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Bensville, MD Personal Injury Lawyers

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    A personal injury case is a claim that someone else injured you through some kind of mistake or other violation of duty.  There are all kinds of rules we have that govern how we interact with each other, from explicit laws to general safety expectations.  When someone is injured because another person failed to uphold these standards, lawsuits are filed.

    If you were hurt in a car crash, slip and fall accident, or other kind of accident, our lawyers can assist you.  We can also sue hospitals and doctors for malpractice and help to get you compensation for other types of injuries as well.

    For a free case evaluation, call our Annapolis, MD personal injury attorneys at Rice, Murtha & Psoras today at (410) 694-7291.

    Elements of a Personal Injury Case in Bensville, MD

    One of the first things that people generally want to know when they contact our personal injury lawyers is whether they have a case or not.  For a legal case to exist, there must be a few elements met, one of which is that a specific tort occurred that you can sue for.  That tort or “cause of action” has its own elements.

    Parts of a Case

    For there to be a legal case at all, we need two parties: the plaintiff who says that they were injured and the defendant who injured them.  You obviously cannot sue yourself, so this is a pretty basic standard.

    There also needs to be something at issue in the case – a legal question for the court to resolve.  In the context of a personal injury case, it is typically the question of whether the defendant committed a “tort” against the plaintiff.

    There also has to be something the court can do to make things better, or else there is no point in bringing the case before them.  In an injury case, the plaintiff sues for damages.  Other cases deal with orders for a defendant to do or avoid doing something, but that is typically outside the focus of a personal injury case.

    Elements of Negligence Tort

    As mentioned, you need to prove the defendant committed a tort to sue them.  This is like the civil equivalent of a crime, and being a victim of a tort gives you a “cause of action” against the defendant.  In most injury cases, the tort is “negligence,” which consists of four elements: the existence of a legal duty the defendant owed the plaintiff, a breach of that duty, the fact that the breach caused the victim’s injuries, and the damages and injuries that resulted.

    Put simply, you must prove the defendant did something wrong and that that caused your injuries.  That wrong they committed can either be judged against a specific law on the books or against general practices and standard expectations in a given context.

    Some cases are based on intentional acts rather than negligence.  In those cases, you sue for assault and battery instead of negligence, and you need to prove that the defendant intended to hit you or put you in fear that you would be hit.

    Applied Examples

    Hearing about elements of a case can be a bit too abstract for many people, so seeing some examples of these elements in context is often helpful.

    Imagine a car accident case where Driver A ran a red light and hit and injured Driver B, who was legally passing through the intersection.  There, Driver B has a case against Driver A, who was under a legal duty to stop at the red light and did not.  Driver A’s failure to stop caused the crash and resulted in vehicle damage and injuries to Driver B.  There, Driver B could sue Driver A for negligence.

    As another example, imagine a store owner who knows their fridge is leaking condensation onto a tile floor in the back of their store.  If a customer comes along and slips in that puddle, they could have a case against the store owner for any injuries they suffered in the fall.  There is no specific law that says this, but the store owner has a legal obligation to keep their store in a reasonably safe condition for customers; failing to warn about the spill or clean it up breaches that duty and caused the customer’s accident.

    Our attorneys can example your case and the facts at hand and help you determine who was at fault, whether they committed negligence, and how much your damages are worth.

    Damages for Injury Victims in Bensville, MD

    The damages that an injury victim can claim in a personal injury case will be specific to that case.  The law allows broad claims for any economic or non-economic damages that resulted from the accident, potentially allowing a wide range of damages to be claimed.  These can typically be sorted into a few major categories, but keep in mind that some or all of these might apply to your case, and additional damages beyond these might also be available:

    Medical Bills

    If you were injured badly enough to warrant a lawsuit, you probably faced medical bills.  Even if your injuries were somewhat minor, a trip to the hospital is expensive, and it is important that you save any medical bills to get these costs compensated.  More serious cases often involve bills for surgeries, physical therapy, mental health therapy, and more, all of which can be claimed as damages.

    Lost Wages

    If you missed work because of the injury, you faced lost wages.  Even if you only missed a few days, that should be claimed – but if you will now face months or years away from your job or you had to stop working entirely because of a new disability, these damages will be immense.

    Pain and Suffering

    “Non-economic damages” cover any non-monetary harms you face, paying you money for things like pain and suffering, mental and emotional distress, and more.  All in all, these damages are typically higher when your injuries are more serious, and our lawyers can help determine how to calculate the specific values claimed for pain and suffering.  Often, these damages are at least as much as the rest of your damages.

    Contact Our Personal Injury Attorneys in Bensville, MD Today

    Call (410) 694-7291 for a free case evaluation with our personal injury attorneys at Rice, Murtha & Psoras today.