Injuries can happen from a wide range of different accidents. From slip and falls to car accidents to work injuries to defective product injuries, our attorneys can help you get compensation for the injuries you faced.
Proving your case and getting compensation is often an uphill battle, especially when your case is positioned against a company or entity like a store, a trucking company, or even a local municipal government. However, our legal team can fight these defendants and their insurance companies and seek fair compensation for the injuries you suffered.
For a free review of your potential injury case, call Howe Law’s personal injury attorneys now at (844) 876-4357.
Elements to Prove in a Personal Injury Claim in Newnan, GA
Most injury cases – whether they be slip and falls, car accidents, or another type of injury case – are based on the underlying tort of “negligence.” A tort is like a crime, but in civil court – so instead of being charged with the crime of assault, an assailant would face a tort claim for “battery.” Intentional torts like assault, battery, and defamation can be filed, but most accidental injuries are based on the tort of “negligence,” which has four elements your personal injury lawyers will need to prove:
Duty
For a person to be held liable for negligence, you need to show that they owed you a duty. This duty is usually based on your relationship with the defendant. For example, if you were a customer at their store, then they owe you a duty to keep the property reasonably free of dangers – or to at least warn customers of dangers. If you slipped and fell because they did not uphold this duty, then you could be entitled to sue them for negligence.
Sometimes, the relationship between parties is merely that they were sharing the road together. In car accident cases, the duty in question is often the duty to drive as a reasonable driver would – which includes a duty to generally try to avoid accidents, to keep your eyes on the road, and to keep your hands on the wheel. However, the law also provides specific duties in the form of traffic laws, such as the duty to drive under the speed limit, to stop at red lights, and to avoid drunk driving.
Breach
A breach of duty occurs when the defendant fails to use the care or skill needed to carry out their duty. Often, this is itself known as “negligence,” but a duty can be breached through recklessness or “wanton” or “willful” behavior as well. You merely need to prove that the duty was, in fact, breached, but proving willfulness or wantonness might, at the end of the day, result in higher damages to punish a bad actor.
Breaches are often shown by demonstrating what the defendant did and how it failed to conform to the duty. In most cases, the average person will be able to see the breach and understand that the driver’s actions were unreasonable. For example, a jury can see that a driver who went 80 mph through a red light clearly breached both the duty to follow the speed limit and the duty to stop at red lights. However, some cases might involve more specialized knowledge, such as in product injury cases involving manufacturing defects or medical malpractice claims. In those cases, you might need to call an expert witness to explain the breach to the jury.
Causation
For someone to be held responsible for an accident, their breach of duty has to be what actually caused the accident. If they did not actually do anything wrong, the accident is not their fault.
This commonly happens in cases where the accident was unavoidable. For example, if a driver hit you because their brakes failed, there is nothing they could have done to avoid the crash because there is nothing they could have done to force the broken brakes to work. If they were texting while driving at the time, that might not have actually made a difference, so the courts might not be able to hold them liable.
The cause also needs to be tied closely in time and place to the accident to qualify as a legal cause. While the driver might have been speeding a few miles back, that cannot be used as evidence of a breach of duty if they were driving correctly by the time the accident happened.
Damages
You cannot sue if you do not face injuries or other harm from the crash. In most cases, our lawyers deal with actual injuries, which inherently qualify as “damages” and entitle you to medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages. Many people see dangers at stores, restaurants, or other public places and think that someone is eventually going to get hurt because of the danger. But unless and until someone actually does get hurt, they cannot sue for the danger.
In some cases, the “injury” you face is a non-physical one. If your only damages are mental or emotional, you might still be able to sue for damages.
Settling an Injury Case vs. Going to Court in Newnan, GA
In many cases, homeowners insurance, a business’ liability insurance, or a driver’s car insurance will be able to cover some of the damages in your injury case. However, insurance companies rarely pay full damages without a fight. Our injury attorneys can negotiate for higher damages, but if negotiations are unsuccessful, we might need to take your case before a judge and jury to get you full damages. Our attorneys can help you determine the best course of action for your specific case.
Contact the Newnan, GA Personal Injury Attorneys at Howe Law Today
For a free case evaluation, call Howe Law’s personal injury lawyers today at (844) 876-4357.
