and we strictly enforce that on your behalf.