Exploring the Impact of Negligence in Personal Injury Law
If someone’s carelessness negatively impacted your life, you need to be able to recognize it.
Personal injury claims affect the lives of millions each year. In the United States, 39.5 million cases require medical treatment. That’s about 126.7 personal injury cases per 1,000 people in the population injured as a result of another party’s negligence.
But wait, there’s more…
The average person is completely oblivious to the idea of negligence until they suffer some sort of negative impact from someone else’s carelessness. A negligent driver, a homeowner that failed to take responsibility for hazards on their property, or a doctor that was careless with their medical practice are all examples of negligence leading to personal injury claims.
This is what you’ll learn:
- Defining Negligence in Personal Injury Cases
- The Four Elements That Prove Negligence
- The Impact of Negligence on Your Compensation
- Common Types of Negligence Resulting in Claims
What Is Negligence In Personal Injury Law?
Negligence, in personal injury cases, is the legal definition of someone not taking reasonable care in their actions.
Put simply, everybody has a responsibility to act with some amount of prudence to avoid inflicting damage or harm on others. If they neglect that responsibility and cause injury, they are negligent, and you are protected by personal injury law.
Here’s the catch…
Proving negligence, and building a compelling case for your injury is rarely easy. You need to work with a dedicated law firm that understands how to build a case that covers the specific personal injury legal issues in your situation. Personal injury attorneys know what evidence to look for and how to prove the negligence of another party caused the plaintiff’s injuries.
The Four Elements That Must Be Proven
Curious about what makes a negligence claim succeed or fail?
Every successful personal injury lawsuit must establish four critical elements. Leave even one of those out and your chances of success quickly disappear. Let me take you through the four elements that define negligence:
- Duty of Care: The defendant owed the plaintiff a legal responsibility to act with a certain standard of care.
- Breach of Duty: The defendant failed to meet the duty or fell below the required standard.
- Causation: The injury was a direct result of the defendant’s breach of duty.
- Damages: The plaintiff incurred actual losses as a result of the injury.
These four work in combination to build a solid foundation for your personal injury lawsuit. A deficiency in any one of these will result in the case being dismissed.
Different Types of Negligence Leading to Claims
Motor vehicle accidents are the most common form of personal injury claims. They make up approximately 52% of all personal injury cases filed each year. In the United States, over 6,500 people sustain injuries in car accidents each day.
Some of the most common personal injury cases involving negligence include:
- Traffic Accidents: Distracted driving, speeding, drunk driving, and other traffic violations
- Slip and Fall Accidents: Property owners that fail to keep their premises reasonably safe or warn of hazards
- Medical Malpractice: Doctors and medical professionals who deviate from accepted standards of care
- Workplace Injuries: Employers that fail to maintain safe work environments or provide proper equipment
- Product Liability: Manufacturers and retailers that sell dangerous or defective products
Each one of these negligence types has their own required evidence and legal arguments, which is why enlisting the help of experienced legal professionals with knowledge of these details can change your life.
Negligence and How It Impacts Your Compensation
You might be surprised to hear this…
Negligence has a huge impact on the level of compensation that can be awarded in a personal injury case. When determining damages in these cases, the court takes a number of factors into account.
The first, and most obvious, is the severity of the negligence involved. Was the act of negligence on the part of the defendant a minor slip-up or outright disregard for safety? Cases that can demonstrate gross negligence – in which an individual shows extreme carelessness and lack of diligence – often result in much higher compensatory awards. Punitive damages are also common in these cases, with the purpose of punishing the defendant for their actions.
The second factor is the severity of the plaintiff’s injuries.
Severe injuries that result in long-term impact will result in far greater settlements than minor injuries. When determining the appropriate level of damages, everything from medical costs to loss of future earning potential is taken into account, as well as less tangible things like quality of life.
The third factor is comparative fault in many states.
If the plaintiff can be found to have any responsibility for the accident or injury in question, the damages they are awarded are proportionally reduced. Comparative fault can have a serious impact on the size of the settlement or award granted in the case.
The Settlement Reality No One Tells You
About 95% of all personal injury lawsuits are settled prior to trial.
Surprised? So was I when I first heard the statistic. Most cases never even make it inside a courtroom. Insurance companies and defendants would rather settle for a variety of reasons.
Trials are expensive and time-consuming, with no guaranteed outcome. Insurance companies and lawyers have nothing to gain by taking a chance with a jury verdict, which can often result in a much larger payout than the insurance provider is willing to offer.
Settlement is not necessarily an easy or passive process, however.
Insurance companies employ teams of lawyers who will use every means at their disposal to deny claims and minimize payouts. Insurance providers will question the severity of injuries, make claims about the plaintiff’s contribution to the accident or injury, and invent excuses that the plaintiff has existing medical conditions or previous injuries.
Strong legal representation can even the playing field. Personal injury attorneys understand how insurance companies work and know how to present the evidence to negotiate a fair payout for their clients.
Proving Negligence: Key Elements
The burden of proof is on the plaintiff, that’s you.
You must be able to show evidence that clearly demonstrates the four elements of negligence. This usually takes the form of:
- Medical records, which document injuries and treatment
- Accident reports from police, traffic, or workplace safety officials
- Photographs and videos of the accident scene, as well as injuries sustained
- Witness statements from those who witnessed the accident
- Expert testimony to explain more technical aspects of the case
Collecting and organizing this information can take time, and doing it yourself is almost always a mistake. Many victims assume they can handle their own cases, only to realize later that they have effectively sabotaged their chances of success by not gathering critical pieces of evidence.
Time Limits You Can’t Ignore
Every state has a set of statutes of limitations which place limits on the amount of time available to file a personal injury lawsuit. Each state has different deadlines depending on the type of case. Failure to file a claim before this time period elapses will result in the loss of your right to compensation.
Statutes of limitations vary from state to state and can range from one to six years, depending on the case. Medical malpractice and injury claims against government entities have additional rules and generally shorter time limits.
Time is of the essence, so don’t hesitate to get in touch with legal professionals. The sooner you file a case, the better the chance of building a successful case while evidence is fresh.
Wrapping Everything Up
Negligence is a key legal concept and is at the heart of many personal injury cases.
Understanding how negligence works and how to identify it is key to being able to determine whether or not you have a case and what it will take to prove your claim. The four key elements, duty, breach, causation, and damages, need to be clearly established in a lawsuit.
Personal injury lawsuits are filed by millions every year, and a vast majority of these cases are settled before they ever see the inside of a courtroom. If you find yourself the victim of someone’s negligence and are considering filing a lawsuit, then getting legal representation is the single most important decision you can make to give yourself the best chance of success.
