Personal injury is a very broad area of the law. If you recently incurred injury in an accident, you might be new to the term and wonder if your case falls into this category. While every case is unique, personal injuries usually have several elements in common.
Elements of a Personal Injury Case
Duty.
The first step in determining if you have a personal injury case is determining if the person who might be liable for your injuries had a “duty of care.” For example, drivers have a duty to exercise reasonable care on the road by obeying traffic laws, doctors have duties of care to their patients, manufacturers to their customers, and so on. There are also instances in which you are not owed a duty of care – for example if you are committing a crime or trespassing on someone else’s property.
Breach.
Next, all personal injury cases involve a breach of duty. Breaches of duty include things like breaking traffic laws, failing to adhere to a standard of care, manufacturing a defective product, or failing to maintain public property. When a business, individual, or public entity breaches their duty of care, we say they “commit negligence.”
Harm.
Next, all personal injury cases rely on the idea that you suffered some harm as a result of another person’s negligence. Examples of harm may be physical – broken bones, concussions, or even soft tissue injuries – but they may also be emotional – pain, suffering, mental anguish, or even PTSD.
Damages.
Finally, all personal injury cases involve “damages.” These are both tangible and intangible costs associated with your accident. Examples of tangible, or economic damages, include medical bills, lost wages, and the costs of ongoing medical treatment. Intangible, or “general” damages, include physical or emotional pain, loss of the partnership, or loss of life quality.
Types of Personal Injury Cases
There are several subsets of personal injury law. You may have grounds for a personal injury suit if you experienced any of the following:
- An injury on someone else’s property. Property owners must take steps to keep their grounds safe under premises liability law.
- An injury resulting from using a defective product. Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers each have certain responsibilities when it comes to creating, marketing and selling products.
- A car or truck accident. Motorists and commercial vehicle operators must follow the rules of the road and exercise caution around one another.
- Medical malpractice. Doctors have a responsibility to provide treatment in accordance with a standard of care. Deviating from this standard is tantamount to negligence if it leads to injury.
- Injuries that result from exposure to harmful or dangerous chemicals. This may occur in a work setting, in a rental home, or under other circumstances.
- Injuries from a dog bite or animal attack.
There are many other areas of personal injury law not listed above. If you have sustained an injury in an accident, and think someone else may be responsible, your best course of action is to contact a personal injury attorney to see if you have a case.