Determining the legal responsibility of an injury or accident can be quite complicated. But, if you can prove that someone else was careless or negligent about it, you can win the case.
But, how are you going to prove the same?
In this article, we’ll talk about the subject of proving faults in a personal injury lawsuit. But, before we focus on that, let’s discuss something a little more basic.
Who Determines Liability?
Deciding the person at fault usually depends on the overall circumstance of the case. Thus, if you don’t have a single idea in this aspect, it’s better to opt for Personal Injury Attorneys in Long Island, NY. With their expertise and experience, they can help you –
- Investigate the case properly.
- Discover and make a list of people who were potentially at fault.
- Make a final determination regarding the liability case.
And, once they’re done with everything, the case will be presented to the defendant’s court as required. If your attorney is unable to negotiate with others, they’ll send the same to a judge.
Don’t worry too much about anything, though.
Your lawyer is going to be with you for the rest of the case’s duration. Therefore, it’ll be best if you could make the most out of it and do whatever’s possible to win the claim.
Proving Fault By Using Negligence
Usually, almost every case of injury in the United States tends to occur due to someone else’s negligence. It’s essentially conducted, which –
- Falls below the overall standard of care expected from someone reasonable.
- Causes harm or injury to another person.
If you’re considering providing fault by using negligence, the legal elements that you’ll need to prove in this aspect are –
- Causation: The negligence of the defendant has to be the true cause of the injury or harm suffered by the plaintiff. For example, if the car of the defendant has rear-ended your vehicle, it can be considered a form of causation.
- Breach: In this case, you, the plaintiff, have to prove that the defendant has breached a legal duty deliberately. For example, the defendant was driving their four-wheeler while looking at their phone and ended up injuring you in the process.
- Damages: Damages can only be used when you have suffered some sort of monetary or financial damage. It can include the medical bill, which you have had to pay due to your injury. Property damage and lost income can be included here as well.
- Duty: Finally, in this aspect, the “duty” refers to something, which the defendant had to do to keep the plaintiff safe. For example, an automobile driver has to be careful or attentive while driving down a busy road.
Apart from this, you might get one or more ways to prove fault with regard to negligence too. Take the help of an attorney to get some help in this aspect.
How Else Do You Prove Fault?
Although it’s more common, not every injury claim involves conventional negligence. Hence, in that case, you can opt for some other way too. Keep reading to know more about it.
- Establishing intentional conduct for the case.
- Showing that the case must be governed through the “strict liability” standard.
- Proving the sense of “negligence per se.”
Now, let’s talk about them a little more elaborately.
So, intentional conduct is something that has been done voluntarily by the defendant. In most cases, they’ll also have the desired purpose of causing harm as well.
For example, if a person is threatening to stab you or punch you without any viable reason, it’ll be considered intentional conduct. This type of case, if proven, can lead to a hefty jail time for the person who’s responsible for the misconduct.
The issue of “negligence per se,” on the other hand, is used when an unexcused violation of a certain statute is conducted. In this case, the defendant will be automatically liable for each of the damages they’ve caused to the plaintiff.
For instance, reckless driving, especially on a busy road, is always considered a type of vehicle code violation. And, if it results in an injury for a pedestrian, the liability of it will be raised by using negligence per se.
Finally, “strict liability” means that the injured or damaged individual doesn’t have to make or establish the negligence of the defendant.
An excellent example of this case will be a product liability claim where the user was using a defective product and got injured somehow.
The same issue can also be raised against an individual who was keeping possession of wild animals and performing dangerous activities.
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
In this section, we’ll talk about our titular topic in a question-answer format. Thus, let’s keep reading to know more about this context, then.
1. What Three Elements Must be Present To Prove Negligence?
The most common element that you can present to prove the negligence of the defendant is the act of causation. Apart from these, you can also use “duty” and “breach” if applicable.
2. What Is The Most Difficult Element of Negligence To Prove?
The defendant breaching their duty of care is quite impossible to prove. After all, in this case, the judge is going to take your general duty into consideration as well. And, if the defendant can prove that it was ultimately your fault, you’ll lose the case.
The Bottom Line
So, that’ll be all for this article. We hope that you did get enough information from this blog about personal injury lawsuits and beyond. However, if you need a little more help, we’ll ask you to comment on the confusion below. We’ll try our best to answer you.
Or, you could also try hiring a personal injury lawyer and ask them about the steps that you need to do next. As mentioned before, they’ll offer their help on almost anything as long as you’re asking the right questions. So, do consider talking to them!
Additionals
