Hire the Best Personal Injury Attorneys in Rio Rancho
Being the victim of an accident can leave you with lasting injuries and trauma. Knowing someone else’s negligence was the cause can leave you angry and frustrated.
New Mexico law allows injured victims to sue the negligent parties for compensation. We know no amount of money can heal your injuries. But it may help stabilize your financial situation, which can help you relax and recover.
Contact a Rio Rancho personal injury lawyer to help you through this difficult time.
With decades of combined legal experience, Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C. stands by your side and helps you put your life back together.
We Want to Hear Your Story – and We Want to Help
Personal Injury Examples
Any incident can lead to a personal injury. Common personal injury cases we deal with include the following:
- Car accidents,
- Truck accidents,
- Motorcycle accidents,
- Bicycle accidents,
- Pedestrian accidents,
- Train accidents,
- Workplace injuries,
- Dram shop liability,
- Wrongful death,
- Oilfield injuries,
- Products liability,
- Slip and fall accidents,
- Swimming pool accidents, and
- Sexual abuse.
If you or a loved one has been involved in one of these accidents, or any other incident resulting in personal injury, contact Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C.
What Are Common Personal Injuries?
Every case is different and injuries vary widely. However, common severe injuries that can result from an accident include:
- Catastrophic injuries,
- Brain injuries,
- Burn injuries, and
- Spinal cord injuries.
Because of their complexity and potential to leave you with devastating and lasting damage, we have specific teams to handle cases with such severe injuries.
Other injuries you may suffer include the following:
- Broken bones and fractures,
- Internal organ damage,
- Muscle strains and sprains,
- Back injuries,
- Joint injuries,
- Internal bleeding,
- Bruises,
- Lacerations,
- Paralysis,
- Loss of limb,
- Disfigurement, and
- Coma.
If your loved one was killed in the incident, then you may be able to pursue a wrongful death claim.
How Do I Prove a Personal Injury Case?
Most personal injury cases are rooted in the doctrine of negligence. Negligence essentially means the failure to take reasonable care in a given situation. You must prove the four elements of negligence to be successful in your personal injury claim.
- Duty of care—the party must have owed you a duty of reasonable care;
- Breach of duty—the party must have breached their duty to you;
- Causation—you must prove a connection between the breach of duty and your accident or injury, and
- Damages—you must prove you suffered losses as a result of the breach of duty.
Our seasoned Rio Rancho personal injury lawyers will examine all the evidence and build a strong personal injury claim.
What Types of Financial Compensation Can I Recover with My Personal Injury Claim?
New Mexico law allows for the recovery of both economic and non-economic damages. The following are potential types of compensation you may be entitled to recover.
Medical Expenses
After an accident, you’re overwhelmed with medical expenses. These expenses can include the following:
- Emergency room visits,
- Hospital stays,
- Doctor visits,
- Surgeries,
- Diagnostic tests,
- Prescriptions,
- Rehabilitation,
- Therapy,
- Medical equipment, and
- Home nursing care.
Our experienced personal injury attorneys can help you gather these medical documents and calculate your losses.
Lost Income
You can recover lost income from time missed at work after an accident. You can also recover compensation if your employment changes because of the accident.
For example, if you have to work less hours than before the accident, you may be able to recover the difference. Similarly, if you had to take a less demanding job due to your injuries, you may be able to recover compensation if you make less money in your new position.
Pain and Suffering
After an accident, you can suffer excruciating pain as well as psychological and emotional distress. You can recover compensation for these intangible costs as well.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life
An accident can leave your life turned upside down. It may be hard to enjoy the things you used to love doing. For example, if you were an ardent cyclist but lost a leg in a truck accident, you would obviously be unable to continue that beloved activity.
New Mexico law allows for recovery for this loss of enjoyment of life. It is subjective, so it is difficult to calculate. We can help you gather evidence, such as testimony and photographs, to prove such losses.
What Is the Difference Between Pure and Modified Comparative Negligence?
Pure and modified comparative negligence are different types of negligence.
Pure Comparative Negligence
With pure comparative negligence, a personal injury victim can recover even if they are at fault for the accident. For example, if you are 40% at fault for the accident, you can still recover compensation. However, this compensation is reduced based on your percentage of fault.
In the example, you would only be able to recover 60% of your damages. This is true even if you are 99% at fault for the accident—you’d still be able to recover 1% of your damages.
Modified Comparative Negligence
Modified comparative negligence permits recovery if you share some fault for the accident. However, it only permits recovery if a certain threshold is maintained. This threshold is usually 50% or 51% depending on the state.
If your fault is below this threshold, you can still recover compensation. In the example, because 40% fault is below the threshold, you could still recover compensation. This compensation is reduced by your portion of the fault, as with pure comparative negligence.
However, suppose you were 60% at fault for the accident. Because this exceeds the 50% or 51% threshold, you wouldn’t be able to recover any compensation in a modified comparative negligence jurisdiction.
New Mexico Is a Pure Comparative Negligence State
New Mexico is a pure comparative negligence state. Therefore, in New Mexico, you can recover compensation for the damages even if you are up to 99% at fault for the incident that led to your injuries.
However, because of this rule, insurance companies relentlessly try to push the fault towards you. The more you are at fault, the less compensation they have to pay you. We won’t let them take advantage of you. At Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C., we fight for the compensation you deserve, even if it means going to trial.
Speak to a Skilled Rio Rancho Personal Injury Attorney
Our legal team is here to help you with your case.
How Long Do I Have to Bring My Personal Injury Claim?
The New Mexico statute of limitations for a personal injury claim is three years. The time to bring a claim starts running on the day of the incident. Generally, once this deadline passes you cannot recover compensation for your injuries.
Don’t let this happen. Contact the law office of Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C. as soon as possible. We don’t want you to lose the opportunity for recovery.
Speak to a Rio Rancho Personal Injury Lawyer
At Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C., our clients come first. We won’t give up until we secure your maximum compensation. Our law firm balances experience with a fierce reputation and dedicated advocates. Our attorneys have extensive knowledge and understand all the complexities and nuances of personal injury law.
We operate on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t pay us any money unless and until we win money for you. We’ll take our fee from the compensation we get on your behalf. If you don’t get anything, then we don’t get anything.
Contact us now and speak to a Rio Rancho personal injury attorney for a free case evaluation.