If you have recently been hurt under circumstances that were either not your fault or were only partially your fault, loved ones may have encouraged you to speak with an attorney. This course of action is a good idea. All too often, injury victims are unaware that the law grants them the opportunity to pursue compensation for the harm that they have suffered. In this country, most people are familiar with the basics of the criminal justice system but are not terribly familiar with how the civil justice system works. Know that you may be empowered to seek justice and considerable compensation via the civil justice system if your situation meets certain criteria.
Elements
Most of the time, injury victims must prove that those who caused them harm owed them a duty of care under the law, breached that duty by behaving negligently, recklessly, or with intentional harm, and caused their injuries as a result of this conduct. If a lawsuit successfully proves these elements, the victim serving as the plaintiff should be awarded compensation.
With that said, there are exceptions to these broad personal injury lawsuit criteria. For example, successful medical malpractice lawsuits must prove that any healthcare provider named as a defendant in the suit failed to provide their patient with the level of care that a reasonably competent provider facing similar circumstances would have. By contrast, injury suits involving property owners must generally prove that the property owner named as a defendant either knew or should have known about a dangerous condition on their property and failed to take steps to mitigate the risk of harm that had resulted from that condition. Some defective product and animal bite lawsuits are litigated under a strict liability standard and don’t require victims to prove negligence or intent.
In short, there are broad criteria that must be met for most personal injury lawsuits to succeed. However, there are exceptions to this general rule, so it is a good idea to connect with an attorney before making assumptions about your situation.
Common Reasons Why Personal Injury Lawsuits Are Filed
As an experienced personal injury lawyer – including those who practice at The Law Offices of Barry P. Goldberg – can confirm, there are numerous reasons why individuals file personal injury lawsuits. Some of the most common grounds upon which injury victims file suit in civil court include:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Hit and run accidents
- Mass transit accidents
- Rideshare accidents
- Boat accidents
- ATV accidents
- Medical errors
- Medical malpractice resulting from failure to provide patients with professionally accepted standards of care
- Product defects
- Unreasonably dangerous products
- Premises liability
- Slip and fall incidents
- Negligent security
- Dog bites
- Animal attacks
- Nursing home abuse
- Nursing home neglect
- Police brutality
- Construction accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Wrongful death
This list is not exhaustive. If you’ve been injured as a result of a third party’s negligence, recklessness, or intentionally dangerous conduct, you may be in a strong position to file a personal injury lawsuit even if your circumstances are not among the most commonly litigated.