When a person becomes severely injured or dies because of another party’s negligence, it is known as a personal injury accident. These can be devastating accidents that have the potential to impact the rest of a person’s life. Because of this, the injured party may want to hold the negligent party liable for the accident and the injuries they incurred as a result. In order to have a successful negligence claim, the injured party is required to satisfy the burden of proof. This means they have to prove two things: the defendant breached their obligation to provide a duty of care and that this breach was directly caused their injuries.
An individual’s duty of care can either be express or implied. Either way, the injured party has work to do to receive damages for their trauma. This can be done through the following steps:
Proving A Duty of Care Existed
Most of the time, proving a duty of care in personal injury cases is simple. If the accident happened due to hazardous property conditions, the owner of that property may be held liable due to premises liability laws. Property owners have an obligation to ensure their property is safe. If they fail to do so, they are responsible for injuries that happen as a result. This same responsibility is owed by motorists, as they have a duty to drive safely on the road. This ensures their safety as well as those sharing the road with them.
In addition to this, accidents may sometimes happen as a result of a faulty product. These situations are covered by product liability law. If a manufacturer produced a defective product that injures a consumer, they may be held responsible.
Prove the Duty of Care Was Breached
Once the injured party establishes the duty of care, they are required to show how it 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
Part of proving negligence is showing that the accident the injuries that were sustained happened directly because of the party’s breach of duty. To do so, the injured individual and their attorney must demonstrate how the accident took place in addition to how the damages, injuries, and losses happened as a result.
Seeking Damages
Personal injury lawsuits allow the system to set right what was wronged by the victim of the accident. In the event of a successful case, the injured party may be eligible for financial compensation. In order to receive this, they must show that damages were incurred as a result of the party’s negligent behavior. Damages that may be recovered after an accident can include but is not limited to:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages and benefits
- The loss of future earning capacity
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Court costs
Contact our Firm
Hausman & Pendzick effectively represents victims of neglect in Westchester County and across the state of New York. If you need a knowledgeable and skilled personal injury attorney to help you recover compensation after an accident, contact Hausman & Pendzick today.