Personal Injury Lawyer in Hammond, IN
Accidents can happen at any time. When someone suffers serious injuries or is killed because of another party’s negligence or misconduct in Hammond, the victim or the victim’s family may be entitled to claim compensation for the harm caused.
Accident victims often face several significant financial challenges if they have serious injuries. Medical bills can be overwhelming. An inability to return to work can reduce income and add stress. The insurance company may dispute your claim, making it difficult for you to obtain a fair and full settlement on your own.
Since 1999, the experienced and caring team at Craig, Kelley & Faultless has helped clients throughout the greater Hammond area with all types of personal injury claims. Our firm has five office locations in Indiana. We provide legal representation on a contingency fee basis, so you won’t owe any legal fees unless we recover money damages for your injuries.
Highly respected founding partners David W. Craig, William J. Kelly II, and Scott A. Faultless have received numerous honors and awards recognizing their legal knowledge and abilities. All three personal injury attorneys have been named among Indiana’s Top 100 Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers Association.
The record of success of the entire Craig, Kelley & Faultless, LLC, team has earned the firm membership in both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
Our law firm can provide an honest and thorough evaluation of your situation when you call (800) 746-0226 or contact us online to set up a free consultation. We will help you understand your legal options and whether you have a valid personal injury claim.
How Can a Hammond, IN Personal Injury Lawyer Help?
If we handle your case, the first thing that our legal team will do is to commence an independent investigation into your accident. The goal of the investigation is to determine the cause of the accident and identify all the at-fault parties. Our personal injury lawyer will collect all of the documentation relevant to your case.
Your injury lawyer will take the hassle of dealing with pushy insurance company representatives off of your plate. No matter how friendly or concerned an insurance adjuster may sound on the phone, the responsible party’s insurer is never really on your side.
In many cases, a stubborn insurance company might contend you were primarily at fault and refuse to pay you anything. In the alternative, the insurer could offer you a lump sum settlement that falls short of compensating you for the full extent of your injuries and losses.
While a quick settlement might sound tempting, you need to keep in mind all of the expenses relating to your needs. Too often, victims who rush to accept an offer realize quickly that the payout won’t cover future treatment.
Our Hammond injury attorneys can develop a solid estimate of the present and future medical costs related to your injury. We will seek to negotiate a fair settlement that reflects the full value of your claim.
Common Causes of Personal Injuries
Car accidents represent the most common kind of personal injury claim. Although two-car accidents might be the norm, the aftermath of a crash can be even more complicated to resolve if it involves multiple liable parties or commercial vehicles.
Crashes involving semi-trucks and tractor-trailers, which can cause devastating injuries, often involve multiple responsible parties such as a negligent truck driver, the driver’s employer, and in some cases a freight shipper.
In a slip-and-fall accident or another premises liability claim, it is often a property owner who is responsible because of the failure to monitor, prevent, or correct a dangerous condition. In certain situations, schools may be held liable for injuries to students that occur because of negligent supervision or other negligent acts.
Injuries due to an unprovoked dog attack are a common basis for a personal injury claim in Indiana. You may receive compensation (typically paid by the dog’s owner’s homeowners insurance policy) if you were attacked in the home, on personal property, or in a public place when the dog should have been appropriately restrained.
Accidents that occur in the workplace can be more procedurally complicated because of state-regulated workers’ compensation laws. In some of these cases, negligent third parties could be held responsible for their actions or inaction.
Can I File a Lawsuit for Personal Injury in Hammond?
While our Hammon injury attorneys may file personal injury lawsuits, we are successful in reaching a settlement in most cases without having to go to trial.
If a settlement appears out of reach, however, a Craig Kelly and Faultless trial attorney will be prepared to seek justice for you in a Lake County courtroom.
To have a valid personal injury lawsuit in Indiana, a victim needs to be less than 51 percent at fault for their injuries. Indiana is considered a modified comparative fault state, which means that no person can file a lawsuit when they were more negligent than a defendant.
If you file a lawsuit in Indiana, it is also important to understand that any damages you are awarded could be reduced by your share of negligence.
This means that if you are awarded $100,000 in damages for an accident that you are found to have been 25 percent at fault for, your award is reduced by $25,000. Thus, you would ultimately receive $75,000.
Insurance companies may try to trick you into admitting fault, which is why you must be especially careful with what you say to any adjuster. Let your personal injury attorney deal with the insurance adjuster, and never provide a statement to an insurer on your own.
Do I Have Legal Rights to Personal Injury Compensation?
You could be entitled to monetary compensation in a settlement or a court verdict or judgment. Personal injury compensation may include economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are the actual costs for which you have been or will be billed. This includes medical expenses, lost income, and property damage. Noneconomic damages relate more to psychological or emotional harm, usually including pain and suffering, mental distress, or disfigurement.
Ideally, settlements are designed to cover all of the costs of your injuries and expenses related to the accident. Insurance companies are rarely quick to hand over a big check or accept a victim’s initial demands. A skilled Hammond personal injury lawyer will be able to negotiate for the most advantageous possible settlement.
About Hammond, IN
Hammond is the largest city in Lake County located in the northwestern corner of Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The Indiana Toll Road, a part of Interstate 90 (I-90), and the Frank Borman Expressway, which includes Interstate 80 (I-80) and Interstate 94 (I-94), run through Hammond.
Law Enforcement Serving Hammond, IN
If you are injured in a car accident or truck accident in Lake County, one of the following law enforcement agencies may respond to the accident:
Hammond Police Department
509 Douglas St.
Hammond, IN 46320
(219) 853-6490
Lake County Sheriff’s Department
2293 N. Main St.
Crown Point, IN 46307
(219) 755-3400
Indiana State Police (ISP) —Hammond is in District 13 based in Lowell.
Indiana State Police District 13
1550 E. 181st Ave.
Lowell, IN 46356
(219) 696-6242
Emergency Medical Care
If you require emergency medical treatment after a car accident or other type of accident, you may be transported to the Franciscan Health emergency room.
Franciscan Health Hammond
5454 Hohman Ave.
Hammond, IN 46320
(219) 932-2300
Legal Courts
Personal injury lawsuits are civil cases that are typically filed in Lake County Superior Court.
Lake County Superior Court — Superior Courts are also courts of general jurisdiction that hear all civil and criminal cases. Superior Courts in Lake County are organized into seven rooms in the Civil Division and four rooms in the Criminal Division.
Lake County Superior Court
2293 N. Main St.
Crown Point, IN 46307
(219) 755-3000
Lake Circuit Court — The Lake County Circuit Court located in Crown Point is a trial court of general jurisdiction. It hears all civil and criminal cases, except when exclusive or concurrent jurisdiction is conferred upon other courts. It also has appellate jurisdiction over appeals from city and town courts.
Lake Circuit Court
2293 N. Main St.
Crown Point, IN 46307
(219) 755-3488
Hammond City Court — City Courts customarily have jurisdiction over violations of city ordinances and misdemeanors. The City Court largely handles traffic matters, such as tickets issued after an accident.
Hammond City Court
5925 Calumet Ave.
Hammond, IN 46320
(219) 853-6388
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney in Hammond, IN
If you suffered serious injuries or your loved one was harmed or killed in an accident caused by another party’s negligence in the Hammond area, experienced legal representation is necessary to help you recover from the resulting physical, emotional, and financial challenges.
Contact Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC as soon as possible to learn how we can assist. Our dedicated attorneys are determined to fight insurance companies, dangerous trucking companies, and other businesses and corporations that put profits ahead of safety.
Our highly trained personal injury attorneys won’t back down from seeking justice from the party that injured you.
With personal and respectful attention, our entire team will work to make sure that you recover every dollar to which you are entitled. Call (800) 746-0226 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation. Our attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, which means that we don’t get paid unless we help you win your case.