Elements to a Successful Personal Injury Claim

At one point in most people’s lives, they will be involved in an incident that will lead to an injury. This could be from a car accident or slip and fall accident. However, not every incident requires legal action. That being said, when another person or entity is liable or at fault for your harm or injury you may be eligible to file a personal injury claim. This article will discuss what you need in order to make a personal injury case.

To make a personal injury claim, by way of a lawsuit or insurance claim, you will need to be able to prove that the defendant was negligent in some way. In addition, you will need to prove that as a result of his or her negligence this led to your injuries or damages. The term negligence is defined as “a failure to behave with a level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the circumstances.” The behavior usually consists of actions, but can also consist of omissions when there is a duty to act.” As a result, proving negligence is a key element in determining the likelihood of success of your personal injury case.

In personal injury law, the burden of proving the two elements of fault and damages fall squarely on the shoulders of the person making the claim. In the event that your claim gets to trial the legal standard which you must prove your case is by “a preponderance of the evidence”. This basically means that you must prove to the jury or judge that it is ‘more likely true than not true’ that everything you are saying is correct with regards to the cause and extent of your injuries and the liability of the defendant. That being said, it is highly unlikely that your case will make it to trial or to the verdict stage; as the majority of personal injury cases are settled long before these stages. However, when looking at how strong your case is, it is important that you think along the lines of successfully meeting the burden of proof required in a personal injury case.

It must be noted that it is not in every single personal injury case where the question comes down to whether or not the defendant was negligent even though this is an extremely important factor. Different personal injury cases focus on different aspects. For example, if the injury you suffered was because of a defective product or an accident at work then your claim follows totally different rules. A workplace accident follows the rules of making a worker’s compensation claim. In this regard, the question does not come down to liability as an issue, rather, it is where the accident or injury took place and if it really is a workplace accident. Further, a key rule with regards to workplace accidents is that the injured employee or worker is barred from suing the employer by law in most cases.

To learn more about what makes a civil case succeed and what is required speak to a personal injury attorney in Bakersfield CA.