What Is Injury Law?

Lawsuits involving injury are concerned with civil violations that can damage your body, mind and even your emotions. The goal of a successful lawsuit is to obtain funds to pay for damages such as medical bills, discomfort and pain.

It's difficult to avoid such injuries, but you must protect yourself as much possible. For example, if you are going to fall backwards, you should turn your head and shield it with your arms.

Negligence

Anyone who suffers injuries or other losses due to the negligence of another may file a negligence lawsuit and seek financial compensation. However, the plaintiff must first prove four things to prove their claim: breach of duty, breach of duty, causation and damages.

Negligence is the failure to act in a way that an ordinary person would in similar circumstances. For example, a motorist must adhere to traffic laws in order to avoid accidents and injury legal to other people on the road. A doctor is required to give patients the same level of care that a similarly trained medical professional would provide in similar situations. Lawyers can also use experts to prove that the defendant's conduct fell short of the standards set by industry.

To win a negligence claim the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's breach of duty was the direct cause for their injury. This is referred to 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 caused tangible financial loss like lost income and medical bills. A more serious type of negligence is gross negligence, which involves the complete lack of concern for the safety of others. A nursing home that fails to change the patient's bandages after a few days is an example of gross negligence. In certain states, defendants may use a defense known as contributory negligence to stop the plaintiff from claiming damages.

Statute of limitations

The statute of limitations is the time limit that you must file a claim if someone negligence or reckless disregard of your safety causes harm. The statute of limitations is set by the state legislature to encourage timely filing and prevent unreasonable delays.

The time frame for filing a claim is different from state to state, and from one type of injury litigation to the next. In Pennsylvania for instance car accidents, for instance can take two years to make a claim for personal injury settlement. However, certain claims can be subjected to the discovery rule. This means that the statute of limitation does not begin until the injury claim is discovered or could have been reasonably discovered.

In certain circumstances, such as those involving intentional torts, such as assaults and false imprisonment, as well as defamation or intentional infliction of emotional distress, the limitations period is longer. It is also possible for a statute of limitation to be tolled or waived, like in the case of a minor or an individual who is incarcerated or serving on military duty.

If you decide to make a claim after the deadline for filing a lawsuit has passed the case will be dismissed without hearing. This is why it is important to speak with an experienced injury settlement attorney well before the statute of limitations expires.

Damages

Many of the expenses related to an injury have the potential for a cost. Special damages include medical expenses, out-of-pocket expenses, lost earnings and Injury lawyers the cost of fixing or replacing your property, among other fixed sums. The law does not limit the amount of these damages you can claim.

Other losses don't have any price and can be difficult to quantify such as pain and suffering, loss of life enjoyment and other intangible damages. It isn't always easy to put a dollar value on subjective losses such as emotional distress or physical discomfort however, attorneys and insurance companies employ formulas to quantify them.

For example, a plaintiff in a personal injury case for whiplash could have sustained significant injuries that cause plenty of pain and a lot of difficulty in their day-to-day lives. They might have to seek help with household chores, eat differently and not be able to enjoy social or engaging in recreational activities. The victim may suffer the loss of enjoyment which can be recovered as general damages.

To estimate the value of general damages claims lawyers and insurance companies typically begin by calculating the sum for medical special damages, and then add on the value of any income loss. They then multiply this number by a number between 1.5 and 5. Higher multipliers are usually associated with more severe injuries.

Liability

In law, the term "liability" is a term used to describe a person who is held accountable for harm or injury. This could be due negligence or strict liability. Negligence is the basis for a majority of injury claims. Negligence means that you have failed to act with a reasonable level of care in the context of the situation. The jury determines what a reasonable person in similar circumstances would do and then decides if the defendant's actions and inactions violated this standard. However, certain injury cases are determined by strict liability, such as the case where a defective product causes injuries.

Victims may also be entitled to compensation in addition to the economic damages, for non-economic losses like pain and discomfort. It's difficult to quantify these damages, but our injury lawyers are experienced in maximizing the value of your claim.

The majority of personal injury lawsuits involve a single plaintiff versus several defendants but some are multi-plaintiff suits like class actions and mass torts. The plaintiffs may be companies such as an insurance company or a pharmaceutical company or they could be individuals like you. In these kinds of situations, multiple parties can be held accountable based on the evidence presented by each plaintiff and the outcome of a thorough investigation. Contact us immediately if you are injured due to another's negligence or wrongdoing.