If you have been hurt due to someone else’s carelessness, the path to recovering compensation is known as a personal injury claim. This type of legal action seeks to hold the responsible party financially accountable for the harm they caused. At the core of almost every personal injury case is the concept of negligence.
To successfully pursue a personal injury claim and receive compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, you must prove that the other party was negligent. Proving personal injury negligence requires a specific legal analysis. This involves gathering solid evidence to build a case that meets all the required legal standards.
At David R. Price, Jr., P.A., our Greenville Personal Injury attorneys can help guide you through this legal process.
What Is Negligence in a Personal Injury Case?
Negligence is a legal term that refers to a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably careful person would use in the same circumstances. When a person’s unreasonably careless act or failure to act results in harm to another person, the law holds them accountable.
In a personal injury case, an injured person is essentially trying to prove that the person who hurt them acted negligently. This means they were not being as careful as a reasonable person would have been in the same situation, and their lack of care caused another person’s injuries.
Common types of personal injury cases based on negligence include car accidents, slip-and-fall incidents, and other accidents in which one person’s carelessness caused another person to suffer harm.
Common Injuries in Personal Injury Cases
While every case is unique, several types of injuries appear often in personal injury negligence claims:
- Soft Tissue Injuries: This is a very common category, especially in car accidents. It involves damage to muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
- Broken Bones and Fractures: Falls, crashes, or other forceful incidents can result in broken bones or fractures, which require significant medical treatment, including surgery and extended physical therapy.
- Head and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): Any blow to the head can cause a serious injury. More severe brain injuries can lead to long-term cognitive, physical, and emotional impairments, sometimes requiring lifelong care.
- Back and Spinal Cord Injuries: Injuries to the spine or spinal cord can be severe, potentially resulting in chronic pain, loss of movement, or paralysis.
- Cuts, Lacerations, and Contusions: These injuries can be minor, but deep cuts sometimes require stitches, lead to permanent scarring, or result in infection.
How Do You Prove Negligence in Personal Injury Cases?
Proving personal injury negligence requires gathering facts and evidence to demonstrate that the at-fault party’s actions directly caused the injured person’s harm. The evidence used can include police reports, medical records, witness statements, accident scene photos, expert testimony, and more.
To successfully prove a negligence claim, the evidence must satisfy the four elements of a cause of action for negligence: duty, breach, causation, and damages.
Breakdown of the Four Elements
The four elements of negligence are the foundation of nearly every personal injury case. Here is a brief look at each one:
- Duty: The defendant owed the injured person a legal duty of care. This means they had a responsibility to act as a reasonably careful person would to avoid causing harm.
- Breach: The defendant failed to meet, or “breached,” the duty of care through a careless act or failure to act. This is the negligent act or omission.
- Causation: The defendant’s breach of her legal duty was the direct cause of the plaintiff’s injury. This links the careless act or omission to the resulting harm.
- Damages: The injured person suffered actual harm, loss, or injury because of the defendant’s actions. Without verifiable loss that was caused by the breach of the duty of care, there is no claim.
Common Defenses to Negligence Claims
Even if an injured person can present evidence to prove the four elements of negligence, the defendant in a personal injury negligence case can raise several defenses. These defenses aim to reduce or eliminate the defendant’s legal responsibility for the accident and the resulting injuries.
1. Modified Comparative Negligence
The most significant defense in Greenville, South Carolina, is the rule of modified comparative negligence. South Carolina law states that a plaintiff (the injured person) cannot recover any money if they are found to be more than 50% at fault for the accident that caused their injuries.
If the plaintiff is found to be 50% or less at fault, they can still recover damages, but their percentage of fault will reduce the total amount. For example, if a jury decides your total damages are $100,000, but you were 20% at fault, your recovery will be reduced by 20% ($20,000), meaning you would receive $80,000.
2. Assumption of Risk
This defense claims that the injured person knowingly and voluntarily chose to encounter a specific, obvious danger. For instance, if a person willingly participates in a sport with known risks, they may be deemed to have assumed those risks.
3. Challenging Breach or Causation
The defendant may argue that they did not actually owe a duty of care to the plaintiff in the specific situation, or that they did not breach that duty.
The defense may also argue that the defendant’s actions did not actually cause the plaintiff’s injuries. This challenges the causation element. For example, they might claim the injury was a pre-existing condition or was caused by a separate event.
How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help
Proving the four elements of negligence can be difficult and involves complex legal arguments. If you have been injured because of the negligence of another person or business, you should consider hiring a personal injury attorney. An experienced personal injury attorney can:
- Investigate the accident thoroughly to collect necessary evidence, such as police reports, witness statements, and medical records, to establish the defendant’s duty and its breach.
- Calculate the full value of your losses, known as damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering, to ensure you seek fair and complete compensation.
- Negotiate with insurance companies and opposing counsel, handling all communications and settlement discussions to protect your interests.
- Respond to the legal defenses raised by the opposing party or insurance company, such as arguing comparative negligence, thereby protecting your right to recover damages.
- Represent you in court if a fair settlement cannot be reached, presenting the evidence and legal arguments needed to satisfy the four elements of negligence to a judge or jury.
Contact Our Greenville Personal Injury Lawyers
If you have been hurt in an accident in Greenville, South Carolina, call David R. Price, JR., P.A. for advice on your claim.
Our Greenville personal injury lawyers have experience in accident cases, and we understand the procedures and standards necessary to build a successful personal injury claim.
Contact David R. Price, JR., P.A. at 864-271-2636 today to request a free consultation.