Accident Injury Claims: Duty, Negligence and Damages

Accident injury claims can occur in many different situations. They are almost always brought under some theory of tort law, which means that they are civil lawsuits wherein the plaintiff must prove he is entitled to damages. If you have been the victim of an accident, then you need to understand- as a plaintiff- what you must prove and what damages you may be entitled to.

Types of Accident Injury Claims

There are several different types of accident injury claims, and the specific things you must prove for each type of injury can differ. State law may impose different requirements for each different type of injury, and the legal rules themselves sometimes establish different requirements for a plaintiff who wants to prove his case.

Accident injury claims, with their respective requirements, include:

Dog bite claims - Some states have instituted a strict liability standard. This means dog owners do not need to be negligent to be responsible for injuries. If the dog bite the plaintiff, the plaintiff gets to recover. Other states have a "one-bite" law or use more standard negligence standards... unless the defendant dog owner knew (or should have known) the dog was dangerous, the plaintiff's right to recover damages may be limited in these states.
Defective product or drug claims - Many states also use a strict liability standard for defective products. Again, this means the plaintiff does not need to prove negligence. He just has to prove that he was using the product the way he was supposed to and got injured while doing so. So, for example if a plaintiff was using a hair dryer and it electrocuted him for no reason, he wouldn't have to prove the hair dryer manufacturer was negligent- just that he actually got hurt by it in the ordinary course of use.
Medical malpractice claims - If your doctor is negligent and hurts you, you have to prove he breached his duty of care. This means you need to prove that he behaved with a lower standard of care, expertise or professionalism than a reasonable doctor in his field would have used.
Car accident claims - For car accident claims, when you are permitted to sue (some states limit your right to do so to cases of serious injuries) then you must prove the other driver was negligent. Here, to determine whether the defendant breached his duty of care, a hypothetical reasonable person standard is used. If an average person would have been more careful, then the defendant can be said to have breached his duty and to be liable.

Get Legal Help

As you can see, there are a number of different situations that can give rise to accident claims, and a number of different standards and duties used to determine if a defendant was negligent or not. As such, it is important to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney if you have been hurt. Your attorney can explain to you what duty applied to the defendant in your particular case and can assist you in gathering the evidence you need to prove the defendant breached that duty.

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