Elements of a Personal Injury Case
To successfully receive compensation for a personal injury accident, the plaintiff will have to prove that a few elements are true. Firstly, it must be shown that the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff. Secondly, there must be evidence that the defendant breached their duty of care through being reckless or negligent, which then led to the plaintiff’s harm. Then lastly, if the plaintiff sustained serious injury that required medical attention and resulted in other kinds of damages, then the defendant may be held responsible for those losses.
Examples of common personal injury cases include:
- Car accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Dog bites/attacks
- Slip and falls
- Medical malpractice
- Bike accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Birth injury
- Wrongful death
Duty of care is created and defined by law, and may vary by state. But a common example of this would be a doctor who is treating a patient and owes a duty of care to them in the form of a certain standard of medical care. If they stray from this standard and a patient falls ill, has a worse condition, or otherwise is hurt, then the doctor may be held accountable. Whether a duty of care is owed will vary based on what the duty is and the circumstances.
Negligence is viewed as a failure to offer reasonable care that prevents harm to oneself or another person. While accidents happen all the time, there are instances when a lawsuit may be necessary. As a personal injury lawyer from Ward & Ward Law Firm can attest, people become victims when someone chooses to act without concern for the well-being of others.
