Personal Injury Lawyer

When you’re injured through the carelessness of someone else, you may want to hold that person responsible. Legally, showing negligence isn’t always cut and dried. Ideally, the careless person that caused your injury should be liable for your injuries.

What Are the Elements of a Negligent Claim?

To show negligence, you, the plaintiff, must prove that the person who injured you, the defendant, acted in a negligent manner.

1. The defendant owed you a legal duty of care. Your doctor owes you competent medical care. Other drivers should act with reasonable safety on the road.
2. The defendant breached the duty by not acting or acting in a certain way. How would an average person act under similar circumstances?
3. It was the defendant’s actions or inactions that caused your injuries. Could the defendant have foreseen that his or her actions would cause an accident?
4. You must show that you were harmed or injured as a result of the defendant’s actions. Do you have monetary, physical or property damages? The plaintiff must show that the compensation requested from the defendant is fair and reasonable.  

What Should You Do If You Are Injured?

Seek medical treatment right away after an injury. You want to demonstrate the injury was severe and caused you to get help. Maintain all records of your treatment, as well as your medical bills.

Report the accident to an authority. If you slipped on a wet floor in a store, ask to talk to the manager. For a car accident, you should call the police. If you can get your report in writing, that’s even better. Get the names and contact information of any witness.

Take pictures of the accident scene and your injuries. Don’t just get close-ups of the actual accident but take wide angles to show that there wasn’t a wet floor sign or what the weather conditions were.

Save evidence, if possible. If you slipped on chemicals, don’t wash your pants that could be used to show the floor was extra slippery.

Don’t wait to talk to an attorney. Personal injury cases have statute of limitations. When a government agency is involved, the deadline could be as short as 30 days to file a lawsuit. Generally speaking, you have one to two years to bring a lawsuit against the negligent party. Talking to a lawyer sooner means that you preserve witness testimony and evidence that might be lost over time.

If you’ve been injured due to another person’s negligence, you may want to pursue a legal claim. Contact an auto accident lawyer in Canoga Park, CA today.

Thanks to Barry P. Goldberg for their insight into personal injury cases and what to do after being injured by someone.