How to Determine Fault in a Personal Injury Case

The only way to receive fair compensation for a personal injury case is to prove fault or liability. This is true whether it involves bodily injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, vehicular accident, slip and fall, or any injury that is caused by the negligence or carelessness of others. To be successful in the personal injury case, the injured party will need to show evidence that the defendant is at blame or fault for causing the accident.

Negligence is considered to be “unintentional tort,” meaning the injured party is provided the opportunity to receive compensation. This is true even if the actions of the defendant in the personal injury case were unintended.

Proving Negligence

Nearly every type of claim in a personal injury case is based on negligence. At its most basic definition, it involves careless behavior that directly or indirectly causes an accident or injury. This could happen directly as in a vehicle accident where a negligent driver hits another individual. It could happen indirectly where an employer was careless in providing a safe environment for an employee, or a prescription medication manufacturer neglected to provide adequate information on the harm or damage the drug could cause when taken.

To prove negligence in a personal injury case requires basic elements according to the law. These include duty, breach of duty, calculable damages and causation. Usually, most personal injury cases involve some type of accident where the injuries that were caused were unintended.

Duty

To be successful in proving negligence, the defendant in the personal injury case will need to have had a specific duty of care to the party that was injured. As an example, every driver on the road has a duty that directly involves all other drivers and passengers. It is their duty to safely operate their vehicle.

Breach of Duty

The injured party will need to demonstrate that the defendant in the personal injury case disregarded, or breached, their level of duty. Usually, the injured party will hire experienced attorneys, such as KS-Law, to demonstrate that the defendant is responsible for the injuries because they neglected to act reasonably as any other individual would in a similar circumstance.

Calculable Damages

The injured party or their representative will need to calculate how much compensation as a monetary figure will be required for any directly related loss or expense. Any damage that is unrelated cannot be included in the calculation.

Causation

The injured party must be able to prove that the breach of duty of the defendant was the actual cause of the injury. This usually contains two factors including “cause in fact,” meaning that the injuries are a result of the actions of the defendant. Causation can also occur from “proximate cause” where any injury suffered by the victim is not far removed from the accident or event.

The burden of proof will always be placed on the shoulders of the injured party involved in the personal injury case. Because of that, it is important to hire a skilled personal injury firm, like KS-Law that have competent attorneys that can assist in proving that the defendant in the personal injury case acted unreasonably, and the results of their actions caused the injury.