What Makes Injury Legal?

The term"injury legal" is used to describe the harm or loss an individual suffers of another's negligence or wrongful conduct. It is a part of tort law.

The most obvious kind of injury is one that is bodily, which includes things like whiplash, injured concussion and broken bones. It is important to seek medical treatment for these injuries.

Statute of Limitations

The law sets an expiration date, known as the statute of limitations that an injured person is able to file an action. Failure to file a lawsuit will result in the claim being "time barred" and the person who was injured will not be able to claim compensation for their losses. The time limit for a claim varies from state to state and also by type of case.

The statute of limitations "clock" generally starts to tick when the accident or incident that led to injury occurs. However, there are several exceptions that can extend the time needed to file an action. One such exception is known as the discovery rule, which states that the clock for the statute of limitations cannot begin until the injury is discovered or should have been discovered. This is most commonly seen in cases where injuries are hidden, such as asbestos or certain medical malpractice claims.

A minor can also be granted an extra year to file a lawsuit, even though the statute would normally expire prior to turning 19. There is also the "tolling" provision which suspends the limitations period in certain situations and events, such as military service and involuntary mental hospitalization. Finally, there is the extension of the statute of limitations for fraud or willful deception.

Damages

Damages are the compensation paid to the victim following a tort or wrongdoing. There are two kinds of damages - punitive and compensatory. Compensatory damages are intended to compensate plaintiffs and to make them whole after an injury. Punitive damages are designed to penalize defendants for fraud, malicious acts that caused harm, or for gross negligence.

The amount of damage is highly subjective and is based on the unique circumstances of each individual case. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you document the totality of your losses. This will increase your chances of receiving the maximum amount possible. For instance, your lawyer may use experts to testify on the severity of your suffering and pain, or a psychological or psychiatric expert witness to bolster your emotional distress claim.

In order to maximize compensation, you need to take care in the documentation of your current and future economic losses. Your attorney will assist in keeping meticulous notes of your expenses and financial losses incurred, and also calculating the value of any future loss of income. This can be quite complicated and often requires formulating estimates based on the permanent impairment caused by your injury or disability and requires the assistance of experts.

If the defendant doesn't have enough insurance to cover your claims, then you might be able to pursue a civil lawsuit against them. This isn't always easy unless the defendant is a major corporation or has multiple assets.

Statute of Repose

While statutes of limitations and statutes of repose limit the amount of time a plaintiff can have to file a claim for injury, there are some notable differences between the two. Statutes are procedural, forward-looking and substantive.

In a nutshell the simplest terms, injured a statute of repose is a law that imposes an exact deadline for when legal actions are barred -with the same exceptions as the statute of limitations. It is typical for a statute of repose to be applied to cases involving construction defects, products liability lawsuits, and medical malpractice claims.

The primary difference is that a statute begins to run after an event, while the statute of limitations usually begins when a plaintiff finds or suffers an injury. This is a concern in product liability cases. It could take a long time before a plaintiff buys and uses a product, and the company is aware of any defects.

Due to these differences, it's important for injured victims to speak with a personal injury attorney near them prior to when the applicable statutes of limitation and repose statutes run out. Michael Ksiazek, a partner in Stark & Stark’s Yardley office, concentrates on Accident and Injury Law. Contact him today for a no-obligation consultation.

Duty of Care

A duty of care is a duty that a person owes others to exercise reasonable caution when performing a task that could be expected to cause harm. If a person fails to perform a duty of care and suffers injury as a result, this is considered to be negligence. A business or individual has an obligation of care towards the public in a variety of situations. This includes doctors who are preparing tax returns, accountants who prepare tax returns and store owners removing snow from sidewalks to ensure people don't slip and injury themselves.

To be able to claim damages in a tort lawsuit it is necessary to establish that the party that injured you owed you an obligation of care, and that they breached that duty of care, and that their negligence was the direct and proximate cause of your injury. The standard of care is typically established by what other medical professionals would do in similar circumstances. If a surgeon performs surgery in the wrong limb, this may be considered to be a breach of duty since other surgeons take the correct chart under similar circumstances.

It is also important to keep in mind that the standard of care cannot be high enough to make it impossible to impose liability on all parties. This balance is vetted by juries in jury trials and judges in bench trials.