How Do I Determine if My Accident Was Caused by Negligence?
Whenever you or someone you love is injured, it is an understandable reaction to look for someone to blame. While it is possible that another person could have legitimately caused the accident, it does not always follow that you are entitled to compensation. Four criteria have to be met in order for a victim to collect damages from the responsible party.
Duty of Care is a legal obligation that individuals often do not realize they have towards others. Every citizen has a duty of care towards one another; this means that we all must take reasonable precautions to ensure that our actions do not unintentionally cause harm to others. Certain people and businesses, such as common carriers, must actually exercise the utmost care to protect those using their services. Individuals do not have to be within close physical proximity of each other for duty of care to apply. A successful personal injury case must prove that the responsible individual had a duty of care towards the victim.
Breach of Duty is the failure to exercise duty of care. This is also referred to as negligent action. In order to prove that there was a breach of duty, your attorney must prove that the negligent action was foreseeable by a reasonable individual and that the proper care was not taken to prevent the accident from occurring.
Cause of the accident must be due to the breach of duty. Causation is not always easy to prove, as sometimes an individual's actions have a domino effect and there are multiple factors involved in an accident. Proving cause can also be difficult when the injury is an exacerbation of a preexisting condition.
Damages are the costs of the injury. These include medical bills, rehabilitation, the income lost due to time off of work, emotional distress, decreased quality of life, handicap accommodations, and related future medical costs. Your personal injury lawyer must be able to prove not only that the injuries are a result of the accident, but he must also calculate the value of the injuries.
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