Personal Injury Law
When someone is physically or emotionally
injured, or their personal property is damaged, it is considered
in law to be a “Personal
Injury”. The laws covering personal injury allow the injured
party to receive compensation for damages caused by someone else’s
carelessness, negligence, recklessness, or intentional actions.
Personal injury law is also called “tort” law. States
and the Federal government have enacted tort laws for the protection
of your rights. Tort actions have three elements: there must
be a legal duty between the defendant (the one doing the wrong)
and the plaintiff (the person injured); there must be a breach
of that duty; and, damage must occur because of that breach.
When all three elements take place, a personal injury, or tort,
has occurred.
The laws of our society places demands on all citizens not to
harm others. This means that not only should people be safe from
harm, but their possessions also. Whenever someone else harms
you or something that belongs to you, they become liable to answer
to the tort laws governing the situation. Liability can be caused
by intentional acts, torts, or by negligence. An intentional
act is one designed to cause harm or injury. The person committing
the act wants to harm you. A negligent act occurs when someone
fails to take appropriate action and you are harmed as a result
of that failure. For instance, if an angry person throws a brick
through your car window, that is an intentional tort (it may
also be a criminal action). On the other hand, if a careless
driver runs into your car, that is a negligence tort. In the
first case, the defendant wanted to cause an injury; in the second
case, the defendant did not want to injure you but failed to
take the appropriate action to prevent injury. In both cases,
the defendant had a duty not to injure you or your property,
because our laws and society create that duty. The duty was breached
by the intentional or negligent actions of the defendant, and
damage to your person or property resulted.
Another form of personal injury law covers “strict liability”.
Strict liability means that there is responsibility whether or
not negligence was involved. This is usually applied to situations
which are in themselves abnormally or inherently dangerous. This
concept also occurs in the area of product liability. Manufacturers
are charged with the responsibility of assuring that their product
is safe when used as directed. If someone is injured by a product,
under the terms of strict liability they do not have to prove
intent or negligence, only that the product was defective through
no fault of their own, and that harm was done.
Once a personal injury has occurred, the
defendant has a liability to make good the damage done. “Damages” is the term
for whatever is owed to you to compensate you for your loss.
Damages can be agreed upon by you and the injuring party, through
insurance settlements, or by other means. But often the damages
offered to you may not fully compensate you for your loss. This
is especially true if you have suffered physical injury and have
not been able to work. Personal injury law is the mechanism for
determining who is in the wrong, or in other words, who is “liable”,
and what the liable person should have to pay for the damage
caused.
If you are the victim of a personal injury, there are several
things you can do to help yourself. First of all, make sure that
you seek proper medical attention and that you follow up with
the proper authorities and your own insurance company. If you
believe your injury was caused by the carelessness or intentional
act of another, you may want to contact an attorney to discuss
this. You should call as soon as it is convenient to do so and
avoid discussing the matter with strangers and/or insurance representatives
who are not from your own insurance company. You should be cooperative
with the police, your own treating physicians, and your own insurance
company. Most personal injury cases are covered by a statute
of limitations, which means that you only have a certain period
of time in which you can file a lawsuit.
What You Need To Know:
Insurance companies' obligations are to their stockholders and
policy holders, not to the people injured by their insured's
negligence. Insurance companies' desire to maximize their own
profits provides them with every motivation to try to deny your
claim or pay you the very minimum amount that they can get away
with. The insurance companies also have enormous advantages:
they have immense wealth, armies of experienced adjusters and
lawyers and years of experience reducing and denying claims.
At the Law Office of Stephen A. Burroughs,
our only obligation is to you, our client. We will use our experience
and every resource available to protect your interests, and we
will work hard to help you receive the full value for your case.
We will advise you every step of the way to help you avoid any
mistakes that could cost you money. There is no charge for attorney's
fees until you recover money for your personal injuries, and
we will also help you resolve your property damage claims for
no fee whatsoever. For assistance, call today at 1-877-300-3773, contact
us or submit
an free online case evaluation.
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