Getting injured because of another person’s actions often marks the start of an uphill battle, as you will likely be pursuing compensation from them in a personal injury lawsuit. While you might know how someone negligently injured you, proving it in a legal claim is an entirely different matter. Establishing negligence on the part of another requires more than just pointing a finger and describing the situation, no matter how obvious the defendant’s carelessness is. Proving a personal injury lawsuit requires evidence and knowledge as to how that evidence should be used.
Working with a Fayetteville personal injury lawyer is usually a smart choice when you need to recover damages for negligence. They understand the distinct elements necessary to prove a lawsuit and which pieces of evidence are likely to help accomplish that goal that you might overlook working on your own. Your attorney will also be able to counsel you on your chances of proving negligence in court if your lawsuit does not settle before then.
Understanding the Elements of a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Proving negligence in a lawsuit actually requires establishing four particular elements. First, it must be shown that the defendant owed you a duty of care. Next, your lawyers must demonstrate that the defendant breached their duty of care to you. Then, your legal team must prove that the defendant’s breach of duty was the actual and proximate cause of your injuries. Lastly, you must have sustained real damages as a result of the negligence.
Duty of Care
The duty of care refers to a legal obligation to act or not act in a certain way towards others in order to avoid foreseeable harm. Essentially, a duty of care arises between certain people based on their relationship to each other and the circumstances of their interaction.
A common example is the duty healthcare providers, like doctors, surgeons, and nurses, owe their patients. These professionals owe patients a duty to provide the same care as another provider with similar education, experience, and training would provide. They violate this duty when their care falls below that standard.
Traffic laws typically define duties for drivers, pedestrians, and other road users, like obeying lights and signs and when to yield the right of way. Further, drivers have a duty to act reasonably under the circumstances.
Property owners have a duty to guests to ensure that their premises are safe and warnings are placed for known dangers. Product designers and manufacturers owe a duty to potential customers that a good is produced without defects and has warnings and instructions if it is inherently dangerous to use. An experienced lawyer will be able to quickly identify what duty you deserved from the party who caused your injuries.
Breach of Duty
After establishing the duty of care, the next element to prove is that the defendant breached that duty. To determine how the breach occurred, your lawyer will assess the defendant’s actions or failure to act against how a reasonable person would have acted in a similar situation.
For instance, a negligent driver breaches their duty of care when they break a traffic law and injures someone. Drivers can also be shown to breach their duty when they act unreasonably behind the wheel compared to reasonably prudent drivers under comparable circumstances, even if they were technically obeying the law.
Doctors and healthcare providers breach their duty when their care falls below that of another provider with similar professional credentials. Perhaps your physician failed to diagnose a condition or order tests that another comparatively trained and experienced doctor would have.
In a premises liability lawsuit, the breach can be proven when property owners do not take the same measures to make a location safe that similar, reasonable owners would have, such as a grocery store that fails to have an inspection and cleaning schedule to discover spills and other common dangers associated with the premises.
When your attorney investigates your case, they will gather evidence like accident reports, eyewitness statements, and medical records to determine where the violation occurred and whether a reasonable person would have acted differently in your situation.
Causation
The third element to prove in a personal injury lawsuit is causation, which links the defendant’s negligent misconduct with your injuries and resulting damages. However, two types of concepts regarding causation must be shown, which are cause-in-fact and proximate cause.
To prove cause-in-fact, you must show that the defendant’s negligence was an actual cause of the accident. Lawyers typically ask whether your accident would not have happened but for the other party’s actions. A driver who hits someone because they ran a red light actually caused the accident because it would likely not have happened but for the traffic violation.
Proximate cause refers to the foreseeable consequences of the negligence in question. If a defendant can reasonably foresee that their conduct might cause injuries, they are the proximate cause of the damages. Again, a driver who runs a red light and crashes, causing another driver whiplash, could reasonably foresee that type of injury resulting from their negligence.
Damages
Once the previous three elements are proven, you must show that you suffered actual damages as a result. Showing your economic damages is a common way of proving this, such as medical expenses for treating your injuries and lost wages from taking off work after the accident.
Non-economic losses also count as actual damages. This includes any pain and suffering you experienced because of the defendant’s negligence, like physical pain endured in the accident and mental health conditions brought on by your injuries.
Working with an Experienced Attorney is the Best Way to Prove You were Negligently Injured
The benefits of having a skilled legal firm handle your lawsuit cannot be understated. Numerous forms of evidence are often required to prove the elements above, and failing to establish even one can cost you compensation. Your lawyer will gather the records and statements you need while calculating the damages you deserve to recover.
