Washington, D.C. Personal Injury Lawyer

After a personal injury, you are likely left stressed and worried about how you will handle all of your bills. Fortunately, you may be entitled to compensation for your damages. A Washington, D.C. personal injury lawyer at McDonald Worley is here to help you get the compensation you need and deserve.. To find out how we can help you get compensation for your case, call our office at (877)721-3423 today to schedule your free consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys.

When hiring an attorney, you want to make sure that you find the best lawyer to represent you. In our 20 plus years of serving injury victims, we have developed an approach that is thorough and aggressive. As a result, we have been recognized by publications like Newsweek and Time Magazine. Fair compensation for your injuries will have a huge impact on your financial well being and ability to properly recover from your injury, without feeling like you have to rush back to work.

We are proud to stand up on our clients’ behalf and fight for their needs. If you have suffered at the hands of another’s negligence or recklessness in Washington DC, our personal injury attorneys are here to help. Don’t take the risk of handling your case alone, contact our office and get help from one of our experienced attorneys, risk-free.

How Much Does It Cost To Hire A Personal Injury Lawyer?

Unfortunately, far too many people who have been injured hesitate before contacting an attorney because they’re worried about the expense. Many of the best personal injury lawyers work on a contingency basis, which removes a lot of financial obstacles standing between you and the legal expertise you deserve. Working on contingency means that you do not need to pay your lawyer anything unless and unless you win your case. Your fee will take the form of an agreed-on percentage of the compensation you receive. This is usually between 25 and 40 percent.

The exact percentage you will owe your lawyer depends on the specifics of your case and how much legal work it requires. One of the biggest factors in setting your fee percentage is whether or not you have to take your case to court. Your fee percentage will be lower if you and your lawyer can secure the compensation you’re looking for through a negotiated settlement instead of going to trial.

Besides reducing the upfront expense of obtaining representation, the contingency basis also has the advantage of introducing a strong motivational factor to your lawyer’s work. Their pay depends on how effectively they advocate for you, so they will be committed to doing their best.

Not all attorneys work on a contingency basis. Other common payment structures include charging an hourly fee or a flat per-case fee. These fee structures have their advantages for certain clients and certain situations, but most personal injury clients are best served by a contingency arrangement.

What Can An Injury Attorney Do For Me?

A personal injury attorney helps his or her client in a host of different ways. Most good attorneys who handle personal injury cases make it a point to provide all the assistance they possibly can within the bounds of professional ethical standards.. This is an essential component of the attorney’s skill set. The ability to perform their duties – arguing cases, filing complaints, providing legal advice, preparing legal documentation, and more – all relies on the lawyer being licensed to practice by the state bar association. One of the prerequisites for that licensure is thoroughly understanding and complying with the ethical rules and codes of conduct that apply in the state.

The lawyer’s job begins with an in-depth client interview that allows the lawyer to formulate an initial case assessment. Even at this early stage of the process, a good lawyer will be able to identify the most important issues in the specific case and plan out the research and work that will be necessary to make the case successful. For injury attorneys, in particular, the most important guiding professional principle is that the lawyer must help their clients seek justice and fair compensation after they (the clients) have experienced loss and suffering. The attorney fulfills that duty with many different services, including counseling clients, advocating on their behalf, arguing cases in court, and much more. Not every personal injury case ends up going to trial, but it is a distinct possibility if the parties involved cannot reach an amicable settlement together.

The professional ethical codes described above does put limits on what a personal injury lawyer can do.. Rest easy! These limits are entirely focused on making sure your rights and interests take precedence over those of your lawyer. Your attorney owes you advocacy, confidentiality, and his or her very best efforts in advancing your interests in every legal and ethical way possible.

What Can The Compensation Award In A Personal Injury Case Account For?

In the broadest sense, “compensation” is defined as money awarded to you to reimburse you for losses suffered through the fault of another party. Damages that deserve compensation are those that you would not have suffered except through the negligence or carelessness of another. Monetary compensation may not be capable of completely undoing the losses you have due to an injury, but you are still entitled to the financial resources you need to bring your life as close to normal as possible.

Economic Damages

Economic damages in a personal injury case are those expenses and losses that are easy to measure objectively. Bills you have to pay or wages you lost due to your injury are both easy to verify through documentation or other means.

Medical expenses (e.g. hospitalization, specialty treatment, emergency care, surgery, medications, etc) are all easily tracked by reference to the invoices and bills sent by your service providers. In the case of lost wages, you can use documentation describing your previous earnings, like pay stubs or income tax records, to show what you would have earned in a given period had you not been injured.

Non-Economic Damages

These are the more subjective losses you suffer after an injury. Any temporary or permanent effect an injury has on your quality of life can be considered as non-economic damage. Examples include pain, suffering, scarring, disfigurement, psychological changes, and more. Non-economic damages cannot be measured through documentation. An experienced personal injury attorney in D.C. will use a range of different tactics to estimate the monetary value of non-economic damages.

How Long Should I Expect My Case To Take?

Case timelines vary widely based on the details of the individual case. One important yardstick for every personal injury case, though, is your state of health.. Your full recovery from your injury is always the top priority, and good injury attorneys understand that.

Not only is it important to your long-term health to obtain all of the medical treatment you need, but it also generally helpful to your case to hold off on pursuing a settlement too early. If your recovery process is still underway, it may give insurers an excuse to underestimate your total medical expenses and the amount of compensation you deserve. You can expect your injury attorney to work closely with your doctors and other healthcare providers to ensure that your treatment is comprehensively recorded and all expenses are logged.

Most accident attorneys like to work directly from your medical records as they develop your compensation case. Medical records are authoritative documents, and well-crafted arguments using them as the basis for describing the effect of your injuries can be highly persuasive.

Types of Cases our Personal Injury Attorneys Handle

There are numerous different types of accidents that warrant legal action. We understand how overwhelming it can be to identify what type of accident or injury you have suffered from. That’s why our Washington, D.C. personal injury lawyers possess a comprehensive knowledge of the field and can assist you throughout the legal process.

Our areas of practice are detailed below to give you a better idea of why you deserve compensation and how our legal team will build and fight for your case. You will also gain more understanding of how to collect evidence when you suffer an injury, this will make it easier to build and prove your claim.

We understand how painful, physically and emotionally, these accidents can be, and our lawyers will approach your experience with compassion, understanding, and expertise. Here, you can learn whether your injury has the grounds for a legal fight and which type of injury it falls under.

Car Accidents

In the United States, almost 9 in 10 households own a car and driving is part of our daily lives. Unfortunately, that means that many of us will at one time or another be involved in a car accident.
Sometimes these accidents are small and only damage the vehicle, but many accidents are traumatic and can cause serious injury or even the death of a loved one.

Your life has probably been seriously impacted by the injury sustained in the car accident. You likely have unexpected medical bills as well as any repair work for the car, or even having to buy an entirely new vehicle. You have the right to seek compensation from the responsible party.

Our car accident attorneys have years of experience handling cases that deal with the victims of rear-end accidents, incidents involving distracted drivers, and head-on collisions. Insurance companies will try to find the cheapest options, but this usually isn’t good enough and won’t cover all of your losses. We are sensitive to the fact that this can be an extremely stressful and frustrating time, and we are here to offer legal guidance and support throughout.

Truck Accidents

Accidents involving a commercial or semi-truck can be devastating and because they are usually more complex than accidents only involving cars, insurance companies will avoid full investigations. Trucking insurance companies are especially adept at reducing how much they have to pay. You should seek legal counsel from a truck accident lawyer to ensure that you receive the right amount of compensation and not the minimum amount.

These accidents have a much higher likelihood of serious injury or fatalities because of the size and weight of commercial trucks. Oftentimes these accidents will involve more than two vehicles, which can further complicate the understanding of the accident, namely how exactly it happened and who is at fault.

You should seek immediate legal guidance if you have been in a truck accident. This will give us enough time to build an accurate case before the insurance company can manipulate the information surrounding the accident. Not only will we collect and protect the evidence, but we will also stand beside you throughout the case and ensure that you receive justice and compensation.

Motorcycle Accidents

Were you riding a motorcycle when the accident occurred? Insurance companies and members of the public usually have a negative opinion of motorcycles and riders, which can unfairly impact their opinion of the accident. You should immediately seek help from our accident attorneys who won’t have this bias and can build a fair case on your behalf.

If you were the motorcycle rider, it is also more likely that you will have suffered from a serious injury because motorcycles lack many of the basic safety features of other vehicles. Careless or inattentive drivers run the risk of not seeing motorcyclists, which can cause severe bodily harm. At the time of the accident, it is a good idea to get a police report and know the names of everyone else involved.

Remember that just because you don’t immediately feel pain, it doesn’t mean you aren’t injured. You should receive medical help in case of an underlying injury. You deserve for people to hear your story without bias or baseless negativity toward motorcyclists. Our motorcycle accident lawyer will ensure that you receive the compensation and justice you need.

Bicycle Accidents

There are a variety of types of accidents that can happen involving a bicycle. For instance, you might be hit by a car while riding your bicycle, or you could have been hit by a bike as a pedestrian. As soon as you can, you should contact our bike accident attorneys as soon as possible so that we can begin helping you.

While many bicycle claims are comparable to claims involving cars, when the accident occurs on sidewalks, in parks, or on paths, different procedures apply. Whether you are the bicyclist or pedestrian, the team at McDonald Worley has the necessary experience and determination to develop your claim and bring your case forward.

As with motorcyclists, when you ride a bike, you expose much of your body to the potential risk of harm and you lack the necessary safety features to protect yourself. Broken bones, concussions, and soft tissue injuries are common if you are hit by a car while on a bicycle. You should try to get information from bystanders who witnessed the accident so that we can build a solid understanding of how you were injured.

Uber Accidents

Accidents involving Uber drivers are becoming increasingly common with the meteoric rise of the rideshare app. You may suffer from whiplash, broken bones, or brain trauma as a result of the accident. It can be confusing to understand how much insurance the driver has, whether he provides it all himself or if Uber also insures the driver in case of accidents..

Our attorneys understand the intricacies of claims involving Uber drivers and we will walk you through the process and stand behind you throughout it all. Rideshare companies retain large teams of lawyers to trip you up and prevent you from getting much needed financial compensation. Our Uber accident lawyers in DC are ready to fight for you against an unfair system.

Their insurance providers will also do everything they can to avoid paying large claims. They will try to deny and refute your experience. We will bring our understanding, concern, and expertise to your case and work to get you the compensation you deserve.

Pedestrian Accidents

Being hit by a car as a pedestrian comes as a complete shock and is an extremely traumatic event. Often, you are just crossing the street and a reckless or distracted driver will hit you without warning. Even if the car is not moving at a high speed, you can still suffer grievous harm.

Of course, pedestrians also have laws to follow and you cannot assume that you had the right of way. However, if you are certain that the driver was at fault you should contact our team to ensure you have a resilient pedestrian accident lawyer ready to fight for you.

Our lawyers understand pedestrian laws, as well as the duty of care car drivers, have toward pedestrians. We want to make our communities safer and holding drivers accountable for dangerous driving is just one of the things we pride ourselves on. We have the ability to subpoena cell phone records and cameras near the scene to get all the facts about the accident and make sure you have a strong case to put forth.

Wrongful Death

Losing a loved one because of another person’s reckless actions or carelessness is not only tragic but incredibly upsetting and infuriating. Your horrible loss is made worse by feelings of confusion and anger. Our attorneys will offer you compassion and support during this challenging time. We will put your emotional needs first while we fight for justice.

We understand that money cannot heal or take away your pain. However, losing a member of your family can put extreme financial pressure on you, adding stress to an already demanding time. In the case of wrongful deaths, you likely deserve financial compensation that can go a long way to easing this stress so that you can focus on putting your life back in order and take the first steps toward grieving and healing.

You are able to file a wrongful death claim if you have ‘standing’, which means you are the spouse, parent, or child of the deceased. Unfortunately, this means that grandparents and step-parents cannot file a wrongful death suit as the law will not permit it. We want to support you during your time of need and alleviate the stress that often accompanies any legal action.

Nursing Home Abuse

When you help a loved one transition into life in a nursing home, you place a lot of trust in strangers to take proper care of your relative and give them emotional and physical support every day.
When this trust is abused, you are left feeling violated and betrayed.

Unfortunately, nursing homes do not always offer their staff a good wage and many work long hours and struggle to keep up with their duties. If a nursing home is understaffed, residents may not have all their needs met and can suffer from negligence and abuse.

This neglect can reach horrific levels, including starvation, theft, over-medication, and assault. Residents in nursing homes are usually vulnerable and more easily taken advantage of. It can sometimes be difficult to know whether your relative is being neglected or abused. Look out for these common signs of abuse: unexpected hair loss, burn marks, broken bones or sprains, and bruises.

If you discover that your loved one has been harmed, immediately contact our legal office and ask for a nursing home abuse attorney so they can begin building your case. We take claims of nursing home abuse very seriously and we will offer you support and legal counsel while we fight against the pain and injustice you and your family have suffered.

Brain Injuries

McDonald Worley’s personal injury attorneys have in-depth knowledge and are experienced with brain injury claims. We understand the complex nature of traumatic brain injuries and will help you understand the legal process of making a claim in court.

Brain injuries typically occur when something impacts the head, which caused the brain to rebound within the skull, causing bruising and injury to delicate brain tissue. You might find that after a brain injury, your reasoning skills, emotions, and personality have been acutely affected.

Some side effects of brain injuries are difficulty walking or staying balanced, having trouble with your fine motor skills, and memory loss. However, this is far from a comprehensive list and you should seek immediate medical attention if you believe you or a loved one has suffered a brain injury.

Our lawyers who represent clients with brain injuries can explain to you the legal options available and guide you through the claims process. Brain injuries can change your life forever, affecting your job prospects and physical strength. It is important to seek compensation to alleviate the new stresses of your day to day life.

Burn Injuries

Suffering from burns can be extremely painful and recovering from them can take months or even years. You can also be left with permanent psychological and emotional trauma.
If you suffered burns due to another person’s negligence or recklessness, you should seek legal representation and guidance. Our personal injury team in DC will work to get you the compensation you need to start the healing process and gain justice for your peace of mind.

Chemical burns might occur from an unsafe or improperly tested product, or you may be burned during a bonfire or at an unsafe property. These instances result in a burn which is the fault of another person who should be held accountable.

Your medical bills will also be very high if you are a burn victim. This is because burns are among the most expensive injuries to treat. You should not have to suffer huge financial losses because of someone else’s negligence.

Dog Bites

If you are the victim of a dog bite, you should call a dog bite lawyer as soon as possible so that necessary evidence can be quickly gathered by experts in the field..
Being attacked by a dog can cause physical pain and permanent scars, as well as psychological trauma and new panic associated with dogs. You should take pictures of the injury and seek immediate medical help.

Washington DC law can make it difficult to take legal action against a dog owner if the dog has never attacked anyone previously and leash laws were followed. However, you should still contact our team of dog bite attorneys for legal help so that we can determine if you have the grounds for a lawsuit. If you do, we will fight for your claim so that you are compensated satisfactorily.

Contact an Experienced DC Personal Injury Lawyer at McDonald Worley Today

Unlike an insurance company, a personal injury lawyer in Washington, D.C. at McDonald Worley won’t ignore your needs. We fight to protect those in our DC community and will aggressively pursue your case so that you receive the necessary financial compensated and justice. When you suffer from a personal injury, it can be a painful, stressful, and emotionally strenuous time in your life. We care about the experience you went through and want to make sure others listen to it as well.

When you or someone you love is the victim of recklessness or negligence, you have the right to hold the responsible party accountable for their actions. You can rest assured that we will fight for real justice so that you receive not only financial compensation but peace of mind and vindication as well. We know that money often isn’t enough. There are also long term effects from most types of injuries. That means lasting emotional and psychological distress, lost wages, and recurrent hospital visits.

We understand that every case is different and each of the thousands of cases our lawyers have taken on has been treated as individual and meaningful. You will receive our support and full attention because we care about your story and the relationship we build with you. McDonald Worley has a track record, a resilient team, and when we fight for you, our heart is in it. Time is of the essence when you have a personal injury claim to make. So contact our team today so that we can immediately start building a strong, provable case for you.

McDonald Worley brings to court thorough knowledge and understanding of the personal injury field, compassion and sympathy for this difficult time in your life, and the determination needed to see your case through.

McDonald Worley
100 M Street, S.E.
Suite 600
Washington, D.C. 20003
(by appointment only)