If someone else’s negligent or reckless behavior caused you harm, you may qualify for compensation. Personal injuries refer to harm to a person. A broken leg is an example of a personal injury, but the harm does not have to be physical. Emotional or mental damages can support a personal injury claim, as well.
An attorney could help you determine if you have a personal injury claim and what financial recovery may be available. Reach out to a knowledgeable Lake Station personal injury lawyer at The Law Offices of David W. Holub to get the justice and compensation you deserve.
Establishing Negligence, Recklessness, or Intentional Wrongdoing
To prove a personal injury case, the injured party often must establish negligence—or a breach of duty of care owed to another person. In addition to negligence, they can establish recklessness, which is willfully disregarding the danger to others, or intentional wrongdoing, such as assault or battery. To prove negligence, a plaintiff must prove four things:
- The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty
- The defendant breached the duty
- The breach led to an injury
- The injury caused damages
Duty can be specific or general. For example, a professional relationship may establish a specific duty between parties, and failure to adhere to a professional standard would be a breach of that duty. On the other hand, an example of a general duty is that pedestrians have a general duty not to walk in front of traffic.
Determining whether a person breached their duty involves examining whether they behaved as any reasonable person would in the same situation. However, the standard of a reasonable person depends on the person’s role. A doctor must act like a reasonable doctor would act in the same situation. Proving that a person breached their duty of care can be a matter of showing that they broke laws, rules, or expected protocols. In other instances, it can be simply common sense.
It is not enough that a person breaches a duty of care—the breach must lead to injuries. The driver of a car running a red light and almost hitting another vehicle has breached their duty of care, but if there are no injuries, then there is no cause. Plus, the injury must have damages. An accident resulting in something minor, like bruises, with no other damage or economic losses, may not be enough to support a personal injury claim.
What Are Damages?
Damages are economic awards by a court, which theoretically restore the injured party to the state they were in before an injury. Damages can be economic, such as repaying people for direct and indirect financial losses. They can also be non-economic, placing a dollar value on things like pain and suffering, which do not have a direct monetary value.
An experienced lawyer in Lake Station could help determine which damages could apply to a specific personal injury lawsuit.
Modified Comparative Fault
In some states, an injured person cannot recover if their actions contributed in any way to causing the accident. However, Indiana recognizes that some people’s actions may have contributed to their injuries, but may not have been the largest cause of them. If the injured person is less than 50 percent responsible for the injury, they can recover from the other parties involved. However, they will only get a proportionate amount of damages from the wrongdoers.
Indiana’s approach to analyzing comparative fault has limitations. If the alleged wrongdoer is a government agency or worker, then the victim’s negligence can bar recovery entirely. Even seemingly innocent statements, like an apology at the scene, could be enough to impact the right to recover damages. Reach out to a Lake Station attorney for help understanding the role that fault plays in an injured person’s ability to recover compensation.
Talk to a Lake Station Personal Injury Attorney Today
If someone else’s actions led to harm, you may be entitled to financial restitution. The best way to learn more about your rights is to schedule a consultation with a Lake Station personal injury lawyer. The seasoned attorneys at The Law Offices of David W. Holub is ready to explore your legal options. Call today.