How Personal Injury Law Works
Personal injury law (also referred to as tort law) allows people to pursue damages for personal injuries caused by someone else’s negligence or intentional acts, and to make claims in these instances.
Personal injury cases typically begin when an individual files a civil suit against another person or entity (the defendant). To win your personal injury case, it is crucial that you demonstrate causation.
Duty of care
Duty of care is an integral concept in personal injury cases. It requires any person or party involved to act in ways that do not cause harm to others, usually established through legislation but it can also be implied. For instance, if your neighbor’s dog attacks you while you were on his property, the law presumes he owed you a duty of care; then question is whether they breached it in some way.
To demonstrate breach of duty, it’s essential that you demonstrate how the actions of those at fault departed from what a reasonable person would have done under similar circumstances. Furthermore, you must show causation between their breach and your injuries–known as causation–which in turn led to damages claims being successfully filed by you and an experienced lawyer; without which, no damages claim would ever succeed in being filed successfully against someone. It is therefore crucial that you work with one as they will assist in creating a compelling evidence-backed argument on your behalf that ensure you get just compensation claims!
Negligence
Personal injury cases typically allege negligence when one party acts without due care and consideration, usually leading to personal injury claims and lawsuits. Harm must have occurred both physically and economically – for instance a slip and fall at your local grocery store may not constitute enough damage for you to file a personal injury claim if all that was suffered was minor bruises that soon healed on their own without medical intervention.
This element of negligence requires proof that an action or omission by the defendant led directly to an injury, which is usually easier than its predecessor. New York, for instance, follows the doctrine of pure comparative negligence where each party involved can be assigned a percentage of fault; so for instance if someone hits you while driving to work in Midtown while running red lights can argue you were equally at fault by crossing against them and crossing when no red light existed.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress
Intentional infliction of emotional distress (IED) is a tort that allows plaintiffs to seek damages from those responsible for intentionally inflicting severe mental trauma or other harm on them. For this claim to succeed, however, they must prove the defendant’s behavior was extreme and outrageous before receiving their award of damages.
Exercise of legal rights does not constitute intentional infliction of emotional distress even if it causes distress to someone, even if such action are upsetting. For instance, if a landlord starts legal eviction proceedings against a widow who has failed to pay rent in an amount equivalent to 12 months without penalty then this likely does not qualify as intentional infliction of emotional distress.
To demonstrate that a defendant caused significant emotional distress, witness testimony is essential in building your case. Medical records documenting mental distress as well as any physical symptoms like headaches or stomach aches can provide further proof. Furthermore, it’s crucial that any effects caused by emotional trauma be documented for each plaintiff individually.
Strict liability
While most personal injury lawsuits based on negligence can be classified as negligence cases, strict liability is an alternative legal doctrine which holds individuals and entities accountable regardless of the care or intent behind their actions.
Strict liability applies in situations such as defective products, injuries caused by inherently dangerous activities and animal attacks (in certain states). Proving strict liability may be more challenging than proving negligence or intentional wrongdoing; however, an experienced attorney can help hold those at fault accountable for your damages.
Strict liability cases provide compensation for both economic and non-economic damages, such as medical expenses, lost income, property loss and pain and suffering. Punitive damages typically aren’t awarded in these cases unless there was particularly outrageous or reckless behavior from the defendant; so get in touch with an experienced personal injury attorney from Regan Zambri Long, PLLC to discuss whether this avenue of claim would best fit into your circumstances.
