What Is Injury Law?

Lawsuits involving injury focus on civil wrongs that can cause damage to your body, mind and emotions. The purpose of an injury lawsuit is to obtain money for damages like medical bills and suffering and pain.

It's not easy to avoid injuries like this, but it's essential to protect yourself as much as you can. For instance, if you will fall backwards, try to turn your head and lawsuits shield it by using your arms.

Negligence

Anyone who has suffered injuries or other losses due to another's negligence can sue for negligence and seek financial compensation. To establish their case, the plaintiff must prove four things: duty, breach of duty, causation and damages.

Negligence is defined as the failure to act with the level of care that reasonable people would be expected to exercise in similar circumstances. For example, a driver must obey traffic laws in order to avoid accidents and cause harm to others on the road. Doctors have a responsibility to provide patients with the kind of care similar to that a similarly trained medical professional would give in similar situations. Lawyers can also use experts to prove that the defendant's conduct fell far from the norms of the industry.

To prevail in a negligence lawsuit, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's breach was the sole cause of the injury. This is known as legal causation, and a good personal injury attorney will argue that the defendant's actions could be the sole cause of their injuries.

The plaintiff has to prove that their injuries resulted in an identifiable financial loss, like medical bills or lost income. A more serious type negligence is gross negligence, which is a complete lack of concern for others' safety. A nursing home that fails to change the patient's bandages over a period of several days is an example of gross negligence. In certain states, defendants can use a defense referred to as contributory negligence to prevent the plaintiff from claiming damage.

Statute of Limitations

If the negligence of someone else or reckless disregard for your safety cause you to be injured and suffer injuries, the law gives you the victim with a certain amount of time to make a claim, also known as the statute of limitations. This time limit, set by the state legislature, is meant to encourage timeliness in filing and avoid unreasonable delays.

The statute of limitations varies from state to state, 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. However, certain claims might be subject to the discovery rule. This means that the statute of limitations does not begin until the injury is discovered, or at least, should have been discovered.

In other circumstances like those that involve intentional torts, like assaults, false imprisonment, defamation, and the deliberate infliction of emotional distress, the statute of limitations is extended. A statute of limitations could be exempted or tolled in some cases, such as when minors are involved, or an individual is serving in the military or incarcerated.

If you try to file a lawsuit after the statute of limitations has expired the case will be dismissed without hearing. Therefore, it is important to consult with an experienced attorney for injury before the statute expires.

Damages

A variety of costs associated with injuries come with costs. These are known as special damages. They can include medical expenses, out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages, the cost to repair or replace your property, and other fixed sums. The law does limit the amount you can recover from special damages.

Other losses are more difficult to quantify, like pain and suffering or loss of enjoyment life, as well as other intangible harms. It can be difficult to put an exact value on subjective losses such as emotional distress or physical discomfort but attorneys and insurance companies employ formulas to quantify the amount of these losses.

A plaintiff in a whiplash case, for instance could have suffered severe injuries that impact their daily lives. They might have to seek help with household chores, have a different diet, and avoid socializing or participating in recreational activities. The victim might suffer an impairment in enjoyment, that can be compensated through general damages.

To estimate the value of general damages claims lawyers and insurers usually begin by calculating the total for medical special damages and add the value of any income losses. Then, they will multiply this number by a number between 1.5 and 5. Higher multipliers are often associated with more serious injuries.

Liability

In law legal terms, liability refers the party found responsible for harm or injury. It could be due to negligence or strict liability. Negligence is the basis for most lawsuits for injuries. Negligence is the failure to act with reasonable care in the circumstances. Jurors decide what reasonable people would have done in similar circumstances and then determine whether the defendant's action or inaction broke this standard. Some cases involving injuries are based solely on strict liability. For example, when an unsafe product is the reason for injuries.

In addition to damages for economic losses, victims could be entitled to compensation for other damages like suffering and pain. It's hard to estimate these damages however, our injury lawyers are experienced in maximizing the value of your claim.

The majority of personal injury lawsuits pit one plaintiff against a number of defendants, but there are some that are multi-plaintiff cases such as class actions and mass torts. One or more plaintiffs could be a corporate entity such as a pharmaceutical firm or an insurance company or Lawsuits it could be an person like you. In these kinds of situations, multiple parties can be held accountable based on the evidence provided by each plaintiff and the results of an investigation. Contact us right away if you have been injured due to someone else's negligence or wrongdoing.