What Is Injury Law?
The law of injury is focused on civil wrongs that can cause harm to your body, mind and emotions. The aim of a successful lawsuit is to obtain the amount of money you paid for
injury lawsuits damages like medical bills and pain and discomfort.
It's not easy to avoid injuries, but you must take every precaution to protect yourself. If you're likely to fall forward, you should turn your head to protect it, and use your arms to help.
Negligence
A person who has sustained injuries or other damages as a result of another's negligence can sue for negligence and seek financial compensation. To prove their case, the claimant will need to prove four things: duty, breach of duty, causation and damages.
Negligence refers to the failure to behave in a manner that a reasonable person would do under similar circumstances. For example, a motorist must adhere to traffic laws in order to avoid accidents and cause harm to other people on the road. A doctor has a duty to provide patients with the same care that a similarly trained medical professional would offer in similar situations. A lawyer can employ expert testimony to show that the defendant's conduct was in line with industry standards.
To be successful in a negligence claim the plaintiff must show that the defendant's failure to perform their duty was the direct cause of their injury. This is known as legal causation. A reputable 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 unjustifiable financial loss, like medical bills or loss of income. Gross negligence is a more severe form of negligence in that it involves total disregard for the safety of others. A nursing home that fails to change the patient's bandages over a period of several days is an example of gross negligence. In some states, defendants may use a defense called contributory negligence to bar the plaintiff from claiming damages.
Statute of limitations
The statute of limitations is the period of time in which you are required to make a claim if is negligent or careless of your safety causes harm. The statute of limitations, as set by the legislature of the state, is intended to encourage prompt filing and to prevent unreasonable delay.
The time period for filing a claim can vary from one state to the next and also from type of injury to kind of injury. For instance the case of Pennsylvania personal injuries such as car accidents, you typically 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. This means that the time limit for filing a claim does not start until the injury is discovered or should have been discovered.
In other instances like those that involve intentional torts, like assaults or false imprisonment, defamation and intentional infliction on emotional distress the statute of limitations is longer. It is also possible for a statute of limitation to be waived or tolled such as in the instance of an individual who is a minor or who is detained or on military duty.
If you try to bring a lawsuit after the statute of limitations has expired, your case will be dismissed without being heard. Therefore, it is important to speak with an experienced injury lawyer well before the statute expires.
Damages
Many of the costs associated with an injury can be attributed to the price tag. Special damages can include medical expenses, out-of-pocket expenses, lost earnings and the cost of the repair or replacement of your property, as well as other fixed sums. The law does limit the amount you can claim in special damages.
Other losses don't have a price tag and can be difficult to quantify for example, suffering and pain, loss of enjoyment in life and other tangible damages. Putting a dollar amount on subjective losses such as physical or emotional pain can be challenging but attorneys and insurance companies employ formulas to try to quantify these losses.
A person who is a plaintiff in a whiplash case, for example, may have suffered serious injuries that impact their daily life. They might have to seek help with household chores, have a different diet, and may be unable to participate in social or enjoying leisure activities. The victim may suffer a loss in enjoyment, which could be compensated as general damages.
To estimate the value of a claim for general damages lawyers and insurance companies typically begin by calculating the total for medical special damages, and then add on the value of any income loss. They then multiply this figure by a number ranging from 1.5 to 5. The more severe injuries usually result in greater multipliers.
Liability
In law liability refers to the party found responsible for harm or injury. This can be due to negligence or strict liability. Negligence is the basis for most lawsuits for injuries. Negligence is the act of not acting with a reasonable amount of diligence in the circumstances. The jury decides what an average person in similar circumstances would have done and then decides whether the defendant's actions or omissions violated this standard. Some cases involving injuries are based solely on strict liability. For instance, when defective products are the cause of injuries.
In addition to damages for economic losses, victims could be entitled to compensation for non-economic losses such as pain and suffering. It is difficult to value these damages however, our injury lawyers have the experience to maximize your claim's value.
Most personal
injury lawsuits involve one plaintiff against multiple defendants, however, there are some multi-plaintiff suits like class actions and mass torts. These plaintiffs could be corporations such as insurance companies or a pharmaceutical company or they could be individuals like you. In these kinds of situations, multiple parties can be held responsible based on the evidence presented by each plaintiff and the results of a thorough investigation. If you've been hurt by someone else's negligence, or wrongdoing and you are
injured, call us immediately to discuss your case.