Summer is here, and with this busy season comes plenty of road trips, time spent on your boat, or relaxing by your neighbor’s pool. Unfortunately, each activity also leads to accidents and injuries each year. While many are minor and nothing to worry about, many people suffer grievous injuries that can result in life-changing, permanent damage. In these cases, the injured party may seek compensation for damages associated with their injuries. When the injuries are severe, pursuing a personal injury lawsuit seems like a logical course of action – but are there situations where a lawsuit is appropriate even if the injuries were not deemed to be as serious?
The fact is that even if an injury is not debilitating, it can still interfere with your daily life and cause issues. Therefore the line between a case that should be litigated and one that shouldn’t may not be as clear as you may think.
How a Personal Injury Claim is Filed
To make a successful legal claim, the injured party must be able to determine who may be responsible for their damages. For an individual or party to be deemed liable for a personal injury, they need to have had a “duty of care” towards the plaintiff. Duty of care refers to the legal obligation a liable party has to act with reasonable care when performing an action that has the potential to harm another person. In other words, a motorist has a duty of care to other drivers on the highway, as they must drive their own vehicle with reasonable care so as not to harm others.
To go to trial, the liable party in a personal injury case must have acted in a way that violated their duty of care, known as negligence. Negligence occurs when someone either failed to act when they should have; or acted improperly in such a way that led to the plaintiff’s harm. There are many scenarios where people are harmed by another party – but that party did not always act in a negligent manner. Unforeseeable events, errors, and malfunctions beyond a liable party’s control may render a personal injury case unactionable – for instance, if an animal ran out into the road, causing the motorist to brake suddenly, negligence may be difficult to prove.
How the Severity of an Injury Affects a Potential Lawsuit
Filing a personal injury case in court requires the presence of an injury that resulted in severe enough damages to warrant taking such legal action. As stated above, this does not necessarily mean that the injuries must be particularly debilitating, such as third-degree burns, spinal cord injuries, or traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). However, if the damages that one suffers because of the injury. As an example, consider that a car accident victim breaks their wrist in the accident. This reasonably common injury is one that many people experience, and it typically requires minor medical treatment and recovery time frames. However, this injury may still lead to serious damages for the individual involved – for instance, if their career involved having the flexibility of the wrist and hand, such as playing a musical instrument. Lost wages and lost career opportunities merit compensation even if the injury itself is not generally considered as physically dramatic as a one that involves permanent disability or disfigurement.
When is a Personal Injury Lawsuit Not Appropriate?
Personal injury lawsuits are vital for those injured by serious negligence to seek compensation for unjust losses. While they play an important role in civil law, they may be too cumbersome for many plaintiffs. Personal injury lawsuits cost a lot of time and money, often lasting a year or more. Legal fees and other expenses can pile up, making the decision to file a lawsuit a serious one. Because your legal team often won’t require payment unless they win, they will not file a personal injury lawsuit that they are not reasonably confident they can win with a strong case. In these cases, they may recommend pursuing a settlement with the defendant’s insurance company instead of a legal battle. An experienced personal injury attorney should have the knowledge and skill needed to negotiate skillfully with the insurance company on your behalf.
If you have suffered an injury and would like to discuss your options with an attorney, call the law offices of Probinsky & Cole. We are here to help.
