Personal injury law protects individuals injured due to someone else’s negligence or intentional actions. If you are injured as a result of another party’s fault, you have the right to seek compensation for your injuries and losses.
“Understanding your legal rights is the foundation of fairness and justice after an accident. When you’re aware of what you’re entitled to, you’re empowered to pursue the full compensation you deserve. Unfortunately, insurance companies often exploit victims’ lack of legal knowledge to push lowball settlement offers,” says personal injury attorney Christopher Largey of Largey Law.
This article discusses how personal injury law works and what your rights are when you are injured.
Understanding Personal Injury Law
Personal injury or tort law allows a plaintiff to sue an at-fault party or defendant for their injuries and losses due to the latter’s negligence. Aims to restore victims to their pre-accident state. Thereby, the defendant compensates the plaintiff for lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and other associated damages.
The defendant’s negligence is the basis of most personal injury claims. In other words, the defendant’s carelessness caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
The most common types of personal injury cases include medical negligence, vehicle accidents, dog bites, slip and fall accidents, workplace injuries, and defective products.
Establishing Fault and Liability
It is essential to note that the court or the insurance company will not award a settlement without due consideration. You must prove the defendant’s negligence and how it is directly responsible for your injuries to receive adequate compensation.
Therefore, you must establish the following elements in your quest to receive compensation from an at-fault party:
1. Duty of Care
You must prove that the defendant has to care for you as stated by the law. For instance, the law mandates motorists to obey traffic regulations. If a defendant breaks any traffic rule before injuring you, they have breached their duty of care to you.
2. Violation of Duty
You have to prove that the defendant violated their duty of care for you. They fail to prioritize your safety in their behavior. For instance, a mall manager failed to clean a wet floor, causing you to slip and fall.
3. Causation
You also need to prove that the defendant’s breach of duty directly caused your injury. For instance, if they had not run a red light, there would not have been a collision. You would not have slipped and fallen if a premises manager or owner had cleaned their wet floor.
4. Damages
Finally, you must establish that you suffered emotional, physical, and financial damages due to the incident. You must also evaluate your losses to demand appropriate compensation.
Proving these elements can be difficult for a non-legal person, especially while still battling pain and injuries. That is why you need a local personal injury attorney to analyze your case, provide evidence, and establish your claim.
Three Legal Grounds for Personal Injury Claims
There are three essential grounds for personal injury claims. These legal assumptions are:
1. Negligence:
Personal injury claims are typically based on negligence. You must explain how the defendant acted negligently.
2. Intentional Wrongdoing:
The victim claims that the defendant intentionally hurt them. You can claim this type of injury when someone assaults you.
3. Strict Liability:
This legal principle applies in product liability cases involving defects, where the defendant does not need to prove fault.
Compensation for Personal Injury Victims
Knowing the compensation you can receive after someone negligently or intentionally injures you will help you make an informed decision in your personal injury claim. You may be eligible to receive compensation for your medical expenses. This compensation covers your treatment, hospitalization, therapy, and medication.
You can also recover compensation for lost work hours. If the injury prevents you from working for a given time, the defendant should bear the loss. Further, if the accident damages your property, the at-fault party should pay for it.
You can also recover damages for pain and suffering. Your lawyer can liaise with medical professionals to quantify your emotional discomfort and physical pain to demand appropriate compensation. Without the injury, you would not have suffered the pain.
The courts also award extra damages to punish defendants for their gross negligence. Although courts rarely award punitive damages, they are sometimes awarded as a deterrent to others. It shows society does not accept intentional wrongdoing.
The Process of Making a Personal Injury Claim
If you want to make an acceptable personal injury claim, follow these steps:
1. See a Doctor
You must prioritize your health. No matter your condition after an accident, visit a healthcare facility immediately. A physician must certify you are okay before you can move to your daily business.
You also need medical records to prove your case. Without medical care, you cannot get these records. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize visiting a healthcare facility immediately after an accident.
2. Speak With a Lawyer
After sorting out your health, you must sharpen your legal arsenal to confront the at-fault party. You need a responsive and knowledgeable personal injury attorney to help you navigate the claims process.
Contact an attorney to see if you have a claim. The lawyer will also advise you on the wisest approach to take in the case to achieve the desired outcome.
3. Gather Documents
You must also liaise with your attorney to gather evidence, speak with eyewitnesses, assemble expert witnesses, and process legal documents. The process can be complicated for a layperson. However, it can be seamless for legal professionals.
4. File Your Claim
After gathering the essential documents and evidence, your lawyer will file a claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company. The claim will inform the insurer of the incident and your demands for compensation.
5. Negotiating With the Insurance Company
After reviewing your demand letter, the insurer will respond appropriately, officially initiating the negotiation process. You must allow your lawyer to handle this process because insurance adjusters deploy various tactics to offer victims miserable settlements.
6. Going to Trial
If you cannot settle with the insurer, your attorney will file a lawsuit. At this point, your fate hangs in the hands of a jury or judge. Both parties will present their arguments, allowing the court authorities to determine the outcome appropriately.
Final Thoughts
You need compensation when a person or an entity is at fault for your injuries. However, you may not receive maximum compensation if you overlook some crucial steps. For instance, you must visit a healthcare facility immediately after an accident, speak with a lawyer, and gather evidence appropriately.
However, some people believe they can receive maximum compensation without an attorney. That can be very tricky and may deprive you of what you deserve. A lawyer helps uphold your legal rights, interacts with insurance firms, ensures proper documentation, and negotiates for full compensation.
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