Elements Of A Personal Injury Lawsuit
In general, personal injury lawsuits can be broken into two general categories: negligence cases and intentional acts or “torts.” (The word “tort” is a legal term, which refers to a legal cause of action — the wrongful act of another person which entitled an injured party to seek damages through the courts.)
The first group of personal injury cases are known as negligence actions. These cases arise when the person that caused the harm did not act intentionally in doing so. These cases involving unintentional or careless harm that result in injuries to others. While there are many types of negligence actions, one of the most common are slip and fall cases.
To win a “negligence” case, an injured person must show that the defendant owed him a duty to exercise reasonable care, that the defendant violated that duty, that his injuries resulted from the breach of duty, and that the injuries were a reasonably foreseeable result of the violation.
Common negligence actions include automobile accidents, “slip and fall” accidents resulting from improper design or maintenance, and medical malpractice actions.
The second main group of personal injury cases are the intentional tort cases. These cases arise when someone acts intentionally and the result is an injury or harm to another. It is important to note that the defendant need not intend harm, only that they acted intentionally and harm resulted.
Often times it is difficult for the victim of an intentional tort to get compensation for their injuries. This is because insurance companies usually don’t insure against intentional torts. Another aspect of intentional torts is that they may be committed in concert and may be intertwined with negligence actions.
Common intentional torts include assault and battery, child abuse, and defamation of character. Most criminal acts will support a lawsuit based upon the intentional wrongful conduct of the criminal.
When someone is injured in the course of their employment, a unique area of the law is triggered. This is the area of worker’s compensation. Before worker’s compensation laws were put in place, it was very common for an injured employee to sue his employer for injuries sustained on the job. This created a difficult situation for all parties involved, including the civil justice system. Worker’s compensation laws were put in place as a compromise between employers and injured employees. Employers became immune to lawsuits for job-related injuries and employees did not need to prove all the elements of their case in order to recover.
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