Liability is a person’s legal responsibility for an event. This legal responsibility often extends to their obligation to pay financial compensation to make up for any losses that occurred from the event.
Should someone suffer injuries in an accident, the victim might have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit. To win a financial award for the injuries, the victim must prove that the other party bears fault and liability for causing the accident. A finding of personal injury liability means that the other party had a chance to avoid causing the accident by taking different actions.
The victim cannot win a personal injury liability lawsuit without proving that the defendant was liable for causing the accident and injuries. For example, after a car accident, the defendant’s insurance company might deny that its client bears any fault. If so, the victim and a car accident lawyer would have to investigate the accident and seek facts that prove liability.
Requirements for Proving Personal Injury Liability
Many personal injury cases involve an accident, such as a car accident, a slip-and-fall accident on someone’s property, or a bicycle accident. Even though the incident is called an “accident,” someone could be at fault for causing it.
In an injury lawsuit, the action that caused the victim’s injuries doesn’t have to be intentional. The victim could bring a personal injury liability lawsuit under unintentional tort. This type of liability specifies an unintentional act where the at-fault party had the chance to take different actions and avoid the injury accident.
Failing to take action to avoid the accident indicates negligence on the part of the defendant. The presence of negligence is a key factor in proving fault and personal injury liability in an unintentional tort.
Proving Negligence
When attempting to win a personal injury claim using unintentional tort, the victim and injury attorney must prove that negligence occurred through the presence of four steps:
- Duty of care: The victim must show that the defendant had a duty to protect the victim. If the defendant was driving a car, for example, the driver had a duty to protect others sharing the roadways by following traffic laws.
- Breach: The victim must prove that the defendant breached the duty of care through negligent actions. This could include the defendant driving a car recklessly while speeding, contributing to the lack of duty of care.
- Causation: The victim must show that the defendant’s breach led directly to and caused the injuries for the victim. Had the defendant been following speeding laws and avoided the car accident, the victim’s injuries wouldn’t have occurred.
- Harm: The victim must prove that the accident led to physical and financial harm to the victim. This might include ongoing pain, reduced quality of life, costs for medical care, missed opportunities to earn wages at work, or similar items.
When all four of these signs of negligence are present in the case, it shows personal injury liability. However, in certain cases, negligence does not need to be present for a person to be liable for an accident.
For example, in a case involving a dog bite, the dog’s owner may still be liable even though they did not directly cause the victim’s injuries. They may have done everything to prevent their dog from biting someone, but if a bite still occurred, they may be strictly liable.
In negligence cases, the insurance company for the defendant may agree that its client is liable for the victim’s injuries by acknowledging all four steps are present. Other times, the insurer may deny that one or more steps are present. The victim’s personal injury attorney then would need to find facts that show the presence of all four steps.
Contact our team today so we can fight to help you get the compensation you deserve.
Other Legal Cases Where Liability May Occur
Although needing to prove personal injury liability is common in injury accident cases, liability also applies to other legal situations.
Intentional Tort
When someone purposefully commits a criminal act that affects a victim, that victim may be able to sue the defendant using the idea of intentional tort. This is a civil case where the victim can attempt to win a financial award. It’s separate from any criminal charges the law enforcement system brings against the defendant. Some examples of wrongful acts that could lead to finding liability in an intentional tort include:
- Assault
- False imprisonment
- Slander
- Fraud
- Embezzlement
Breach of Contract
When two parties enter into a written or verbal contract, they agree to complete services or perform actions, usually by a certain date. Should one of the parties fail to live up to the agreement of the contract, that party is in breach of the contract. Being in breach leaves the party with liability for any financial damages the other party received because of the breach.
Punitive Damages
Some states allow victims to seek punitive damages in a personal injury liability lawsuit. Such damages occur in addition to the financial award that a victim could win in a typical personal injury case. The punitive damages would seek to punish the defendant for the actions, hoping to ensure they never happen again.
Accident Hotline Can Help With Your Personal Injury Case
Proving fault and negligence in an accident is key in any personal injury lawsuit. If you, as the injured party, cannot show fault on the part of the other party, you lose your chance to win a financial award. A personal injury attorney can investigate the facts in the case to try to show the fault and liability of the other party.
If you are ready to file a personal injury liability lawsuit, Accident Hotline is ready to help. The knowledgeable Accident Hotline team can advise on the steps you should take moving forward. Our team can connect you with a personal injury law firm to represent you in the case. Your personal injury attorney will investigate the facts in the case to attempt to prove liability and seek a financial award for you. Contact us today at (888) 340-7454 for a free consultation.
For a free consultation, call 888-340-7454
