What Are the Elements of a Personal Injury Case?

What Are the Elements of a Personal Injury Case?

When you or a loved one is injured due to someone’s negligence, you may be owed money for your damages. In North Carolina, a person may collect compensation for injuries as long as they are not at all negligent for the accident. Vehicle accidents are the most common type of personal injury claims. There are some essential elements that you must prove in order to bring a successful personal injury case. A knowledgeable personal injury attorney will help you get the money you deserve for your injuries.

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Duty of Care

Everyone has a duty of care to act in a way that is not harmful to others. Duty of care in a civil case means that the party had a legal obligation to act according to the laws and norms. For example, a driver has a duty to follow the legal speed limit. The failure to follow the law is a breach of duty of care. People generally have a duty of care to ensure the safety of other people.

Breach of Duty

The defendant must have breached their duty of care in a personal injury case. The breach of duty of care is also known as negligence or recklessness. Negligence simply means that a person failed to exercise their duty of care in a particular situation. The person’s state of mind is relevant to a personal injury claim.

Recklessness – A person’s reckless actions may have caused a breach of duty of care. Reckless actions are things that are done, or fail to be done, that are often inherently dangerous.

Negligence – A person may be negligent if they know, or should have known, that their actions could result in injuries or harm to another. Carelessness can result in negligence when it causes someone else to get hurt.

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Causation

In order to be successful in a personal injury lawsuit, you must be able to prove causation. There are two main parts of causation, including actual cause and proximate cause. Actual cause, called cause-in-fact, means that the actions of the party directly led to harm. Proximate cause, called legal cause, means that the injury was foreseeable as a result of the party’s actions. Both types of causation must be present.

Damages

Finally, you must prove that you have sustained real damages as a result of the other party’s negligence. If you were not hurt, you would not have any damages and thus would not be able to prove a personal injury claim. You must have quantifiable losses to substantiate a personal injury claim. Losses may include such things as medical bills, lost wages, and money for pain and suffering, among others.

Strict Liability

North Carolina uses the strict contributory liability doctrine. If you are partly negligent in an accident, you cannot collect compensation from the other party. Some types of cases in North Carolina are covered under the strict liability laws. Dog bites, for example, are cases where strict liability applies. This means that a dog owner is liable for any and all damages caused when their dog bites another. Strict liability laws do not apply to product liability cases.

If you or a loved one was injured in an accident that was not your fault, you may be entitled to compensation for your damages. Call us at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, at (704) 370-2828 to request a free initial consultation for your personal injury case.

The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life, and that the effects so often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to helping clients determine the strength of their claims, and to aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.

Source:

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/personal-injury/breach-of-duty/

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/negligence

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