If you or a loved one has experienced harm due to another party’s negligence, compensation may be available. Morelli Law Firm can assist in filing either an insurance claim or personal injury suit against those at fault.
Understand what constitutes personal injury can be complex, so this article offers a thorough breakdown of its legal process, from definition and types of damages through to prosecution and settlement options.
What is a personal injury claim?
Personal injury lawsuits are legal proceedings brought by those injured to hold those at fault accountable. Based on negligence principles, they hold those at fault liable if they act without the care and diligence that an ordinary prudent and careful person would use under similar or identical circumstances.
Damages usually include compensation for financial losses such as medical expenses, lost wages and property damage. Non-economic damages may also be awarded in order to compensate for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and mental anguish suffered; punitive damages may even be awarded in cases with particularly egregious acts.
Personal injury claims may be filed for various incidents, such as car crashes, slip-and-fall accidents, defective products and workplace incidents. Understanding personal injury law will enable you to protect your rights and ensure those responsible are held liable for their actions.
What are the damages in a personal injury case?
Personal injury damages typically consist of reimbursement for expenses and financial losses (like medical bills), compensation for future lost earnings (loss of earnings), pain and suffering, mental anguish and more. It’s important to maintain accurate records regarding all costs incurred; including receipts and invoices so as to receive full economic damages reimbursements. Keeping copies of costs receipts and invoices helps guarantee maximum economic damages reimbursements.
Non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, disfigurement and physical limitations or impairments can be harder to calculate accurately. When handling high-value cases, expert economists or actuaries may be hired in order to estimate these types of damages accurately.
If you want to file a personal injury suit against anyone, in order to receive damages you must prove they breached their duty of care and this breach directly caused your injuries – this legal concept is known as proximate cause and differs from criminal trials where evidence must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
What is the process of filing a personal injury claim?
No two personal injury cases are alike, with each taking a unique path depending on its specifics. But there are certain key elements of personal injury litigation process that all cases must go through.
First, the plaintiff must establish that the defendant violated a legal duty owed them, usually by failing to act with care and caution as would a prudent person would in similar situations (also referred to as negligence).
Step two is to determine the extent of an injured party’s injuries and associated costs, using evidence such as medical reports. Along with medical costs, this could include property damage, lost wages and any other associated costs of an accident; such costs typically fall into two categories – special damages are measurable while general damages include pain and suffering, loss of consortium, emotional distress and more.
What is the statute of limitations in a personal injury case?
Personal injury law contains a statute of limitations which establishes a timeframe within which to file suit to recover damages, typically three years (CPLR SS 214) in New York. If this deadline passes without you being able to file, any right to compensation could be forfeit.
The statute of limitations typically starts when you are injured, though there are a few exceptions to this rule. If your defendant lives out-of-state or uses an assumed name when hurting you, their clock may stop ticking more slowly; additionally, due to discovery rules you can often file lawsuits within a longer timeframe for latent injuries caused by toxic exposure or similar exposures.
