Do You Know Whether You Have a Personal Injury Case?
Say that you were recently injured while on someone else’s property. Your injuries required more than a bandage, and you also had to take some time off work to make a full recovery. You could be asking yourself, “Do I have a personal injury case?”
Can You Clearly Define the Harm?
One of the first steps in establishing whether you have a personal injury case is providing tangible, undeniable proof that you were physically harmed. While suffering emotional distress can open the door to a claim, it’s a type of harm personal injury lawyers have a difficult time proving. Back up your claim with medical records, images of your injury, and personal notes on how your injury impacts your day-to-day life.
Is There an Element of Negligence?
You also need to prove the party responsible for your injuries displayed a degree of negligence. For instance, you may have slipped and fallen because a store employee neglected to put up proper signage warning you of the slick spot. The driver who crashed into you may have been texting at the time of the accident.
To help build your case, you and your lawyer can work together to offer solutions to the other party’s negligence. For instance, the store employee who neglected to post a “wet floor” sign may need better training, which is the store owner’s responsibility. A driver who crashed into you should have waited until the car was in a safe space before sending a text message Remember, the burden of proof is entirely on you in such legal situations.
Was There a Definable Duty?
The person you’re thinking of raising your claim against must have owed you some duty. What that means is that the responsible party should have either taken an action or not taken an action to avoid bringing harm against you. Here, it’s important to bear in mind the fact that the duty does not have to be mutually agreed upon. For instance, store owners have a duty to take measures to protect customers from any harm that could befall them while in their store, which often requires signage and possibly blocking off specific areas of the business to public access. Drivers owe every other driver (and pedestrians) a degree of care every time they get behind the wheel. The person you seek to bring your claim against has to have breached that duty for you to have a personal injury case.
Once you have the answers to these questions, reach out to a personal injury lawyer. Together, you can explore your legal options and determine the best way to see that you receive your compensation.