What You Need to Know About Accident Legal Matters
Events that are unexpected and often sudden that happen without intention or volition, although sometimes due to negligence, ignorance or even a lack of awareness.
Accident lawyers can examine your medical records and interview witnesses as well as experts like life-care planners and other experts, to determine the impact of your injury on your future. They also have previous experience dealing with insurance adjusters and know how to negotiate a fair settlement.
Negligence
In legal terms, negligence is considered a tort. Torts are civil wrongs which fall under a separate category from criminal offenses. Negligence cases involve the defendant’s inability to exercise a reasonable degree of care and prudence in their actions or inactions. This can lead to accidental injury or harm to another person. Negligence is the most common cause of accidents that result from car accidents, slip or fall accidents at businesses and restaurants or private homes, medical malpractice (when doctors deviate from the standards of care) and wrongful death lawsuits (when someone dies because of the negligence or negligence of another).
A claim for negligence is made up of four elements which are duty breach, causation and damages. First, the defendant must owe the plaintiff the duty of care. It could be a responsibility to perform a task or to avoid doing something under certain conditions. In the event of a car crash for instance, all drivers are obligated to drive safely and follow traffic laws. The defendant can then violate this obligation by acting recklessly or negligently in some way. This can include driving while texting, Accident Lawyers speeding, or failing to wear a seatbelt. This violation must have caused directly the victim’s injury. A defendant can’t be liable for injuries if they was caused by some other cause, such as the victim being upset or anxious or experiencing a natural disaster that was outside their control.
If the court decides that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care The next step is to show that the defendant violated this obligation by failing to take action or by taking act that violated this obligation. This could be a wrongful act or the omission. The court must also determine that the breach of duty directly led to the victim’s loss or injury. This can be proved by the existence of a causal link that is strong or a strong connection between the breach of duty and an immediate or proximate cause such as in the examples above.
In the past, American court systems followed a doctrine known as contributory negligence. This meant that the victim was not entitled to compensation if he had even been partially responsible for their own injuries. A majority of states use the model of pure comparative fault or comparative negligence, which allows victims to receive a lower amount of compensation in proportion to how much they are responsible for the incident.
Damages
Damages are awarded in accident legal cases to compensate victims for their losses. General and special damages may be awarded in a variety of forms. Special damages are tangible and easy to prove. They include medical bills, property damage and out-of-pocket legal costs and court costs. General damages are not as tangible, and may also include emotional suffering and pain loss of enjoyment of life, physical impairment, and disfigurement.
During the investigation phase of your case our team will gather and analyze all documents regarding your accident. This will help us construct an accurate picture of your losses, and help us determine what damages you are entitled to. Our lawyers will collaborate with experts to make sure that all damages are correctly estimated and calculated.
Economic damages can be demonstrated through the use of a paper trail and are usually easy to calculate. They include medical expenses, property damages, and lost wages. Our lawyers will work with experts to estimate the future economic damages such as continuing medical expenses or loss of earning potential.
Non-economic damages are more difficult to quantify because there is no specific value in terms of money for these types of damages. Common non-economic damages in car accidents include pain and suffering loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress and loss of consortium. The severity of your injuries, and the impact they have on your quality of life, will determine the degree of suffering and pain you endure.
Loss of enjoyment of life is the impact of your injury on your ability to participate in activities that you enjoy like recreational or leisure activities. Physical impairment and disfigurement are often included in this category due to their negative impact on your daily activities.
Punitive damages rarely are awarded in car accidents, but can be ordered when the defendant’s conduct was particularly shocking or if they engaged in reckless conduct or fraud. These kinds of damages are designed to punish the defendant, and discourage others from engaging in similar behavior.
Expert Witnesses
Expert witnesses are vital to the success of a personal injury claim. These experts are people who were not present at the scene of the accident however, they have expertise, training, and/or experience with respect to the specific details of your case they can discuss with jurors.
A car accident expert is usually consulted to provide an accurate analysis of the crash, especially if no eyewitnesses are available. They might be asked to recreate the accident attorneys or develop physical and computer models to show how a crash took place. Their experience can help lawyers get a solid understanding of the incident that they can use to convince insurance companies or a jury that you deserve compensation for your injuries.
A medical expert is another popular type of expert witness. They are doctors who vouch for the medical condition or injury that a victim sustained during a crash, and explain to jurors how the condition may have been caused by the crash. They can also offer advice on treatment options and recovery options.
Engineering experts are also frequently employed in claims for car accidents. They can provide information on the technical aspects of a wreck, such as the design of the road along with the construction and physical properties that are involved in the collision, as well as the vehicle designs. Your lawyer will be able determine which experts will be most helpful in your specific case.
Mental health experts are often consulted in personal injury cases. They can help quantify emotional damages, such as suffering, pain and loss of enjoyment of life.
Generally speaking an expert witness has to be licensed to practice in the field they testify on. There are exceptions to the rule, and laws vary from state to state. In general an attorney for personal injury will have the most information regarding the laws governing expert witnesses in your state. In many states experts must declare their qualifications and areas of expertise before they can be called to be called to testify. This is to prevent any possible bias or conflicts of interest.
Time Limits
Depending on your circumstances the law has different deadlines for filing lawsuits against the parties who caused an accident. These are known as statutes of limitations, and they vary widely across states. Your case could be dismissed if miss the deadline. It is important to speak with an experienced lawyer as soon as possible following an accident to ensure you don’t run the risk of missing the statute of limitations deadline.
In New York for example, you have three years to file a claim after an accident. However, it doesn’t mean that you should be waiting until the deadline to make a claim. It’s usually better to file sooner, while the details of the incident are fresh in your mind. This can also aid your attorney to find and speak with witnesses.
If you’re seeking compensation for property damage or personal injuries, you can make a civil suit against the person who caused the incident. But, the lawsuit must be filed within the timeframe of limitations, or else you aren’t able to hold the other party accountable.
The clock starts ticking on the date of your accident attorneys. The statute of limitations may be extended in certain situations. For instance, if the injury isn’t obvious at first and you do not discover it in the first place your case may be held open by using a discovery rule.
Minors also have specific rules regarding time limits. If a child gets injured in a car crash they have two years from the time the deadline for filing a lawsuit expires to bring a lawsuit on their own behalf.
When you sue a municipality or local government the statute of limitations is much shorter. If you get into an accident with the City of New York garbage truck or police vehicle, as well as a Sanitation Department pick-up truck, for example, you’ll have just 90 days to make a claim before the statute of limitations expires.