Imagine you’re sitting in your dentist’s waiting room with your eyes tightly closed, anticipating the worst. What if that worst does not entail Novocain and a dental procedure, but a truck ramming through the building walls, entering the lobby where your dentist’s practice is located, and coming to a stop in the waiting room just a few feet from where you are sitting?
Unlikely scenario? It happened to patients of a Conway dentist on August 14. The truck’s impact was so strong that its force knocked dental assistants next door off their feet. The truck pushed one of the waiting room patients eight feet back into the room. Fortunately, neither this patient nor any of the children in the waiting room were seriously injured. What if they had been, though?
This kind of accident happens more frequently that most people know. Personal injury attorneys are lawyers whose practice specialty involves protecting the legal rights of innocent bystanders in situations like this.
What Is Personal Injury?
Personal injury is a specialized area of law that helps the victims of a third party’s negligence receive financial compensation for injuries they’ve sustained. Personal injury attorneys work on your behalf when you’ve been involved in a motor vehicle-related accident, but they also provide legal counsel and representation when you’ve been injured as a result of poorly maintained premises, professional negligence or even through the use of defective products.
Many injuries are preventable through the implementation of reasonable safety precautions. The absence of these safety precautions often constitutes negligence on the part of a third party, which can entitle you to compensation from that third party. Personal injury attorneys may help you recover compensation for:
• Medical bills and bills arising from rehabilitation treatments
• Lost wages and wages that will be lost in the future for the period you are unable to work
• Physical and emotional pain and suffering caused by your injuries.
If you’ve lost a family member in an accident or through the negligence of a third party in some other circumstance, you may also be entitled to compensation for the loss of support, services and companionship provided by that family member. If you find yourself in this situation, consulting with experienced personal injury attorneys can help determine the strength of your legal case.
The Conway Accident
The driver of the truck that plowed into the Conway dental practice on August 14 told police the accident occurred because her foot slipped off the brake pedal and on to the gas pedal. The truck was newly purchased, and the driver behind the wheel was inexperienced with its controls. The damage to the building was estimated at $50,000.
None of the patients in the waiting room were seriously injured, though the elderly patient who was pushed back was treated in a nearby hospital for minor cuts. What if you had been sitting in that waiting room, though? What if the truck had accelerated into the room a few feet farther, though, and what if the elderly gentleman who sustained those injuries had been your father or grandfather? What if the children in that waiting room had been injured?
If you have been injured in an accident similar to the one occurring at the Conway dentist’s office on August 14th, or in another accident caused by the fault of another, you should consult with qualified personal injury attorneys. Insurance companies increase their profits by minimizing their payments. If they see that you are not represented, most will automatically seek to under-compensate you. Hiring a lawyer is a wise move even if you have been offered a settlement by an insurance company. Experienced attorneys have a thorough knowledge of state laws pertaining to personal injury. They know how to negotiate with insurance companies and other entities, including employers and motor vehicle manufacturers, to help ensure you get fair compensation if you’ve sustained injuries. If you or someone you know has been injured and you believe you have a claim, contact Attorney Group for Arkansas today to find out what legal options may be available to you.
