What is Personal Injury Law?

Personal injury law handles when a party has been injured. When someone acts in a negligent manner and harms you, then they have legal responsibility for your injuries and damages. You can seek compensation for those through a personal injury case. This is handled in civil court and usually the person bringing the claim forward has an attorney to represent them.

Compensatory Damages are Normally Monetary

When an individual seeks compensation, it’s typically monetary. This compensation is to pay for any bills or expenses that are incurred as a result of the accident. There are many kinds of personal injury cases. Common types of personal injury law cases include:

  • Motor vehicle accidents
  • Slip and fall cases
  • Nursing home abuse
  • Medical malpractice
  • Elder abuse
  • Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Childcare abuse

In these cases, the other party owed  a duty of care that wasn’t meant. They were supposed to act in a way that wouldn’t cause harm or they needed to take measures to keep an individual safe. When the party fails to do this, their negligence or recklessness can cause injuries. The next step is to prove that their negligence is the reason why an injury occurred, which is when a personal injury attorney will need to step in to give assistance to help the injured party made whole.

personal injury claims

Every Personal Injury Case Has a Statute of Limitations

Before getting into the personal injury case, an attorney will make sure that the potential case is within the statute of limitations to pursue damages. Most personal injury cases have a time limit in which an action can be pursued.  The amount of time varies by state, but typically many personal injury cases have a statute of limitations of two years. Waiting to sue the offending party puts any potential legal injury claim at risk. If a suit is filed after the statute of limitations has passed, the case will likely be dismissed without review.

Personal Injury Attorneys Gather Evidence

An Indiana personal injury attorney will work to gather evidence that connects injuries and the other party’s negligence. The attorney can do this by reviewing the medical documents, which will explain any injuries and any tests or procedures that were needed. They’ll also examine the scene of the accident if necessary and take photographs that can help a potential case, if filed. There could be physical evidence that shows your side of the story is true. Maybe the accident was caught on video, which can also back up a claim. In some cases, eyewitness accounts may help because it is a testimony coming from a third party without a bias toward either party.

At Times an Expert Witness is Required

Some cases may require expert witnesses. These are people who are experts in their field and will most likely have similar training in the area of the party who harmed you. You injury attorney will have the expert witness look at how the other party treated you and ask their professional opinion of their actions. They can say how they could not have acted or treated you in that way, nor would most professionals in that field. These details help show that if the other party hadn’t been treating you or had acted competently, it’s likely that you wouldn’t have been injured.

Every Case Must Come to a Conclusion

There are a few ways for a case to reach a conclusion. Usually, the path is through an informal settlement, which involves the parties, attorneys, and insurers. They’ll attempt to reach a negotiation amount so it doesn’t have to go to court. However, if one of the parties is uncooperative and will not budge on something, then the case may take the next step to formal litigation. When it goes to court, a judge and jury can be involved. There is also the risk that the plaintiff could walk away with nothing after the court’s decision has been made.