What Is
Injury Law?
The law of injury focuses on civil infringements that could cause harm to your body mind and emotions. The purpose of an injury lawsuit is to collect an amount of money to compensate for damages, such as medical bills and pain and suffering.
It is difficult to avoid injuries such as this, but it's important to take precautions as much as you can. For example, if you are about to fall backwards, try to turn your head and shield it with your arms.
Negligence
Someone who suffers injury or other losses as a result of negligence of another's may file a lawsuit for negligence and seek financial compensation. But, the plaintiff must first prove four things to establish their claim:
injury lawsuits breach of duty, breach, causation and damages.
Negligence is the failure to behave in a manner that reasonable people would do under similar circumstances. A driver, for example must obey traffic laws to prevent injuries or accidents to other road users. A doctor is required to provide patients with the same care similar to that a similarly trained medical professional would give in similar circumstances. A lawyer can utilize expert testimony to prove that the defendant's behavior fell below industry standards.
In order to win a negligence case the plaintiff must prove that the breach by the defendant was the direct cause of the injury. This is referred to as legal causation. A good personal injury lawyer will argue that the defendant's actions were the sole reason for the plaintiff's injuries.
The plaintiff must show that their injuries resulted in an actual loss of money for example, lost income and medical bills. A more serious form of negligence is gross negligence, which entails the complete lack of concern for others' safety. A nursing home that isn't able to change a patient's bandages over a period of several days is an example of gross negligence. In some states, defendants can rely on a defense called contributory negligence to stop the plaintiff from seeking damages.
Statute of limitations
When someone else's negligent actions or reckless disregard for your safety leads injuries to you in a legal way, the law grants you an unspecified period of time to bring a lawsuit, referred to as the statute of limitations. This time limit, set by the state legislature, is meant to encourage prompt filing and to prevent unreasonable delay.
The statute of limitations varies from state to state and depending on the type of injury to the next. For instance the case of Pennsylvania personal injuries, such as car accidents, you typically have two years from the date of the accident to make claims. However, certain claims could be subject to what's called the discovery rule, meaning that the statute of limitations will not begin until the injury has been discovered or ought to have been discovered.
In other situations, such as those involving intentional torts, including assaults, false imprisonment, defamation, and deliberate infliction or damage to emotional distress the statute of limitation is longer. It is also possible for a statute of limitations to be waived or tolled such as in the case of minors or a person who is incarcerated or on military duty.
If you try to bring a lawsuit after the statute of limitations has expired the case will be dismissed without being heard. It is therefore essential to consult a seasoned injury lawyer well before the statute expires.
Damages
Many of the expenses caused by injuries have a price. These are known as special damages and may include medical expenses, out of pocket expenses, lost wages, the cost of repairing or replace your property, and other fixed sums. The law limits the amount you can recover from special damages.
Other losses don't have any price and can be difficult to calculate for example, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment from life, and other intangible damages. Putting a dollar amount on subjective losses such as emotional distress or physical pain can be difficult but attorneys and insurance companies make use of formulas to measure the amount.
A plaintiff in a whiplash case, for instance might have suffered serious injuries that impact their daily life. They may have to seek help with chores around their home, eat in a different way and avoid recreational events or gatherings with friends. The victim might experience an absence of pleasure and this is a redressable loss as general damages.
To estimate the amount of the claim of general damages, lawyers or insurers usually start by calculating the total of medical special damages. They then add the value of any lost income. They will then multiply this figure by a number that ranges from 1.5 to 5. The more severe injuries usually result in greater multipliers.
Liability
In law legal terms, liability refers the person who is accountable for harm or injury. This could be due to strict liability or negligence. The concept of negligence is the basis of most lawsuits involving injuries. Negligence refers to the failure to act with a reasonable level of care under the circumstances. Jurors determine what a reasonable person would have done in similar circumstances, and then determine whether the defendant's action or inaction was a violation of this standard. However, some cases are based on strict liability, such as the event that a defective product causes injuries.
Victims may also be entitled to compensation in addition to the economic damages in the event of non-economic damages like pain and discomfort. It's difficult to quantify these damages, but our injury lawyers are skilled in maximizing the value of your claim.
The majority of personal
injury lawsuits pit one plaintiff against several defendants, but there are some that are multi-plaintiff cases like class actions and mass torts. These plaintiffs can be companies such as insurance companies or a pharmaceutical company, or they could be individuals like you. In these cases, multiple parties could be held accountable depending on the evidence offered by each plaintiff and the findings of an investigation. Contact us immediately if were injured by someone else's negligence or wrongdoing.
