What Is Injury Law?
Injury law focuses on civil infringements that could cause damage to your body, mind, and even your emotions. The goal of a successful injury lawsuit is to secure the financial compensation you deserve for damages such as medical bills, pain and suffering.
It is difficult to avoid injuries like this, however it is important to protect yourself as much as you can. If you're about to fall forward, tilt your head to shield it, and use your arms to help.
Negligence
Someone who suffers injury or other losses due to the negligence of another may file a negligence lawsuit and seek financial compensation. To prove their case, the plaintiff will need to establish four elements including breach of duty, causation, and damages.
Negligence is defined as a person's inability to exercise the same level of care reasonable people would be expected to exercise in similar circumstances. For instance, a driver must adhere to traffic laws to avoid accidents and cause harm to other people on the road. A doctor must treat patients in the same way that an individual with similar training would under similar circumstances. Lawyers may also rely on expert testimony to show that the defendant's conduct fell far from the norms of the industry.
In order to prevail in a case of negligence the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's negligence was the main cause of the injury. This is referred to as legal causation. A good 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. The most serious type of negligence is gross negligence, which is a complete lack of concern for the safety of others. A nursing home that fails to change a patient's bandages over a period of several days is an instance of gross negligence. In some states, defendants may be able to use a defense known as contributory negligence to prevent the plaintiff from claiming damage.
Statute of limitations
If someone else's negligence or careless negligence for your safety cause injuries to you or suffer injury, the law allows an period of time to file a lawsuit, called the statute of limitations. This limit is set by the state legislature to encourage timely filing and to prevent unreasonable delays.
The time period for filing a claim differs from state to state and depending on the type of injury to the next. In Pennsylvania, for example car accidents, for instance allow for two years to file a personal injury 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 at least, should have been discovered.
In certain circumstances, such as those involving intentional torts, such as assaults and false imprisonment and defamation or intentional infliction of emotional distress, the limitations period is longer. The statute of limitations may be exempted or tolled in some circumstances, like when minors are involved or an individual is on military duty or in prison.
If you try to file a suit after the statute of limitations has expired, your case may be dismissed without hearing. This is why it's essential to consult an experienced injury lawyer before the time when the statute of limitations runs out.
Damages
Many of the expenses caused by injuries have an associated cost. These are known as special damages. They could include medical expenses, out of pocket costs, lost wages, the cost to repair or replace your property, and other fixed sums. The law does not limit the amount of specific damages you can claim.
Other losses do not have any price and can be difficult to quantify such as suffering and pain, loss of enjoyment of life and other intangible harms. In determining a dollar amount for personal losses such as physical or emotional pain can be challenging but lawyers and insurance companies employ formulas to try to quantify these losses.
A plaintiff in a whiplash case, for example could have suffered severe injuries that affect their daily lives. injury law firm lauderhill might need to seek help with household chores, eat differently and not be able to enjoy social or participating in recreational activities. The victim may suffer a loss of enjoyment, that can be compensated through general damages.
To estimate the value of the claim of 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 will then multiply this amount by a value ranging from 1.5 to 5. Higher multipliers are usually associated with more serious injuries.
Liability
In law legal terms, liability refers the party found responsible for harm or injury. This could be due to negligence or strict liability. Negligence is the basis for most lawsuits for injuries. Negligence involves failing to act with a reasonable degree of care under the circumstances. The jury determines what a reasonable person in similar circumstances would have done and then decides if defendant's actions or inactions violated the law. Certain injury cases are solely based on strict liability. For instance, when defective products are the cause of injuries.
Victims could also be entitled to compensation in addition to economic damages in the event of non-economic damages like discomfort and pain. It's hard to estimate these damages however, our injury attorneys are experienced in maximizing the value of your claim.
Most personal injury lawsuits involve a single plaintiff against a number of defendants, however, there are some multi-plaintiff suits such as class actions and mass torts. These plaintiffs can be companies, such as insurance companies or a pharmaceutical company, or they could be individuals like you. In these types of cases, multiple parties can be held accountable based on the evidence provided by each plaintiff and the outcome of an investigation. Contact us right away if you have been injured due to someone else's negligence or wrongdoing.