What Is Injury Law?

The law of injury deals with civil infringements that can cause harm to your body, mind as well as your feelings. The goal of a successful lawsuit is to get money for damages such as medical bills and discomfort and pain.

It is difficult to avoid injuries, but you need to protect yourself as much possible. For instance, if you are likely to fall backwards, try to turn your head to the side and then shield it by your arms.

Negligence

Someone who suffers injury or other losses as a result of negligence of another's may file a negligence lawsuit and pursue financial compensation. To prove their case the claimant will need to prove four things: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages.

Negligence is defined as a person's inability to act with the level of care that reasonable and prudent people have in similar situations. A driver, for instance must follow traffic laws to avoid injuries or accidents to other road users. A doctor must treat patients in the same manner that a medical professional who has the same training would in similar circumstances. A lawyer can utilize expert testimony to prove that the defendant's behavior fell in line with industry standards.

To be successful in a negligence claim the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's breach of duty was the direct cause of their injury. This is known as legal causation. A good 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 caused real financial losses including medical bills and injury lawyer lost income. Gross negligence is the most serious form of negligence since it is total disregard for the safety of others. Gross negligence occurs the case when a nursing home does not change bandages on the patient for several days. In certain states, defendants are able to use a defense called contributory negligence to prevent the plaintiff from seeking damages.

Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations is the amount of time which you must make a claim if negligence or reckless disregard of your safety results in harm. This time frame is determined by the legislature of the state to ensure timely filing and avoid unreasonable delays.

The statute of limitation varies from one state to the next and also from type of injury to kind of injury. For instance in Pennsylvania personal injury cases, such as car accidents, you generally have two years from the date of your accident to make a claim. However, certain claims can be subjected to the discovery rule. This means that the statute of limitation does not begin until the injury is discovered or could have been reasonably discovered.

In certain circumstances, such as ones involving intentional crimes such as false imprisonment and assaults, as well as defamation and the intentional infliction of emotional distress, the limitation period is extended. A statute of limitations can also be waived or tolled in specific circumstances, like when minors are involved, or a person is serving in the military or incarcerated.

If you decide to file a lawsuit after the statute of limitations has expired, your case may be dismissed without hearing. It is therefore crucial to talk to an experienced injury lawyer well before the statute runs out.

Damages

Many of the costs caused by injuries have an associated cost. Special damages include medical expenses, out-of-pocket costs, lost wages and the cost of repairing or replacing your property, in addition to other fixed costs. The law does not restrict the amount of special damages that you can seek.

Other losses are more difficult to quantify, for instance pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, and other intangible harms. Putting a dollar amount on subjective losses like emotional distress or physical pain can be challenging, but attorneys and insurance companies use formulas to determine the value of the amount.

For example, a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit for injury lawyer whiplash might have suffered serious injuries that cause plenty of pain and a lot of difficulty in their day-to-day lives. They may have to ask for help with household chores, have a different diet, and avoid socializing or engaging in recreational activities. The victim may suffer a loss in enjoyment, which can be recouped as general damages.

To determine the value of a claim of general damages, attorneys or insurers usually start by calculating the total of medical special damages. They then add the value of any lost income. Then, they will multiply this number by a number between 1.5 and 5. More severe injuries generally result in more multipliers.

Liability

In law, the word "liability" is a term used to describe a person who is found to be liable for an injury or damage. It could be due to negligence or strict liability. Negligence is the basis for a majority of injury claims. Negligence involves failing to act with a reasonable level of care in the particular circumstances. Jurors decide what an average person would have done in similar circumstances and decide if the defendant's act or inaction violated the standard. Some injury cases are solely based on strict liability. For instance, when defective products are the cause of injury lawyer.

In addition to the damages for economic losses, the victims may be entitled to compensation for other damages such as suffering and pain. The amount of these damages can be difficult to quantify, but our experienced lawyers for injury are adept in maximizing the value of your claim.

Some personal injury lawsuits are multi-plaintiff cases which include class actions or mass torts. One or more of these plaintiffs could be a company like a pharmaceutical corporation or an insurance company or it could be an individual like you. In these cases, several parties may be held responsible depending on the evidence provided by each plaintiff and the findings of an investigation. Contact us immediately if you have been injured due to someone else's negligence or wrongdoing.