Personal injury cases happen every day. They cover a broad range of incidents, including slip and fall accidents, premises liability, auto accidents, even medical malpractice. While each kind of injury and accident and indeed, each individual case, has its own unique elements, the one thing that all have in common is that it’s important to prove liability in order to get the compensation you deserve for your injury. Learn the elements that go into determining personal injury liability and how an attorney can make sure you get the compensation you deserve.
Personal Injury Liability
The legal concept of personal injury liability is deceptively simple: it basically means “Whose fault is this accident?” But while the basic idea is simple, proving liability is often far more complex. It generally relies upon the idea of responsibility and negligence. Proving this requires a degree of experience and expertise in order to battle the claims that the defendant and their insurance companies will make to avoid paying out.
Proving Liability
In general, an accident occurs because of carelessness on someone’s part. Everyone has a duty of care to other people around them and is expected to act with the responsibility a reasonable person would exercise in a given situation. If one person is careless in their actions and someone else gets injured, the careless party bears responsibility. For example:
- If you fall due to a dangerous condition (ice, rough ground, loose carpet, holes, etc.) in someone else’s residence or property, and they should have known to fix or warn you of the issue, they could bear responsibility.
- If you are in a car accident because the other driver was moving erratically, being careless, was under the influence of alcohol, or was otherwise not responsibly driving, they could be liable.
- If a doctor treats you for an illness or injury but doesn’t exercise reasonable care, fails to warn you of side effects, or doesn’t perform adequate exams and testing, complications you experience could fall on their shoulders.
In the end, it is essential to be able to prove this liability in order to get the compensation you deserve.
Attempts to Avoid Fault
When you experience an accident, the other party will often attempt to avoid paying out the full amount you owe. This ranges from denying fault altogether, to insurance companies getting you to sign your rights away on a lowball offer, to avoid the expense and stress of a trial. Sometimes they will result to outright bullying and threats.
When this happens, it’s important to have a personal injury attorney in your corner who can stand up to these bullying tactics and ensure that you are compensated for your medical bills, loss of income, pain and suffering, emotional damages and other financial hardships that arise from your injuries.
If you have been in an accident in the Charlotte area and need help, look over our legal services and give us a call for a no-obligation consultation today!