Personal Injury Cases – The Basics

If you have suffered a personal injury from an accident or incident, you could deal with a personal injury case. Although each personal injury case is different, there are commonalities within every personal injury case. This article explains a personal injury case, the various types of personal injury claims, the law governing personal injuries, and the potential outcomes of these cases.

What is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

A personal injury lawsuit allows an injured individual to file a civil lawsuit in court and receive damages, namely money, for the harm caused by the at-fault party in an accident or incident. This process aims to provide an avenue for harmed individuals to be pretty compensated after suffering due to someone else’s conduct. Every personal injury case is different; thus, each case will proceed differently. However, there are standard steps most personal injury cases take. Typically, personal injury cases are legal disputes that arise when someone suffers harm from an accident for which someone else might be legally responsible. Personal injury cases can become formalized after the injury by the injured party hiring an attorney and filing a civil lawsuit against the person who caused the harm. However, it is common for disputes to be resolved before filing a lawsuit or in the early stages of litigation through a settlement agreement between the parties. The formal lawsuit and an informal settlement will be discussed below.

Types of Personal Injury Claims

A personal injury claim can come from a wide variety of situations. Some of the most common personal injury claims include accidents (car accidents, slip and fall incidents, workplace accidents, medical malpractice, etc.), intentional acts (assault and battery and other intentional torts), defective products/product liability (a product that is defective or unreasonably dangerous that harmed a consumer), defamation (when one person’s statement causes harm to another), wrongful death, premises liability, and other types of personal injury claims (including nursing home abuse or neglect, animal bites, food poisoning, asbestos exposure, legal malpractice, etc.). Generally, a defendant has a duty (which type depends on the situation) to the plaintiff and does something to breach that duty, injuring the plaintiff, resulting in the plaintiff likely having a personal injury claim.

The Law Governing Personal Injuries

Generally, personal injury law comes from the “common law.” Unlike laws codified in statutes, the common law comes from court decisions that set legal precedents that subsequent cases must follow. Common law differs from state to state, so applicable rules for personal injury cases will depend on the jurisdiction in which you are located. Although personal injury law mainly derives from the common law, legislatures have also passed some statutes that touch on and apply to personal injury issues. The state’s statute of limitations is one of the most relevant statutes for a personal injury plaintiff. The statute of limitations limits the time an injured party has to file a lawsuit. Generally speaking, the period mandated by the statute of limitations begins when the plaintiff is injured or discovers the injury. Once the plaintiff has filed the lawsuit, they are no longer within the limited timeframe to present and sustain a judgment for their case. The statute of limitations can vary based on the type of injury.

Potential Outcomes of Personal Injury Cases

As mentioned, a personal injury case likely has two primary outcomes. The first is a formal lawsuit in which a private individual files a civil complaint against another individual, business, corporation, or government agency that allegedly caused harm to the individual filing the lawsuit. This lawsuit will attempt to find the alleged lousy actor legally at fault and provide the plaintiff (individual filing the lawsuit) with a judgment and remedy for their injury. The second and more likely outcome is an informal settlement between the parties. Most disputes involving personal injury claims are resolved through settlement, which commonly takes the form of negotiation followed by a written and signed agreement where both sides agree to forgo any further legal action and resolve the matter through payment of an agreeable amount of money as compensation for the injured party’s injury. Settlement negotiations can occur before filing a civil lawsuit or any time after a lawsuit has been filed but before a judgment administered by the court.

Call GroverLawKC

If you are considering filing a personal injury case after an accident or incident, hiring an attorney helps you navigate this complex area and allows you to focus on your recovery. Your attorney will handle all contact with the at-fault party and their insurance company. Your attorney will work hard to get you fair compensation. Call Mark Grover with the GroverLawKC at 913-432-1000 to set up your free consultation today.

The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be considered legal advice for any case or situation. This information is not intended to create; receipt or viewing does not constitute an attorney-client relationship.