What Is Injury Law?

The law of injury deals with civil infringements that can affect your body, mind and even your emotions. The goal of a successful injury lawsuit is to recover money for damages like medical bills and pain and suffering.

It’s not easy to avoid injuries, but you need to ensure that you are protected as much as is possible. For example, if you are going to fall backwards, make sure to rotate your head and block it with your arms.

Negligence

Anyone who suffers injuries or other losses due to negligence of another’s can file a negligence suit and pursue financial compensation. But, the plaintiff must prove four things to prove their claim: breach of duty, breach causation, damages and breach of duty.

Negligence is defined as a person’s inability to behave with the level of care that reasonable people would be expected to exercise in similar circumstances. For example, a motorist should obey traffic laws to avoid accidents and cause harm to other people on the road. Doctors have a responsibility to give patients the same level of care that a similarly qualified medical professional would offer in similar circumstances. Lawyers can also use experts to prove that the defendant’s conduct fell in line with industry standards.

In order to prevail in a case of negligence the plaintiff must prove that the defendant’s negligence was the sole cause of the injury. This is referred to as legal causation. A reputable 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 resulted in a verifiable financial loss, for example medical bills or loss of income. Gross negligence is a more severe form of negligence since it is total disregard for the safety of others. Gross negligence occurs when a nursing facility does not change the bandages on the patient for a number of days. In some states, defendants may use the defense of contributory negligence to stop the plaintiff from claiming damages.

Statute of Limitations

If the negligence of someone else or reckless negligence for your safety cause you to suffer injury in a legal way, the law grants you an unspecified period of time to file a lawsuit, called the statute of limitations. This time frame is set by the state’s legislature to ensure timely filing and avoid unreasonable delays.

The statute of limitations varies from state to state and also for different types of injuries to the next. For instance when it comes to Pennsylvania personal injuries such as car accidents, you generally have two years from the date of your accident to submit a claim. However, certain claims could be subject to what is called the discovery rule, which means that the statute of limitations will not begin until your injury is discovered or should have been discovered.

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

If you decide to bring a lawsuit after the time limit has expired the case will be dismissed without hearing. It is therefore crucial to speak with an experienced injury lawyer prior to when the statute of limitations expires.

Damages

Many of the expenses caused by injuries have an associated cost. Special damages include medical expenses out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages and the cost of the repair or replacement of your property, in addition to fixed sums. The law does limit the amount you can claim in special damages.

Other losses are hard to quantify, for instance pain and suffering, loss in enjoyment of life, and a variety of other intangible harms. It can be difficult to put a dollar value on subjective losses such as physical or emotional pain but lawyers and insurance companies use formulas to quantify them.

For instance, a defendant in a personal injury suit for whiplash might have suffered significant injuries that bring plenty of pain and difficulty to their day-to-day life. They might have to get help with chores around the house, eat differently and avoid recreational events or gatherings with friends. The victim could experience an impairment in enjoyment and this is recoverable as general damages.

To estimate the value of a claim for general damages lawyers and insurers usually begin by calculating the sum for medical special damages. They then add on the value of any income losses. They then multiply this by a figure between 1.5 and 5. Higher multipliers are usually associated with more severe injuries.

Liability

In law it is a matter of liability. It refers to the person found to be responsible for harm or injury. This could be due negligence or strict liability. The concept of negligence is the basis for a majority of lawsuits for injuries. Negligence means that you have failed to act with a reasonable level of diligence in the circumstances. Jurors consider what an average person would have done in similar circumstances, and then decide if the defendant’s actions or inaction was a violation of this standard. However, some cases are built on strict liability, such as when a defective product results in injuries.

Victims may also be entitled to compensation in addition to the economic damages for non-economic losses, such as pain and discomfort. It is difficult to value these damages, but our injury lawyers are experienced in maximizing the value of your claim.

The majority of personal injury lawsuits are brought by one plaintiff against multiple defendants, but some are multi-plaintiff suits such as class actions and mass torts. These plaintiffs can be companies, such as an insurance company or a pharmaceutical company or they could be individuals like you. In these cases, multiple parties may be held responsible depending on the evidence offered by each plaintiff and Injury lawyers the results of an investigation. If you were injured by someone else’s negligence or wrongful act, contact us right away to discuss your case.