Suffering the loss of a loved one or a horrible injury is never easy, but it is far worse when that hardship has been caused by someone else’s negligence. If you have suffered the loss of a loved one or an injury and it was not your fault or just a random accident, you may have a case, however, you will need to be able to prove three things.
Proving a Personal Injury Case
As we just mentioned, to even consider filing a personal injury case, three stipulations must be met.
- The responsible party was negligent
- The negligence caused the injury
- The injury resulted in harm
Responsible Party Was Negligent
In some cases when another party is responsible for the accident, they may not actually have been at fault or acted negligently. You have to prove they did so in order to have a case. For instance, a car blows through a stop sign and t-bones your car in an intersection. That party was clearly negligent by ignoring the stop sign.
The Negligence Caused the Injury
Using the example above, the obvious injuries are going to be any broken bones or other trauma that is visible from the accident. However, there could be more issues that show up later as a direct result of this accident, such as headaches.
The Injury Resulted in Harm
Again, using the example in the first point, any injuries suffered, such as the broken bones and/or headaches we mentioned in the second point would fall under injuries that were directly related to the negligent party’s actions. In a case such as this, you would be eligible to receive compensation for all medical bills, therapy, pain and suffering, as well as lost wages (past, present, and future) due to the accident.
Do I Have a Winning Personal Injury Case?
When deciding whether or not to take the case, personal injury lawyers will need to ensure they can prove the three points mentioned above. However, that does not always necessarily mean the case is winnable. For the case to be truly solid, we will want to see these additional factors:
Injuries Are Indisputable and Validated
We all know how technical things can get during a lawsuit, so we need to make sure there is no doubt the injuries claimed were as a direct result of the lawsuit. This is done mostly via medical records to ensure an old injury or existing injury is not being lumped into the lawsuit. If, for instance, someone had a prior back injury, this particular accident may not have been the direct cause of current problems. However, if no prior back history existed, any injuries sustained to the back or back problems would more than likely be a result of the accident.
Common Personal Injury Offense
By this we mean that the injury falls into the basic categories of personal injury cases, such as a slip and fall, auto accident, hurt on the job, etc.
Photo and/or Video Evidence
There is nothing more damaging than a video of the actual event taking place to make a personal injury lawsuit an open and shut case. When a video is not available, pictures should be taken as soon as possible to document the injuries. By the time the case is on the docket, you will probably be all healed up, so we want everyone to see what you looked like at your worst as well as the accident scene and what led to the accident.
What Happens Now?
If you feel you have been the victim of someone’s negligence, you will need to contact an affordable personal injury attorney. You will have an initial consultation to discuss the case and assuming the attorney accepts the case, he or she will start the investigation into the incident as well as gathering all the relative materials from you and your doctors as well as things like the police report and any photos of the event.
Ideally, as the case progresses, the defendant’s attorney will reach out with a first injury settlement offer. Once that offer comes in, your attorney will discuss the offer with you and let you know if this is an offer worth entertaining or if the defendant is merely hoping to get you to accept a lowball offer to get the case over with as quickly as possible. This is why it is so important to work with an attorney you can trust to ensure he or she has YOUR best interests in mind.
Do I Need a Personal Injury Attorney?
If the information you read above sounds like what has happened to you, we would love to discuss your case. Your initial consultation is free of charge and you are under no obligation to use our legal services just for reaching out to us. Give us a call at 855-633-0888 to discuss your case or you can click here if you would like to learn more about our legal services before contacting us.
Taryn J. White is a legal research specialist and Injury law news reporter. Her current accomplishments include helping those facing any injuries from vehicle accidents, workplace accidents, and medical malpractice.
