Charleston WV Personal Injury Attorneys
Representing injured victims to recover fair compensation in West Virginia
The sole mission of Calwell Luce diTrapano PLLC is to help injured clients. When you retain our Charleston, WV personal injury attorneys for your case, you get a tenacious legal team working tirelessly to deliver optimum results.
How our West Virginia personal injury lawyers can help you
Our Charleston law firm represents clients in West Virginia and throughout the country in all types of personal injury cases, including:
- Babies Born Dependent to Opioids— Our team evaluates claims against irresponsible drug manufacturers, pharmacies, and distributors whose negligence may have played a role in fueling the addiction epidemic and destroying innocent lives and families.
- Wrongful death— With compassion and respect, we represent families who have lost their loved ones in a wrongful death. If someone else’s negligence or actions caused your loss, your family should not have to endure additional suffering. Let us put our decades of experience representing families in wrongful death actions to work for you.
- Products liability— We have represented individuals across West Virginia and the country in products liability lawsuits seeking to recover compensation for diseases and disorders caused by chemicals, pesticides, defective products, or prescription drugs.
- Auto accidents — Our attorneys demand that insurance companies and negligent drivers take responsibility for injuries suffered in motorcycle, truck, bus, or car accidents. If you are involved in any type of vehicle accident, we can help you recover just compensation.
- Workplace injuries — Our personal injury lawyers pursue maximum recovery for injuries sustained in workplace accidents. We handle cases for construction, highway work zone, coal mining, and other dangerous job sites.
- Medical malpractice — Our West Virginia law firm holds doctors and hospitals accountable for medical malpractice resulting in injury or death. Our attorneys are experienced in gathering and reviewing the facts surrounding improperly conducted procedures leading to injury or death. If you believe you have been the victim of medical professional malpractice, including an overlooked illness that you believe should have been detected, we can assist you in seeking compensation.
- Nursing home negligence — If your loved one has suffered because of nursing home negligence, abuse, or exploitation, we understand that the pain extends to an entire family. We aggressively pursue these cases, holding nursing homes or long-term care facilities responsible for their neglect or damaging actions.
As soon as you retain our services, we begin investigating your case to preserve evidence that can help us maximize your recovery. We’ve been helping injured clients since 1976, so we have decades of experience to draw on while negotiating a settlement or litigating before a judge or jury.
Helping you file your personal injury claim and fighting to deliver results
Anyone can file a personal injury claim with an insurance company or file a lawsuit in state court. However, the process is complex and would be difficult to manage while you are recovering from a serious injury. Calwell Luce diTrapano PLLC has the specific legal knowledge and professional experience to see your claim through to a successful conclusion.
If you do decide to file a personal injury claim with an insurance company, you can expect lowball offers and endless delays. These tactics are calculated to wear you down so you’ll settle for less than your case is worth. The reason is simple: insurance companies don’t take self-represented claimants seriously because they seldom file a lawsuit. West Virginia law places a two-year limit on your right to sue. If you don’t act within that time frame, you lose your right to sue forever. So, insurance companies are content to sit back and wait for the statute of limitations to run.
If you are sick and tired of waiting and decide to act before the statute of limitations locks you out, you can file a complaint in the court of the county where the incident occurred or the defendant resides. Your complaint must clearly address the four elements necessary to prove your case:
- Duty — The defendant had a legal obligation to act with care to avoid harming you. This obligation can arise from a professional relationship, as with a doctor and patient, or a more generalized duty to be careful, as when a motorist operates a vehicle on public roadways.
- Breach — The defendant violated the duty of care by acting in a way that was negligent, reckless, or deliberately intended to cause you harm. A breach of duty can also occur when someone who has a duty to act fails to act in a timely or competent manner.
- Causation — The defendant’s breach of duty directly caused harm to you. Attorneys usually use a “but for” construction to explain that “but for” the defendant’s carelessness, the accident never would have happened.
- Damages — You were harmed. You must support this claim with evidence as to the extent of the harm. You must also ask the court to order the defendant to pay you a certain amount of compensation for your losses. This is where many plaintiffs falter, because they simply have no basis to determine how much their case is worth.
If this sounds very complicated, it certainly can be. But retaining a capable and experienced personal injury attorney can simplify the process enormously and alleviate most of your stress. Even if you bear some responsibility for your injuries, West Virginia's modified comparative negligence laws allow victims to recover compensation as long as they are less than 50 percent at fault.
You can also get professional help without paying any upfront legal fees. Calwell Luce diTrapano PLLC takes personal injury cases on a contingency basis, meaning that we do not charge attorneys’ fees until we recover damages in a settlement or trial verdict. We thoroughly explain our billing procedures at your initial consultation so you know what to expect.
Maximizing damages collected in Charleston personal injury claims
Accurately calculating and persuasively proving fair damages is a crucial aspect of your personal injury case. During our meticulous investigation, we collect important evidence and consult with qualified medical and financial experts who can support your claim for the maximum amount of damages. Your damage claim can include compensation for:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Diminished future earning capacity
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Disability
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Studies show that plaintiffs who have professional legal representation recover far more compensation than self-represented plaintiffs, even after deducting the cost of attorney services. The dedicated attorneys at Calwell Luce diTrapano PLLC are ready to fight for the results you deserve.
Consult our Charleston, WV personal injury attorneys for reliable assistance
For more information about personal injury recovery, call Calwell Luce diTrapano PLLC at 304-400-6558 or contact our law firm online to schedule an appointment. Our Charleston lawyers recognize that a personal injury may prevent you from traveling to our law offices; we can schedule home or hospital visits at your request.