When someone negligently or intentionally injures you, you can make a personal injury claim against them. However, for your claim to be successful, your lawsuit must possess some indispensable elements. In Texas, understanding these legal requirements becomes even more critical, as state laws can significantly impact your case outcome.
Knowing these elements will make your claim stand out. It will also increase the chances of a positive outcome, as you and your personal injury attorney will make a conscious effort to prove these elements in your suit. Attorney Maxwell Paderewski and other experienced legal professionals emphasize that proper preparation and understanding of these elements are crucial for success.
An Insight into a Personal Injury Claim
As a plaintiff in a personal injury claim, you will claim to have sustained harm due to a defendant’s action or inaction. If you can prove your claim, the court will award you monetary damages for your losses and injuries.
People sustain physical or psychological injuries in personal injuries. In severe accidents, some victims sustain both. Instances of physical injuries include harm to the limbs, face, organs, and other parts of the body, while examples of psychological injuries include emotional anguish and pain.
“Some injuries take time to manifest, which is why you must prioritize visiting a healthcare facility after an accident,” says attorney Maxwell Paderewski of Lone Star Injury Attorneys, PLLC. Some people deliberately or intentionally injure others. If someone deliberately injures you, you hold them accountable for their actions. If the harm is due to the defendant’s unintentional act, you sue them for negligence.
Typical personal injury claims include vehicle mishaps, slip-and-fall accidents, and medical malpractice. When someone or an entity negligently or recklessly injures you, you claim a personal injury against them. According to the American Bar Association, most personal injury cases are settled outside of court, but understanding the legal elements remains essential for achieving favorable outcomes.
The Elements of Personal Injury
If you want to increase your chances of getting maximum compensation from an at-fault party, you need a personal injury attorney to walk you through the legal journey. However, recovering compensation is never a walk in the park.
Personal injury law differs from criminal law, as the former purely addresses civil cases. However, if you believe the defendant was criminal about how they committed the crime, you can file a separate criminal lawsuit against them. Basically, you can’t mix up a personal injury case with a criminal lawsuit.
A personal injury action happens in one of these three ways:
- Negligence
- Intentional tort
- Strict liability
Each has its distinct elements that plaintiffs need to prove to win their claims. As we proceed in this piece, we will further discuss these elements and how they apply to each case.
Establishing Negligence in Personal Injury
People injure others through their negligent acts. If someone or an institution negligently injures you, you must prove four elements against them for your claim to succeed. They include:
Duty of Care
You must prove that the defendant owes you a duty of care. For instance, a driver must drive safely and watch out for others on the road. From the professional perspective, a physician owes you the duty to care for their patients. When someone veers off this reasonable level of care and injures you, you can hold them accountable for their actions or inactions.
Breach of Duty
After affirming that the defendant owes you a duty of care, you must also go further to prove how they violated this duty. For instance, if you institute an auto accident claim, you need to explain how the defendant was negligent or reckless behind the wheel. They probably drove against the traffic or violated the speed limit.
Causation
You must link or demonstrate how the defendant’s action or inaction is responsible for your harm. In other words, you must establish that the defendant is directly responsible for your injuries. If there are other intervening factors, your case may hit the rock, but you want to blame the defendant.
Damages
Ultimately, you must show that the defendant’s action or inaction caused you actual damages. These “damages” may be the injuries you sustained or items you lost in the accident. For instance, if someone merely hits their car with yours without causing any injury or damage to you, you cannot receive compensation for anything, as you had no damages or injuries in that instance.
Establishing Intentional Tort in Personal Injury
There is a need for an intentional tort when someone deliberately injures you. You can charge someone for intentional tort if they are aware of the end product of their action and still go ahead with the act. The following elements must be present to prove an intentional tort:
Intention
It must be evident that the defendant shows an intent to commit the act or that they are aware of the possible consequences of their action. For instance, a “reasonable individual” knows that running a red light will jeopardize other road users. So, if they still go ahead to commit this tort, you can hold them responsible for their action.
Causation
You must prove that the defendant’s actions directly affect your injuries and losses. You will prove this point by showing that you would not have sustained the harm without the defendant’s action. For instance, there wouldn’t have been a head-on collision if the defendant had not run a red light.
Damages
You must be able to quantify the losses you suffered due to the defendant’s intentional tort. The judge or jury will use your harm or losses to determine the worth of your compensation.
Establishing Strict Liability in Personal Injury
Strict liability matters are specialized issues that often occur in business settings. Manufacturers and business owners must ensure the general safety of their products for consumers. If a consumer is injured after consuming a product, the manufacturer or business owner is responsible for the injuries, even if unintended.
To prove strict liability, you must establish the following elements:
Specific Activity
Strict liability cannot be applied in all cases. Specific cases include when the owner of a wild animal allows it to stray and injure others, when a pet owner breeds a pet known for attacking people, and when a manufacturer fails to place a proper warning label on their products. You can also sue a manufacturer for strict liability when you market a defective product that injures you.
Causation
You must also prove that a reasonable individual or firm would have avoided the defendant’s action or inaction in the given circumstance. A reasonable individual would have sensed the likelihood of harm and acted more diligently.
Damages
You must also show your injuries and losses to know the amount you deserve as compensation. For instance, you can’t demand compensation just because a product fails to work. It does not cause you any injury in such an instance. However, if the product harms you in one way or the other, you can showcase your damages to receive compensation.
The Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Matters
Personal injury cases are time-bound. The law expects you to institute your claim within a given timeframe. Failing to act within the timeline shows your reluctance to hold the defendant responsible for their action. Generally, Texas has a two-year legal deadline for instituting a personal injury claim. The clock starts ticking from the date of the incident. However, some exceptions may apply in your case. Your personal injury attorney can enlighten you on that.
Final Words
If you want to make the best out of your personal injury claim, you need a Texas personal injury attorney. They understand Texas personal injury laws and can interpret them to your advantage. They will also help you beat the deadline and increase your chances of a positive result.
