Get Ahead in Your Personal Injury Case

3 Requirements For A Personal Injury Lawsuit

20 January 2015 by Kenneth Pierce

Some people mistakenly think that if they had some sort of accident that they could file a personal injury lawsuit. Although some accidents meet the criteria for filing a lawsuit, not all of them do. This is why it is important that you understand what is required to have a legitimate lawsuit. Here are 3 things you need to know.

1. There Must Be Negligence From The Guilty Party

In some cases accidents are just that: an accident. There is nobody that caused the accident, and there was nothing anyone could have done to prevent it. In this case you wouldn't have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit.

However, in some case one party caused the accident. Perhaps they weren't malicious or meant to cause the accident, but they neglected to take care of a potential problem. For instance, if a company failed to fix a ladder that they knew was faulty they could be responsible for the accident. Or perhaps a neighbor didn't put a fence around their pool. They could be held liable for a drowning of a small child.

Negligence is very important in a personal injury case. If the person who caused your injury was negligent you might have a good case.

2. There Must Be Real Injuries

In order to file a personal injury lawsuit and sue for damages, you have to prove the damages. You cannot simply claim that you were scared, or that you might have been hurt. You have to prove that there was some sort of injury. For example, if you broke your leg at work because the company was negligent, you could sue for medical bills, lost wages and perhaps pain and suffering. However, if you almost had an accident at work, you cannot sue for injuries. You can file a complaint against the company for dangerous working conditions, but you cannot receive damages.

3. The Plaintiff Has Burden Of Proof

In most personal injury cases the plaintiff has the burden of proof. This means that if you file a lawsuit against someone you have to prove that they were negligent and that you sustained serious injuries. If you cannot prove it through valid documentation and witnesses, you will not win the case.

Thus, if you have no way to prove the injury or negligence, it may not be worth your time filing the lawsuit.

If your accident follows all of these criteria you might consider talking to a personal injury or auto accident attorney. 

Share

Search