What Is Injury Law?

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

It's hard to avoid injuries, but it's important to protect yourself as much possible. If you're prone to falling forward, tilt your head to shield it and use your arms.

Negligence

Someone who has suffered injuries or other losses due to the negligence of another person can bring a lawsuit against the negligent party and seek financial compensation. However, the claimant must first prove four things to establish their claim: injury breach of duty, breach, causation and damages.

Negligence is when a person fails to act in a manner that reasonable people would act in similar circumstances. A driver, for example should follow traffic laws to prevent injuries or accidents to other road users. Doctors have a responsibility to provide patients with the care equivalent to what a similarly trained medical professional would provide in similar situations. A lawyer can employ expert testimony to show that the defendant's behavior fell short of the industry standards.

In order to win a negligence case, the plaintiff has to prove that the breach by the defendant was the primary cause of the injury. This is known as legal causation. A good personal injury lawyers lawyer will argue that the defendant’s actions were the sole reason for the plaintiff's injuries.

The plaintiff must prove that their injuries have caused an unjustifiable financial loss, like medical bills and loss of income. A more serious form of negligence is gross negligence, which involves an absolute lack of concern for others' safety. A nursing home that fails to change the patient's bandages after a few days is an example of gross negligence. In some states, defendants may use a defense known as contributory negligence to prevent the plaintiff from claiming damages.

Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations is the time period in which you are required to submit a claim when someone is negligent or careless of your safety causes you harm. This limit is determined by the legislature of the state to ensure timely filing and avoid unreasonable delays.

The time period for filing a claim can vary between states and also depending on the type of injury and kind of injury. For instance in Pennsylvania personal injury cases such as car accidents, you generally have two years from the date of your accident to submit a claim. However, some claims may be subject to what's known as the discovery rule, which means that the statute of limitations does not start until the injury is discovered or should have been discovered.

In some cases, like those involving intentional torts such as assaults and injury false imprisonment as well as defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, the limitation period is extended. A statute of limitation can be extended or waived in certain cases, such as when a minor is involved or the person is on military duty or in prison.

If you decide to file a lawsuit after the statute of limitation has expired, your lawsuit could be dismissed without hearing. It is therefore crucial to talk to an experienced injury lawyer before the statute runs out.

Damages

Many of the costs related to an injury have a price. Special damages include medical expenses, out-of-pocket expenses, lost earnings and the cost of the repair or replacement of your property, in addition to fixed amounts. The law does not limit the amount of these damages that you can seek.

Other losses are harder to quantify, like suffering and pain as well as loss of enjoyment life, and a variety of other intangible harms. The process of putting a dollar value on subjective losses like physical or emotional pain can be challenging however, attorneys and insurance companies make use of formulas to try to quantify the amount.

A plaintiff in a whiplash case, for example might have sustained serious injuries that impact their daily lives. They may have to seek assistance with household chores, change their diet, and miss out socializing or participating in recreational activities. The victim may suffer an absence of pleasure and this is a redressable loss as general damages.

To estimate the amount of a claim of general damages, lawyers or insurance companies usually start by calculating the total of medical special damages. They 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 liability refers to the party found responsible for an injury or harm. This could be due to negligence or strict liability. The concept of negligence is the basis for most lawsuits for injuries. Negligence is the failure to exercise with reasonable care under the circumstances. The jury considers what reasonable people in similar circumstances would do and decides if the defendant's actions and inactions violated the law. Some cases involving injuries are solely based on strict liability. For instance, when defective products are the reason for injuries.

Victims could also be entitled to compensation in addition to the economic damages as well as non-economic losses like pain and discomfort. It is difficult to value these damages however, our injury lawyers have the experience to maximize the value of your claim.

The majority of personal injury lawsuits involve a single plaintiff against a number of defendants, however there are also multi-plaintiff lawsuits such as class actions and mass torts. These plaintiffs could be companies such as an insurance company or a pharmaceutical firm, or they could be individuals just like you. In these instances, multiple parties may be held responsible depending on the evidence provided by each plaintiff and results of an investigation. Contact us immediately if you have been injured by another's negligence or wrongdoing.