When you've been injured in an accident that someone else caused, you may have options to receive compensation to account for your injuries and their impact on your life.
In order to do this, though, you must be able to prove the elements of negligence.
Since this can often be difficult to do, you'll likely find it best to seek help from lawyers who have experience with cases like yours.
First, it may help to understand a bit more about just what the elements of negligence entail.
4 Elements of Negligence Lawyers may use The 4 elements of negligence your lawyer will likely use in your personal injury case include: • Duty - under elements of negligence, duty shows the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff during the course of the plaintiff's injuries.
For example, a landscaper spraying pesticides next to a walking trail could spray a passing runner in the eye.
The fault lies with the landscaper, unless the landscaper made notice that he/she was spraying pesticides.
The landscaper owed this duty to any person on the walking trail if he/she was spraying pesticides.
• Breach of duty - under elements of negligence, breach of duty shows the defendant failed to care about injuries that may occur as a result of his/her actions.
For example, the landscaper didn't put notice up that pesticides were being sprayed and continued spraying even once he or she saw people on the walking path.
This is considered breach of duty.
• Cause in fact - under elements of negligence, cause in fact proves the defendant's actions caused the plaintiff's injuries.
This is also known as the "but-for" rebuttal.
For example, the runner wouldn't have suffered an eye injury but for the negligence of the landscaper, the runner suffers an eye injury.
• Proximate cause - under elements of negligence, proximate cause holds liability on the defendant if only he or she could foresee the accident that caused injury to the plaintiff.
The defendant won't be responsible for any other accident that happens later because it could have had an association with the previous injury.
Once lawyers have proven the above elements of negligence, they'll then ask the party at fault for damages, the fifth element of negligence.
Damages are essentially the compensation you're entitled for your injuries.
It's important to note that the damages you seek must be reasonable and rational.
Lawyers will work to show physical proof of the harm you've sustained to come to a reasonable amount of compensation.
This means showing photos of your injuries and damage to your car, collecting medical bills and treatment records and consulting with specialists to determine the psychological impact of your injuries.
Negligence Laws In order for lawyers to provide a fair case within the elements of negligence, they must follow state negligence laws.
In most states, the plaintiff must be 50% or less at fault for his or her injuries.
The percentage in which the plaintiff is shown at fault will be deducted from the value of injuries.
If the plaintiff is 51% or more at fault, no compensation will be received.
However, the plaintiff won't receive any compensation for medical malpractice if found the slightest bit at fault.