What Is Injury Law?

Injury law deals with civil wrongs that could affect your body, mind and emotions. The goal of a successful lawsuit is to obtain funds to pay for damages such as medical bills, discomfort and pain.

It's not easy to avoid injuries like this, but it's important to take precautions as much as you can. For example, if you are going to fall backwards, make sure to turn your head to the side and then shield it by using your arms.

Negligence

Someone who suffers injury or other losses due to negligence of another's can file a negligence lawsuit and pursue financial compensation. To establish their case, the plaintiff must prove four things: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages.

Negligence is the failure to act in the manner that reasonable people would act under similar circumstances. A driver, for instance should follow traffic laws to prevent injuries or accidents to other road users. A doctor must treat patients in the same way that an individual with the same training would in similar circumstances. A lawyer may also rely on experts to prove that the defendant's behavior was far from the norms of the industry.

In order to win a claim for negligence, the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant's failure to perform their duty was a direct cause of 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 demonstrate that their injuries have resulted in an actual financial loss, such as medical bills and lost income. Gross negligence is the most serious type of negligence, as it involves a complete disregard for the safety of others. Gross negligence is when a nursing house does not change the bandages on patients for a period of time. In certain states, defendants are able to use a defense called contributory negligence to stop the plaintiff from seeking damages.

Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations is the amount of time which you must file a claim if someone is negligent or careless of your safety results in harm. This time limit is set by the state legislature to encourage timely filing and to prevent unreasonable delays.

The time frame for filing a claim differs from state to state and also depending on the type of injury. In Pennsylvania, for example car accidents are covered for injury lawsuits two years to make a claim for personal injury. However, certain claims might be subject to the discovery rule. This means that the statute of limitations is not set until the injury is discovered, or should have been reasonably discovered.

In certain cases, 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 limitation can also be extended or waived in certain circumstances, for example, when minors are involved or the person is on military duty or in jail.

If you try to file a lawsuit after the statute of limitations has expired, your case could be dismissed without hearing. This is why it's crucial to consult an experienced injury attorney well before the statute of limitations expires.

Damages

Many of the expenses associated with an injury have a price. Special damages include medical expenses, out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages and the cost of fixing or replacing your property, in addition to other fixed sums. The law does not limit the amount of special damages you can recover.

Other losses are more difficult to quantify, such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life, and other non-tangible harms. In determining a dollar amount for subjective losses like physical or injury lawsuits emotional pain can be difficult but lawyers and insurance companies use formulas to determine the value of the amount.

A plaintiff in a sever whiplash case, for example might have sustained serious injuries that affect their daily life. They might have to seek assistance with household chores, change their diet, 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 determine the value of a claim for general damages, lawyers or insurance companies typically begin by calculating total of medical special damages. They then add the value of any income loss. They will then multiply that number by a number that ranges from 1.5 to 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 injury lawsuit or harm. This could be due to negligence or strict liability. The concept of negligence is the basis for most lawsuits involving injuries. Negligence involves failing to act with a reasonable degree of care in the context of the situation. The jury will determine what reasonable people in similar circumstances would do and then decides if the defendant's actions or inactions were in violation of this standard. However, some cases are based on strict liability, like the event that a defective product causes injuries.

In addition to the damages for economic losses, victims might be entitled to compensation for non-economic losses like suffering and pain. It can be difficult to determine the value of these damages, but our injury lawyers have the experience to maximize the value of your claim.

Most personal injury lawsuits are brought by one plaintiff against several defendants, however, there are some multi-plaintiff suits like class actions and mass torts. One or more of these plaintiffs could be an entity like a pharmaceutical company or an insurance company, or it could be another person who is similar to you. In these situations, several parties could be held accountable according to the evidence presented by each plaintiff and results of an investigation. Contact us right away if you were injured by someone else's negligence or wrongdoing.