How to Demonstrate Negligence in Personal Injury Claims

Most injury claims intend to recover compensation for injuries that occurred in an accident. Whether the incident was a car crash, a defective product or a slip and fall, a negligent party must be named in order to begin a lawsuit. Holding a party accountable for your injuries requires you to demonstrate that they were negligent in some way. This could mean a business owner failed to alert you to a slippery floor or a distracted driver slammed into your vehicle.

There are four aspects of negligence that you’ll need to prove in order for the court to deem your case worthy of a settlement. Our lawyers at Lafferty Gallagher & Scott are available to review your injury case at a consultation where we can provide specified advice.

Causation

In a personal injury case, causation is the connection between one party’s actions and the other party’s injuries. The plaintiff must show that the defendant’s actions (or inaction) led to their suffering or damage to their property. 

You will need to demonstrate that there was reasonable foresight for the injury or damages at the time of the incident. Causation varies by situation since circumstances are different for each case. For example, specific factors involved in the accident may have impacted what the responsible party should have done to prevent the injury.

Duty

You must prove that the defendant had a duty to you. This duty is different according to the exact case’s circumstances. If you were hurt in a car accident, the other person had a duty to drive safely and not run into your vehicle. If the defendant was a product manufacturer, their duty was to provide choking warnings about a product’s small pieces. Restaurant owners have a duty to clearly mark all doors as fire exists, and so on. People involved in business must uphold their duty to keep their customers safe, and if they fail to do so, their inaction can be used to demonstrate their negligence. 

Breach of Duty

Next, your case needs to prove and explain how the other party breached their duty toward you. A breach of duty happens when a party fails to meet standards of care in preventing injury or damages. For example, in the case of a dog bite injury, it’s possible to show that the owner has a duty to contain the dog. When the dog bites or attacks another person, the owner may have breached their duty to keep others safe. 

Damages

Finally, you must provide evidence of the nature and extent of your injuries. These are known as damages. These might include your medical bills for hospital stays, appointments with specialists and ambulance rides. Damages may also include child care payments for when you were incapacitated and unable to provide care for your kids yourself. 

Some damages may include your own pain and suffering, which tends to be difficult to quantify. While it’s easy to say who rear-ended your vehicle, the severity of your whiplash comes from your own subjective claims and, therefore, may be challenged. 

An experienced personal injury lawyer can quickly review your case and help you determine the next steps to file a claim. Contact Lafferty Gallagher & Scott to schedule a consultation.