We understand that a personal injury case is the last thing on your mind when you’ve just been involved in an accident. You’re more concerned with your health and dealing with the immediate aftermath of what has just happened to you. After the dust has settled, you might then want to establish if you have reason to pursue a personal injury case. But just because you’ve been injured in work or at home, doesn’t necessarily mean you have a valid claim.
You must be able to establish three things to prove a personal injury claim is warranted in the event of your accident.
Establishing Negligence
You must be able to prove that the person who caused your injury was negligent. The most basic definition of negligence is that the other person (the defendant) acted in a way that was unreasonable and careless towards the safety of others. Believing that a negligent act took place is of no use to you – you must be able to prove it. So, if there was liquid spilled on the floor of a grocery store, but the staff did nothing to warn customers of the danger, then the store acted in a negligent manner, and you can prove this.
Negligence Caused your Injury
Once you’ve established that the person you’re claiming against was negligent, you must then prove their actions caused your injury. Going back to our example of liquid spilled on a store’s floor, you have proven that the store was negligent, but you must now prove that their action, or inaction, caused your personal injury. So, what you must be able to demonstrate is that as a result of slipping on a wet floor you sustained a neck injury, and for no other reason than that.
Your Injury Caused You “Harm”
You’ve now established that the person you’re claiming against was negligent, and that their negligence caused your accident. The next piece of evidence you must present is that your injury has caused your ongoing harm. This includes being unable to work as a result of your injury, medication costs, and medical bills all count as pain and suffering caused by your accident. The only real way for you to prove this is to have medical documentation to back up everything you say. You must also be able to prove that your accident caused a new injury, and not that it simply made an existing injury worse.
Medical Proof
As you can see it’s important that you seek medical assistance in the aftermath of any accident in which you’ve been injured. You may not want to pursue a personal injury claim right now, but if injuries present themselves later on – as is often the case – you’ll need documented evidence of how, where, when, and to what extent you were injured.
How Long Does A Personal Injury Claim Take?
This is all down to the skill, experience and expertise of your personal injury attorney. You will also need medical documentation to back up your claim, but your personal injury attorney will advise on this when you discuss your case with them. The defendant’s insurance company will do everything they can to delay the case going to court, so you’ll need to exercise some patience with cases like this. Some personal injury claims can take years to come to fruition.
If your personal injury claim is unsuccessful, you can also pursue a personal injury lawsuit. This is when a settlement can’t be reached between the plaintiff and the defendant’s insurance company, and the case must go to trial instead.
Please consult with an experienced personal injury attorney, regardless of what stage you’re at in the personal injury claim process.