Personal injury accidents happen when a person becomes injured or dies due to another party’s negligence. These accidents can impact a person for the rest of their life. Because of this, the individual who is harmed in the accident can hold the negligent party responsible for their actions. This can be done through a personal injury lawsuit. With this, the injured party is required to satisfy the burden of proof in order to have a successful case. This means they must prove the defendant breached their obligation to provide a duty of care and that this breach directly caused their injuries.
A person’s duty of care to another can either be express or implied. Regardless of which it is, the injured party is required to prove it existed. This can be done through the following steps:
Proving A Duty of Care Existed
When proving a duty of care existed, the individual must understand how the accident happened and why the other party is liable. Property owners have an obligation to ensure their property is safe. When an accident happens as a result of hazardous property conditions and someone becomes injured, the property owner may be held liable. This is done through premises liability laws.
Other times, an accident can occur because of a faulty product. When a product is made improperly, it can malfunction and injure the person using it. If a manufacturer produced a defective product that causes an injury, they may be held responsible. This is done through product liability laws.
Prove the Duty of Care Was Breached
Once it is proven that the other party had a duty of care, the injured party must then show how the duty was breached. This can be done through the following:
- Incident reports
- Eyewitness testimony
- Expert witness testimony
- Surveillance footage
- Chemical test results
- Pictures or videos of the scene
Causation
The next step in proving negligence is to show that this breach of duty directly caused the accident and the individual’s injuries. This is an important piece in proving the other party was negligent. This requires the injured party and their attorney to show how the accident took place and how the damages, injuries, and losses occurred as a result of it.
Seeking Damages
When an injured party has a successful case, they may receive financial compensation for the trauma they experienced. This allows the individual to recover without any worry of how they will afford the extra costs or lost wages they incurred as a result of the accident. To receive this compensation, the injured party must prove damages happened due to the negligence. Damages that may be recovered after an accident can include:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages and benefits
- The loss of future earning capacity
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Court costs
Contact our Firm
Our firm understands how serious criminal and personal injury cases are. We are prepared to guide you towards a favorable outcome. If you are in need of experienced legal counsel in New Jersey, please contact The Law Office of Andrew S. Maze today for any criminal and personal injury matters.
