What to Do When You Get Injured Through No Fault of Your Own
In a word: sue.
Injury and accident lawsuits can and do take many forms. That being said, the basic elements and stages tend to remain consistent. Let’s talk a bit about some of those stages and elements and find out what to do if you obtain an injury that wasn’t your fault.
Getting Started
Most of the time, when it comes to personal injury cases, the injured person has to rely on a legal concept of ‘negligence’ in order to establish the fault for the accident being that of another person. What is negligence though? It can best be explained by describing ‘duty of care’ and how that duty is ‘breached’.
‘Duty of care’ is a term used in the legal system that is used in reference to the responsibility of one person or entity to avoid another person or entity becoming injured. When it comes to personal injury lawsuits and or claims, the first thing that an attorney who handles this type of case, such as Bachus & Schanker LLC, has to do is to establish that the guilty party did indeed have the duty of care in that particular situation. The person who obtained the injury, otherwise known as the plaintiff, has to show just how the responsible party, otherwise known as the defendant, did not meet that specific duty. This is called establishing the breach. Then, the plaintiff has to show that actual injuries were suffered because of the duty of care being breached.
When You Can’t Work
According to Fox Business, the system seems to be stacked against workers who are injured. If they happen to have been injured while on the job, there is a bit more protection, but not much. For those who were not injured while working, the options are even further limited. Either way, you need to let your employer know that you can’t work and why. Most of the time it helps to have documentation from your doctor or hospital. If the injury was caused due to the negligence of someone else, you also might want to contact an attorney.
If you happen to have any sick or vacation days built up, it can be helpful to utilize them so that you can continue to get your paycheck. If you happen to have been injured while on the job, you can apply for workers’ compensation, and this might be able to mitigate some of your loss of earnings.
Establishing Fault
Once you have established that there has been a breach of duty of care, the job of the plaintiff is to show exactly how that duty of care was breached. What was done, or not done, by the defendant that made their conduct in the circumstances unreasonable? To put it another way, how and why should the defendant be held liable for causing the injuries to the plaintiff?
For example, if the injury is due to a vehicular accident, the fault might be able to be established by:
- Showing that a traffic law was violated – this might be in a police report
- Testimony given by eye witnesses
- Testimony given by the plaintiff
- Evidence that was examined at the scene of the accident – this can include any damage to the vehicle(s) involved.
In some instances, the conduct of the plaintiff might have played a major role in the injuries, as well as negligence of the defendant. Looking at the scenario of a car accident again, the defendant might have made an abrupt turn to the left and veered in front of the vehicle driven or occupied by the plaintiff. However, if the plaintiff happened to have been traveling at a rate of speed that was over the posted limit, the insurance companies, or a jury, might decide that the negligence of the plaintiff was a factor in the accident, and the amount of compensation awarded might be reduced by a percentage that is considered to be the fault of the plaintiff.
Harm Done
The last step in a case such as this will be in showing exactly how the plaintiff was injured by the action, or inaction, of the defendant.
All of this is best left to an attorney who specializes in cases such as these. They will be familiar with all of the procedures, necessary steps and paperwork.