What Is Injury Law?

Injury law is concerned with civil violations that can damage your body, mind and emotions. The purpose of an injury lawsuit is to obtain monetary compensation for damages like medical bills, suffering and pain.

It is difficult to avoid injuries such as this, but it's crucial to ensure you are protected as much as possible. For example, if you are going to fall backwards, turn your head to the side and then shield it by using your arms.

Negligence

A person who has sustained injuries or other losses as a result of someone else's negligence may sue for negligence and seek financial compensation. To establish their case, the plaintiff must prove four things that are: breach of duty, causation and damages.

Negligence is defined as a person's inability to exercise the same level of care a reasonably prudent person would have in similar circumstances. For example, a motorist must follow traffic laws in order to avoid accidents and cause harm to other people on the road. A doctor must treat patients in the same manner that medical professionals with similar training would do under similar circumstances. Lawyers can also use experts to prove that the defendant's conduct was below industry norms.

To win a negligence claim, the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant's breach of duty was the direct cause for their injury. This is known 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 prove that their injuries resulted in an actual loss of money for example, lost income and medical bills. Gross negligence is the most severe form of negligence since it is an unintentional disregard for the safety of others. Gross negligence occurs when a nursing house fails to change bandages on the patient for several days. In some states, defendants are able to use a defense known as contributory negligence to bar the plaintiff from claiming damages.

Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations is the time limit that you have to submit a claim when someone else's negligence or reckless disregard of your safety causes harm. This time frame is determined by the legislature of the state to make sure that lawsuits are filed on time and to avoid unreasonable delays.

The time limit for filing a claim varies from one state to the next and also depending on the type of injury and type of injury. For instance in Pennsylvania personal injury cases such as car accidents, you generally have two years from the date of the accident to submit a claim. However, certain claims might be subjected to the discovery rule. This means that the statute of limitations does not begin until the injury is discovered or should have been reasonably discovered.

In other cases, such as those involving intentional torts such as assaults and defamation, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction on emotional distress the statute of limitation is extended. It is also possible for a statute of limitation to be tolled or waived, like in the case of an individual who is a minor or who is in prison or on military duty.

If you attempt to start a lawsuit after the time limit has expired, your case will be dismissed without hearing. This is why it's crucial to consult an experienced injury lawyer before the time when the statute of limitations expires.

Damages

Many of the expenses caused by injuries have an associated cost. These are known as special damages and can include medical expenses, out of pocket expenses, lost wages, the cost to repair or replace your property and other fixed costs. The law does limit the amount you can recover from special damages.

Other losses do not have a price tag and can be difficult to calculate for example, the pain and suffering, loss of life enjoyment and other harms that are intangible. In determining a dollar amount for subjective losses such as physical or emotional pain can be challenging however, attorneys and insurance companies use formulas to determine the value of these losses.

A plaintiff in a whiplash case, for instance, may have suffered serious injuries that impact their daily lives. They may require assistance with chores around the home, change their diet and avoid recreational activities or spending time with family. The victim may suffer a loss of enjoyment and this is a redressable loss as general damages.

To estimate the value for an action for general damages, lawyers or insurance companies typically begin by calculating the total of medical special damages. They then add the value of any income loss. They then multiply that number by a range of numbers ranging from 1.5 to 5. Higher multipliers are usually associated with more serious injuries.

Liability

In law, the term "liability refers to the person who is held accountable for harm or injury. This can be due either to negligence or strict liability. The majority of injury claims are based on the idea of negligence. Negligence is the failure to act with reasonable care under the circumstances. Jurors decide what an average person would have done under similar circumstances and decide if the defendant's actions or inaction was a violation of this standard. However, some injury cases are built on strict liability, like when a defective product causes injuries.

Victims may also be entitled to compensation, in addition to the economic damages as well as non-economic losses like pain and discomfort. It's difficult to quantify these damages, but our injury lawyers are skilled 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. These plaintiffs could be corporations, such as an insurance company or a pharmaceutical company, or they could be individuals like you. In these cases, several parties could be held accountable depending on the evidence provided by each plaintiff as well as the results of an investigation. If you've been hurt by someone else's negligence or wrongdoing Contact us as soon as possible to discuss your case.