Rowena Kershner asked 7 months ago
What Is Injury Law?
Injury law is concerned with civil wrongs which can cause harm to your body, mind and even your emotions. The purpose of an injury lawsuit is to secure an amount of money to compensate for damages, such as medical bills and pain and suffering.
It is difficult to avoid injuries, but it’s important to take every precaution to protect yourself. If you’re about to fall forward, you should turn your head to shield it, and use your arms to help.
Negligence
A person who has sustained injuries or other losses as a result of the negligence of another person can make a claim for negligence and seek financial compensation. The plaintiff must prove four things to establish their case: duty, breach, causation and damages.
Negligence is the inability to act in the manner that reasonable people would do in similar circumstances. A driver, for example should follow traffic laws to prevent accidents or harm 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. Lawyers can make use of expert testimony to prove that the defendant’s behavior fell short of the industry standards.
To be successful in a negligence claim, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the defendant’s failure to perform their duty was the direct cause of their injury. This is referred to 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 prove that their injuries have resulted in a verifiable financial loss, for example medical bills or lost income. 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 a patient’s bandages for a period of time is an instance of gross negligence. In certain states, defendants can use a defense known as contributory negligence to stop the plaintiff from claiming damages.
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations is the amount of time in which you are required to file a claim in the event that someone is negligent or careless of your safety results in harm. The statute of limitations is established by the state legislature to ensure timely filing and avoid unreasonable delays.
The time period for filing a claim differs from states to states and from one type of injury to the next. In Pennsylvania for instance, car accidents allow for two years to file a personal injury lawsuit (page). However, certain claims could be subject to the discovery rule. This means that the statute of limitations doesn’t begin until the injury is discovered or at least, Injury Lawsuit should have been discovered.
In some cases, like ones involving intentional crimes such as false imprisonment and assaults, as well as defamation or intentional infliction of emotional distress, the limitation period can be extended. A statute of limitation can be extended or waived in certain circumstances, for example, when minors are involved or the person is serving in the military or incarcerated.
If you decide to file a suit after the statute of limitations has been reached, your case may be dismissed without hearing. It is therefore essential to talk to an experienced injury lawyer before the statute runs out.
Damages
Many expenses associated with an injury are accompanied by a price tag. These are known as special damages. They can include medical expenses, out of pocket costs, lost wages, the cost of repairing or replace your property and other fixed amounts. The law does limit the amount you can recover in special damages.
Other losses are difficult to quantify, like pain and suffering as well as loss of enjoyment life, and other non-tangible harms. Putting a dollar amount on subjective losses such as physical or emotional discomfort can be difficult but lawyers and insurance companies use formulas to attempt to quantify these losses.
For instance, a person who is a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit for whiplash may have suffered serious injuries that cause plenty of pain and discomfort to their daily life. They may need help with chores around their house, eat differently and miss out on recreational events or gatherings with friends. The victim may experience an impairment in enjoyment, which can be recouped as general damages.
To estimate the value of general damages claims lawyers and insurers usually begin by calculating the total for medical special damages, and then add the value of any income loss. They then multiply this number by a value ranging from 1.5 to 5. The more severe injuries usually result in higher multipliers.
Liability
In law, the term “liability refers to a person who is found to be liable for an injury or damage. This could be due to strict liability or negligence. Most lawsuits involving injuries are based on the notion of negligence. Negligence means that you have failed to act in a reasonable manner and with diligence in the circumstances. Jurors evaluate what an average person would have done in similar circumstances and decide if the defendant’s act or inaction was a violation of this standard. However, some cases are built on strict liability, for instance, when a defective product causes injuries.
In addition to damages for economic losses, the victims may be entitled to compensation for other damages such as suffering and pain. It is difficult to value these damages however our injury lawyers are experienced in maximizing the value of your claim.
Most personal injury lawsuits pit one plaintiff against a number of defendants, but there are some that are multi-plaintiff cases like class actions and mass torts. One or more of these plaintiffs could be a company such as a pharmaceutical company or an insurance company or it could be another individual like you. In these cases, several parties could be held liable based on the evidence provided by each plaintiff and on the findings of a thorough investigation. Contact us immediately if were injured by someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing.