What Is Injury Law?

Injury law focuses on civil offenses that cause harm to your body emotions and mind. The aim of a successful lawsuit is to recover money for damages such as medical bills and pain and discomfort.

It's difficult to avoid such injuries, but it's important to protect yourself as much possible. If you're likely to fall forward, turn your head to protect it, and then use your arms.

Negligence

Anyone who has suffered injuries or other damages as a result of negligence of another can bring a lawsuit against the negligent party and seek financial compensation. The plaintiff must prove four things to establish their case: breach of duty, breach of duty, causation and damages.

Negligence is defined as the inability to exercise the same level of care a reasonably prudent person would be expected to exercise in similar circumstances. A driver, for example must obey traffic laws to avoid accidents or harm to other road users. Doctors have a responsibility to provide patients with the kind of care equivalent to what a similarly trained medical professional would give in similar situations. A lawyer may also rely on expert testimony to demonstrate that the defendant's behavior was far from the norms of the industry.

In order to prevail in a case of negligence, the plaintiff must prove that the breach of the defendant was the direct cause of the injury. This is referred to as legal causation. A good personal injury attorney will claim that the actions of the defendant were the only possible cause of their injuries.

The plaintiff must prove that their injuries have caused an actual loss of money, such as lost income and medical bills. Gross negligence is the most serious form of negligent behavior in that it involves reckless disregard for the safety of others. A nursing home that fails to change a patient's bandages for several days is an instance of gross negligence. In certain states, defendants can use a defense called contributory negligence in order to keep the plaintiff from claiming damages.

Statute of limitations

If the negligent actions of another or careless disregard for your safety cause you to suffer injury in a legal way, the law grants you the victim with a certain amount of time to make a claim, also known as the statute of limitations. This time limit is set by the state legislature to ensure timely filing and avoid unreasonable delays.

The time limit for filing a claim varies from state to state and also from type of injury to 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 file an action. However, certain claims could be subject to what's called the discovery rule. This means that the statute of limitations will not start until the injury is discovered or should reasonably have been discovered.

In certain cases, such as cases involving intentional torts such as false imprisonment and assaults, as well as defamation and the intentional infliction of emotional distress, the limitations period is extended. A statute of limitations can also be waived or tolled in certain circumstances, like when a minor is involved or a person is serving in the military or in prison.

If you attempt to bring a lawsuit after the statute of limitations has expired, your case will be dismissed without hearing. This is why it's important to speak with an experienced injury attorney well before the statute of limitations expires.

Damages

A lot of the expenses that result from an injury come with an associated cost. These are referred to as special damages. They could include medical expenses, out-of-pocket expenses, lost wages, the cost to repair or replace your property and other fixed amounts. The law limits the amount you can recover in special damages.

Other losses do not have a price tag and can be difficult to quantify, including the suffering and pain, the loss of enjoyment of life and other intangible harms. Putting a dollar amount on subjective losses such as physical or emotional pain can be challenging but attorneys and insurance companies utilize formulas to determine the value of these losses.

For instance, a plaintiff in a personal-injury case for whiplash may have suffered serious injuries that have caused a lot of pain and discomfort to their daily life. They may have to ask for help with household chores, have a different diet, and not be able to enjoy social or enjoying leisure activities. The victim might experience an absence of enjoyment, and this is recoverable as general damages.

To determine the value of general damages claims lawyers and insurance companies typically begin by calculating the total for medical special damages and add the value of any income loss. They then multiply this number by a number between 1.5 and 5. The more severe injuries usually result in greater multipliers.

Liability

In law, the term liability refers to the person who is found liable for harm or injury. This can be due either to strict liability or negligence. The concept of negligence is the basis for most injury claims. Negligence is the failure to act with reasonable care under the circumstances. The jury determines what an average person in similar circumstances would have done and then decides if the defendant's actions and inactions violated this standard. However, some injury cases are founded on strict liability, like when a defective product causes injuries.

In addition to the damages for economic losses, the victims may be entitled to compensation for other damages like pain and suffering. The amount of these damages is difficult to place a value on, but our experienced injury lawyers are skilled at maximizing the value of your claim.

Most personal injury lawsuits involve a single plaintiff against a number of defendants, but some are multi-plaintiff suits like class actions or mass torts. One or more plaintiffs could be an entity like a pharmaceutical company or an insurance company, or it could be an person like you. In these kinds of cases, multiple parties can be held liable based on the evidence presented by each plaintiff and on the findings of a thorough investigation. Contact us immediately if you have been injured by another's negligence or wrongdoing.