What Is Injury Law?

Injury law is concerned with civil wrongs which can harm your mind, body and even your emotions. The aim of a successful lawsuit is to recover the amount of money you paid for damages like medical bills, pain and discomfort.

It's not easy to avoid injuries like this, but it's essential to protect yourself as much as possible. For instance, if you are about to fall backwards, make sure to turn your head around and protect it by using your arms.

Negligence

Someone who suffers injury or other losses due to an act of negligence by another person may file a negligence lawsuit and pursue financial compensation. To establish their case, the plaintiff must establish four elements including breach of duty, causation and damages.

Negligence is the inability to act in a manner that an ordinary person would under similar circumstances. A driver, for instance must follow traffic laws to avoid accidents or harm to other road users. Doctors have a responsibility to provide patients with the kind of care that a similarly trained medical professional would offer in similar circumstances. A lawyer can use expert testimony to prove that the defendant's conduct was below the standards of industry.

To prevail in a negligence case the plaintiff must show that the defendant's failure to perform their duty was the direct cause of their injury. This is known as legal causation. A reputable personal injury lawyer will argue that the defendant's actions were the sole cause of the plaintiff's injuries.

The plaintiff must show that their injuries caused an actual loss of money, such as medical bills and lost income. A more serious form of negligence is gross negligence. It involves an absolute lack of concern for the safety of others. A nursing home that does not change a patient's bandages for several days is an example of gross negligence. 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 period in which you are required to file a claim in the event that someone is negligent or careless of your safety causes you harm. The statute of limitations, as set by the legislature of the state, is intended to encourage prompt filing and avoid unreasonable delays.

The time limit for filing a claim varies from one state to the next and also according to the type of injury. In Pennsylvania for instance car accidents can take two years to make a claim for personal injury lawsuit. However, some claims may be subject to what's known as the discovery rule, meaning that the statute of limitations does not start until your injury is discovered or should have been discovered.

In certain circumstances, such as ones involving intentional crimes such as assaults and false imprisonment and injury defamation and intentional infliction emotional distress, injury the limitation period is extended. A statute of limitations can also be extended or waived in certain cases, such as when minors are involved or someone is serving in the military or in a prison.

If you try to bring a lawsuit after the statute of limitations has expired the case will be dismissed without hearing. This is why it's important to speak with an experienced lawyer for injury before the time when the statute of limitations runs out.

Damages

Many of the costs associated with injuries come with costs. Special damages include medical costs, cost-out-of-pocket, lost wages and the cost of repair or replacement of your property, in addition to other fixed sums. The law does limit the amount you can recover from special damages.

Other losses are harder to quantify, like pain and suffering as well as loss of enjoyment life, and other intangible harms. The process of putting a dollar value on subjective losses such as physical or emotional discomfort can be difficult however, attorneys and insurance companies utilize formulas to measure these losses.

A person who is a plaintiff in a whiplash case, for instance might have sustained serious injuries that impact their daily lives. They may require help with chores around their home, eat in a different way and may miss out on leisure activities or a social gathering with their family. The victim may suffer an absence of pleasure and this is recoverable as general damages.

To determine the value of a claim for general damages, lawyers and insurers typically begin by calculating the amount for medical special damages and then add the value of any income loss. They then multiply this amount by a number ranging from 1.5 to 5. The more severe injuries usually result in more multipliers.

Liability

In law legal terms, liability refers the party found responsible for harm or injury. This can be due to strict liability or negligence. The majority of lawsuits involving injuries are based on the notion of negligence. Negligence refers to the failure to act with a reasonable degree of care in the context of the situation. The jury considers what a reasonable person in similar circumstances would do and then decides if the defendant's actions or omissions violated this standard. However, certain injury cases are founded on strict liability, like the event that a defective product causes injuries.

Victims could also be entitled to compensation in addition to the economic damages for non-economic losses, such as pain and discomfort. The amount of these damages is hard to quantify but our expert injury lawyers are skilled in maximizing the value your claim.

Some personal injury lawsuits are multi-plaintiff cases, such as mass torts or class actions. One or more of these plaintiffs could be a corporation such as a pharmaceutical firm or an insurance company or it could be an person like you. In these instances, multiple parties could be held accountable according to the evidence presented by each plaintiff and results of an investigation. Contact us immediately if you are injured due to another's negligence or wrongdoing.