In any personal injury claim filed, the most important element for the plaintiff in a case is to establish negligence on the other party or parties. In some states, such as New York or New Jersey, there are no-fault rules, which means your own insurance covers your losses. In fault states, such as Connecticut for example, you can file a claim with the other party's insurance provider to seek compensation. Proving negligence is important in almost all personal injury lawsuits.

How do you prove negligence? We will talk about this more as you read on. However, if you have any questions or have been hurt and someone else is to blame, contact an experienced personal injury attorney for help. Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law has decades of experience in handling injury cases. Calling us can save a lot of time and give you the best chance at success.

Negligence Explained

Personal injury claims are often civil in nature, which means that victims seek compensation from a party responsible for their injuries. When one person wrongs another, it is referred to as "a tort" in the civil court system.

There are two types of torts: intentional torts and negligently-caused accidental torts. When someone intentionally wrongs another person, this is known as an intentional tort. Battery is an intentional tort, in which one person intentionally hits another without cause.

When someone accidentally does something wrong and hurts someone else, it is considered negligence. A negligent act would be a driver who followed another vehicle too closely and unintentionally rear-ended it.

In both cases, an attorney for a personal injury lawsuit could argue that the defendant is negligent and responsible for a plaintiff's injuries.

Proving Negligence

Most civil injury lawsuits claim that the other party was negligent. The victim must prove four things in order to prevail in a negligence lawsuit: (1) the other party owed the victim a duty; (2) the party breached the duty; (3) the breach resulted in the injury; and (4) the victim suffered damages.

In many states, a plaintiff must prove each of the aforementioned four factors in order to establish liability to be awarded compensation.

Duty

A duty is an obligation under the law to do or not do something. An example of duty is that drivers on the road obey the traffic laws.

A legal duty is the assumption that the defendant in a personal injury claim had an obligation to act in a way that would keep another person safe or refrain from acts that would endanger another person. This duty can be expected between a doctor and a patient, a business and its customers, or a driver and other motorists.

Breach of Duty

Once a duty has been established, the court must decide whether it was breached by an action or inaction that a reasonable person would take or not take in the same circumstance. A responsible driver wouldn't, for instance, text and drive.

Causation

Once the defendant has been shown to have breached a duty, you must then show that the violation directly resulted in your damages. In some circumstances, a defendant may assert that even though a duty was broken, it had little or no impact on the injury that resulted from it. An example of this would be if the defendant argues that you were not authorized to be in the room where you slipped if you can show that someone failed to properly mark a freshly mopped wet floor.

Damages

You must demonstrate both the breach of duty and the cause of the damage, in addition to causation. This focuses on the amount of money you are seeking as compensation for your losses, including bodily injuries, emotional distress and property.

Call Us For A Free Consultation

It may seem difficult to pursue a personal injury claim following an accident, but the smartest move to make is to speak with a personal injury attorney as soon as you can. Our team of lawyers at Brandon J. Broderick can guide you through the process and take the journey with you.

Without legal counsel on your side, an insurance company may present a lowball offer that barely covers your losses, or they may even decline to pay altogether. You may be left to pay for your treatments and medical care out of pocket.

Call us as soon as possible and let us help you turn this around in your favor. We work on a contingency basis and provide a free case evaluation.