What Is Injury Law?
Injury law deals with civil violations that can damage your body, mind and even your emotions. The goal of a successful lawsuit is to recover money for damages such as medical bills and discomfort and pain.
It's hard to avoid injuries such as this, but it's essential to ensure you are protected as much as you can. If you're about to fall forward, you should turn your head to protect it, and use your arms to help.
injury lawyer reading who suffers injury or other losses as a result of another's negligent actions can file a negligence lawsuit and seek financial compensation. To prove their case the plaintiff must establish four elements including breach of duty, causation, and damages.
Negligence is defined as the inability to exercise the same level of care a reasonably prudent person would be expected to exercise in similar circumstances. For example, a driver should obey traffic laws in order to avoid injuries and accidents to other people on the road. A doctor is required to give patients the same level of care that a similarly qualified medical professional would offer in similar situations. A lawyer may employ expert testimony to show that the defendant's conduct was in line with industry standards.
In order to prevail in a case of negligence the plaintiff must show that the defendant's breach was the direct cause of the injury. This is referred to as legal causation. A reputable personal injury lawyer will argue that the defendant's actions were the sole cause of the plaintiff's injuries.
The plaintiff must show that their injuries have resulted in an identifiable financial loss, like medical bills or lost income. A more serious type negligence is gross negligence, which entails an unintentional disregard for the safety of others. Gross negligence occurs the case when a nursing home is not able to change bandages for the patient for a number of days. In some states, defendants can use a defense called contributory negligence to stop the plaintiff from seeking damages.
Statute of Limitations
If the negligent actions of another or careless disregard for your safety causes you to be injured or suffer injury, the law allows the victim with a certain amount of time to make a claim, also known as the statute of limitations. This time limit, set by the state legislature, is meant to encourage timely filing and to prevent unreasonable delay.
The statute of limitations varies from state to state and for different types of injuries to the next. For instance in Pennsylvania personal injuries such as car accidents, you generally have two years from the date of your accident to make an action. However, some claims may be subject to what's known as the discovery rule, meaning that the statute of limitations doesn't start until the injury is discovered or should reasonably have been discovered.
In some instances, like cases involving intentional torts such as false imprisonment and assaults as well as defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the limitation period can be extended. A statute of limitations can also be waived or tolled in certain situations, for instance when a minor is involved, or a person is on military duty or in jail.
If you attempt to file a suit after the statute of limitation has been reached, your case may be dismissed without hearing. This is why it is important to speak with an experienced lawyer for injury before the time when the statute of limitations expires.
Damages
A lot of the expenses caused by injuries have the potential for a cost. Special damages can include medical expenses, out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages and the cost of the repair or replacement of your property, as well as other fixed amounts. The law limits the amount you can recover from special damages.
Other losses are more difficult to quantify, including suffering and pain or loss of enjoyment life, as well as other intangible harms. It is difficult to determine a dollar value for personal losses such as emotional distress or physical discomfort can be difficult but attorneys and insurance companies employ formulas to try to quantify the amount.
For instance, a plaintiff in a personal injury case for whiplash might have suffered significant injuries that bring lots of pain and difficulty to their day-to-day life. They might be required to seek assistance with household chores, have a different diet, and may be unable to participate in social or engaging in recreational activities. The victim might suffer an impairment in enjoyment, which could be compensated as general damages.
To estimate the value for the claim of general damages, lawyers or insurance companies 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 value ranging from 1.5 to 5. More severe injuries generally result in more multipliers.
Liability
In law, the term liability refers to a person who is held liable for an injury or damage. This could be due to negligence or strict liability. The concept of negligence is the basis of most lawsuits involving injuries. Negligence refers to the failure to act with a reasonable amount of care in the context of the situation. Jurors decide what an average person would have done in similar circumstances and decide if the defendant's act or inaction violated the standard. However, certain injury cases are founded on strict liability, like when a defective product results in injuries.
Victims may also be entitled to compensation in addition to the economic damages, for non-economic losses like pain and discomfort. It is difficult to value these damages however, our injury lawyers are skilled in maximizing the value of your claim.
The majority of personal injury lawsuits involve a single plaintiff against multiple defendants, however, there are some multi-plaintiff suits like class actions or mass torts. These plaintiffs could be companies such as insurance companies or a pharmaceutical company or they could be individuals such as you. In these types of cases, several parties could be held responsible based on the evidence presented by each plaintiff and the outcome of an investigation. If you've been injured due to someone else's negligence, or wrongdoing get in touch with us immediately to discuss your case.