Personal Injury Law: Who's Responsible?
The first thing that you should be thinking about after being injured is your and your loved ones’ safety. However, if you believe that someone else is responsible for your damages, you should make sure to take certain steps as soon as possible. Understanding and clarifying certain aspects of the personal injury process can make a huge difference when it comes to the evaluation of your case.
What is a personal injury lawsuit?
A personal injury lawsuit is a disagreement that occurs when a person is injured where someone else might be legally responsible for that injury. Personal injury lawsuits are a necessary part of society to protect injury victims’ rights and financial well-being. A personal injury case is often resolved through settlement negotiations but can also end in a civil lawsuit. Personal injury cases can also be dealt with through a middle ground between a trial and informal settlement negotiations.
Personal injury lawsuits are a necessary part of society to protect injury victims' rights and financial well-being.
If you have been injured and you think another person or company is at fault, you may want to consider contacting a personal injury lawyer to discuss your options. However, make sure to contact a lawyer as soon as possible as each state has a time limit for when a personal injury case can be filed, called a statute of limitations.
Types of Damage:
Intentional Damage
There are numerous circumstances in which another person or organization can be responsible for another’s injuries. The most basic example is when someone is injured through another person’s deliberate action. Examples of intentional acts are assault, battery, and slander. For the most part, the person’s intention doesn’t even need to be to harm the other person, so long as the act is intentional. For example, if a person sticks their foot out to trip someone and they fall and break their leg. Even if the perpetrator didn’t intend for the victim to break their arm, they could still be liable.
Negligent Damage
Someone may also be responsible for another person’s injuries if they acted negligently. Some components of negligence are duty, breach, causation, and damages (more). The person injured must prove each element to win the case. Negligence is a very common argument in vehicle accident injuries.
Causative Damage
Sometimes, a person can be liable even if the action was causative. For example, medical malpractice or mistakes in prescription drugs could result in a legitimate personal injury case. Another example of this type of lawsuit is food poisoning.
