<h1>Establishing and What to Expect with a Personal Injury Case</h1>
When filing a personal injury claim, you must be able to prove to the court that the defendant is responsible, or partially responsible for your injuries. This means proving the defendant was negligent and in order to do this the negligence is based on the facts of the case.
Proof of negligence includes:
Reasonable Care: Reasonable care is a duty that is legally recognized and means that a person is legally obligated to prevent reasonable harm to another person by their actions or inactions.
Standard of Care Breach: The breach of standard of care is when the negligent party fails to keep the plaintiff safe and this is considered a breach of standard of care. This could be a failure to warn or it could be conduct that caused the injury to the plaintiff.
Causation: Causation is when the defendant is the direct or proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. This is often difficult to prove and centers on the fact the injury would not have occurred if not for the defendant’s action or non-actions.
Damages: Damages are shown by the plaintiff that due to the defendant’s negligence that they have suffered injuries and incurred loss.
<h1>Personal Injury Damages</h1>
Damages in personal injury case must be established by the plaintiff, in order for the court to award damages for losses. Damages are awarded or compensatory and to compensate the plaintiff for the actual losses that are incurred or suffered due to negligence. There many factors that the court will use to determine the amount of compensatory damages and this include the facts of the case. The compensation can include pain and suffering which can be physical or mental, lost wages loss of consortium, medical expenses and future medical expenses, loss of quality of life, and disfigurement, disability and other compensatory factors.
In some personal injury cases the court may award punitive damages in addition to the compensatory damages. The judge or jury that awards the plaintiff punitive damages will do so in order to punish the defendant for their negligent conduct. In this type of personal injury case the negligence of the defendant is usually horrific and is meant to discourage others from this type of behavior. The damages may depend on the facts of the case, along with the applicable laws in the state the case is filed.