Personal injury law, commonly referred to as tort law, provides legal rights to victims who have been physically or psychologically injured as a result of the carelessness or wrongdoing of another person, company, government, or other entity. Personal injury laws apply to a variety of cases, including:
* Cases where a person acts out of negligence and therefore causes harm to another person. Examples of these types of cases include medical malpractice, slip and fall accidents, automobile accidents, and some toxic tort cases, among many others;
* Cases where a person knowingly and intentionally causes harm onto another person. These types of cases include murder, assault and battery;
* Cases where a person may have not intentionally performed a wrongdoing through negligence on his part can still be found liable for a personal injury claim. Dog bite cases (under some state laws) and certain types of product liability claims are examples of this type of personal injury law; and,
* Cases that involve insult of character, such as libel or slander.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF PERSONAL INJURY LAW?
The primary goal of personal injury law is to provide legal rights for injured victims to be compensated financially after suffering from a loss or injury that they would otherwise not have endured if it was not for the negligence or omissions of the defendant. Personal injury laws impose a legal duty on people and companies to perform and interact with one another on a minimum level of care and attention. These laws are expected to encourage and promote good behavior and reduce bad behavior; therefore, personal injury laws serve a significant purpose for the general public.
HOW DO PERSONAL INJURY CASES TYPICALLY WORK?
Although no personal injury case is exactly the same as another because no accidents are exactly the same, these types of cases generally tend to follow these steps:
Plaintiff is Injured by a Defendant
With the exception of contractual breaches, this can be almost any unscrupulous act on the defendant’s part.
Defendant is Determined to have Breached a Legal Duty to Plaintiff
The breached duty is depends on the specifics of the particular case. For example, manufacturers and/or distributors have a legal duty to not allow dangerous or harmful drugs to enter the market.
Settlement Negotiations
If there is obvious evidence to all parties involved that the Defendant breached his contractual duty, then the defendant may opt to settle the matter outside of court by offering monetary compensation to the plaintiff in order to prevent the plaintiff from filing a lawsuit against the defendant.
If the plaintiff does not agree to the defendant’s offer, he may pursue in litigation. A settlement can be offered and negotiated after suit is filed at any time until a verdict is announced by a jury or court.
