You’ve read the billboards and seen the ads. Law firms asking if someone else’s carelessness has hurt you. Filing a personal injury lawsuit in court against the responsible person may net you financial compensation for your troubles.
Personal injury law revolves around a single premise: negligence. If you can prove another person’s recklessness caused your injury, you may receive a financial award. Find out more about this area of the law so you can help yourself or someone you love should something unfortunate occur.
What Is Negligence?
Proving another person was negligent is the foundation of a personal injury claim. Without that, your case goes nowhere. A person is negligent when they act in a way that goes against established law or basic common sense. Someone who is found negligent often knows the proper course of action, but for some reason chooses to ignore it. In some instances, negligence is not due to action, but rather inaction. When a person should act and does not, it may prove careless and make them responsible for your injury.
What Are Common Personal Injury Cases?
Personal injury cases come in many different forms. The most common type involves car accidents. Part of the reason for this is when someone causes an accident, it is usually because they failed to adhere to a traffic law or common rule of the road. Distracted driving is against the law in many states, so when a driver crashes while looking at a cellphone, they are negligent. The most serious type of personal injury case is one where the victim dies either immediately or because of the injuries sustained. When this happens, the personal injury case becomes a wrongful death suit. Other examples of personal injury actions include:
- Dog attacks
- Trips, slips, and falls
- Birth injuries
- Medical mistakes
What Are Damages?
Taking a personal injury case before a judge means you were unable to settle with the responsible party. If the court finds that your case is valid, and the defendant was the cause of your bodily harm, it may award you damages. This is the financial compensation given in a personal injury lawsuit. Damages come in three forms. Compensatory damages pay you back for the money you lost or paid due to the injury. General damages are awarded if you can prove that the injury caused pain and suffering. Punitive damages financially punish the defendant and are only given in extreme injury or negligence situations.
Keep in mind that the laws in each state are different. There is no one-size-fits-all personal injury situation. You should look to a lawyer, like a personal injury lawyer in Canoga Park, CA from Unidos Legales, to help guide you further along the way.