When someone else is negligent and it results in you sustaining an injury, you might wonder if you can file a personal injury claim. As a slip-and-fall lawyer can explain, if you want to receive monetary compensation, there are three requirements you would typically have to meet.
1. A Personal Injury Claim of Carelessness
The first thing you would have to prove for a personal injury case is that someone owed you a duty of care and was careless in providing it. For example, any driver who gets behind the wheel owes a duty of care to everyone else on the road. A careless driver chooses to drive drunk. Under the law, the drunk driver would be the negligent party if you can prove that his or her careless actions caused the accident.
2. A Claim for Injury
A personal injury claim requires proof of carelessness caused your injury. For example, a pre-existing injury at the time of your accident, would not be cause for a personal injury claim unless the accident exacerbated the existing injury. If you were in perfect health prior to the accident but riddled with injuries after the accident, those injuries would fulfill the requirement.
For example, if your friend crashed the car you were riding in on your way to a doctor’s appointment for a broken arm, probably no medical bills relating to your broken arm would be covered by a personal injury claim. But if you sustained an additional injury, such as whiplash, you could claim that injury.
3. A Personal Injury Claim for Damages
Finally, in a personal injury claim for damages, you must prove significant monetary damages resulting from your accident. Compensatory or monetary damages could include medical bills, lost wages, and loss of earning capacity.
For example, bumps and bruises sustained in a car accident, would likely not affect your wages or medical bills. In that case, you couldn’t prove damages. But if your injuries include broken bones and head trauma, you would likely have a series of monetary damages.
Contacting a Lawyer
When you’re in an accident that results in injury, there is often someone responsible for what happened. To hold someone accountable, you will need to show that carelessness led to your injury, and damages resulted. Contact a personal injury lawyer for help with your case.
