Introduction to Personal Injury Law

Personal injury law is made up of a body of law called tort law. Under personal injury law rules, an individual is allowed to bring a private lawsuit against a person who hurt him. It is a distinct body of law from criminal law, wherein a prosecutor brings a case against someone who violated the criminal code. In tort law, the defendant can't face penalties or jail time, and he won't get a criminal record if he loses a civil case- instead, he will just have to pay money to compensate the plaintiff for injuries and damage he caused.

Understanding Personal Injury Cases

There are two main types of personal injury cases:

Intentional torts
Negligence torts

Intentional Torts

Intentional torts occur when someone hurts you on purpose. If someone assaults you, for example, he can be subject to criminal charges but he can also be sued privately by you. When he gets convicted in criminal court, he can go to jail. He can then also be found liable in civil court and have to pay you. The standard of proof is different in personal injury cases- you have to prove that he intended to hurt you, but you only have to prove that more likely than not the intent was there. One key example of this is the OJ Simpson case- he was not convicted in a criminal trial, but he was found liable for his wife's death after a civil suit.

Negligence Torts

Negligence torts occur when someone hurts you by mistake. In order for someone to be found liable for a negligence tort, he must have breached a legal duty of care that he owes to you. Different legal duties exist in different situations. For example:

Drivers have a legal duty to exercise the care that a reasonable person would exercise when driving
Manufacturers are strictly liable for defective products- so they don't even have to breach a legal duty of care... if their product hurts a plaintiff when the product is used as intended, they can be liable
Doctors have a legal duty to exercise a reasonable duty of care. They are held to the standard of what a reasonable doctor would do
People who invite you to their home, or businesses who open their doors for customers, have a duty to make sure their premises is safe. The nature of the duty depends on the relationship between the premises owner and the guest, with those invited in to do business offered the greatest protection

Getting Help

Understanding the different types of personal injury cases is just the beginning of understanding personal injury law. If you have been injured, you also need to know about the specific rules in your state on everything from damage awards to statutes of limitations (time limits to sue). The best thing to do if you have been the victim of an injury is to contact an experienced personal injury attorney. He can explain your rights and act as your advocate as you try to recover your damages under personal injury law.

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