What Makes Injury Legal?
Legal injury law firm is a term used to describe the loss or damage sustained by a person due to another party’s negligent or wrongful actions. It is a part of the tort law.
The most obvious injury is a bodily injury which can include concussions whiplash, and fractured bones. These injuries must be treated by a medical professional.
Statute of Limitations
The law establishes a deadline, called the statute of limitations, within which an individual who has been injured may bring a lawsuit. If you don’t comply with the law, your claim will be “time-barred” and you will not be able recover compensation for your losses. The details of the statute of limitations can differ from state to state and each kind of case has its own specific time period as well.
The “clock” of the statute of limitations usually starts ticking when the accident or incident which caused the injury occurs. However, there are some exceptions that could prolong the time for filing lawsuits. One of them is known as the discovery rule which states that the clock of statute of limitations does not begin until the injury is discovered or reasonably ought to have been discovered. This is typically seen when conditions are concealed, such as asbestos or certain medical malpractice claims.
A minor can also be granted an extra year to file a lawsuit, even that the statute would typically expire before turning 19. Then there is the “tolling” provision that suspends the statute of limitations for certain events or situations such as military service or involuntary mental health commitments. Then, there’s the statute of limitations extension for willful concealment or misrepresentation.
Damages
Damages are the compensation paid to the victim following a tort or wrongdoing. There are two types of damages: compensatory and punitive. Compensation damages compensate plaintiffs for their losses, and are intended to make them whole again following an injury, whereas punitive damages punish a defendant for fraud, an ill-intentional act that caused harm or gross negligence.
The amount of damages awarded is highly subjective and based on the unique circumstances of each case. An experienced personal injury attorney can assist you in determining the complete extent of your losses. This increases your odds of obtaining the most money possible. Your lawyer might call in experts to explain the extent of your pain and suffering, or to support your claim for emotional distress.
Obtaining maximum compensation requires careful documentation of your current and future economic losses. Your attorney will assist you with keeping detailed documents of the expenses and financial losses incurred and also in calculating the value of your future loss of income. This can be quite complicated and usually involves calculating estimates based on the severity of your injury and its permanent disability and requires the assistance of experts.
If the defendant has insufficient insurance coverage to cover your claims, you can pursue a civil judgment against them personally. This can be difficult unless the defendant is a major company or has multiple assets.
Statute of Repose
While statutes of limitations and statutes of repose both limit the amount of time that a plaintiff has to file a lawsuit, there are some notable distinctions between the two. Statutes are procedural, forward-looking and substantive.
A statute of repose, in short it’s a law that sets a deadline within which legal action is not allowed – without the exceptions as a statute of limitations would provide. It is common 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 following an event, whereas the statute of limitations generally begins when the plaintiff is aware of or suffers losses. This can be a challenge in cases involving product liability. It could take a long time before a plaintiff buys and uses a product and the company becomes aware of any issues.
Due to these variations It is crucial that injured victims consult an attorney prior to the statutes that apply to them expire. Michael Ksiazek is a partner at Stark & Stark’s Yardley, PA office and concentrates on Accident & Personal Injury Law. Contact him today for free consultation.
Duty of Care
A duty of care is the obligation one owes to others to use reasonable caution when doing something that could lead to harm. It is usually regarded as negligence when an individual fails to meet their duty of care and someone is injured as a result. A company or person has a duty of caring to the public in many situations. This includes doctors preparing tax returns, accountants who prepare tax returns and store owners removing snow off the sidewalks so that people don’t slip and injury attorney hurt themselves.
To be able to claim damages in a negligence case you must prove that the party who injured you owed a duty of duty and acted in breach of this obligation and that their negligence caused your injury. The standard of care is typically determined by what other experts perform in similar situations. For instance the case where a physician performs surgery on the wrong leg, it may be considered a breach of obligation because other surgeons in similar circumstances could read the patient’s chart correctly.
It is vital to note that the standard of care must not be too high that it imposes the same liability to all parties. This is a balance that is carefully reviewed by juries in jury trials and judges in bench trials.