It may not be immediately obvious whether an accident victim has reason to file a personal injury claim, or not. Even if your accident case does have merit, there could be faults in the claim that may be used against you by the opposing party to limit your financial compensation. Most claims for personal injury are filed on the foundation of negligence. You may have grounds for a negligence claim if the following elements of personal injury law apply. 

You Were Owed a Duty of Care

Every case for personal injury begins with a duty of care from the defendant to the claimant. For example, in regards to a car accident, the duty would be as simple as driving your vehicle safely. Each driver has this duty to others of the public to lawfully abide by rules of the road and not act recklessly. A driver who was being careless and caused an accident may be liable for how others have suffered. 

The Duty of Care was Breached

To successfully prosecute someone through a personal injury claim, a duty of care must exist and the duty related to the accident must have been breached. In this way, it creates the potential for blame to be put on the defendant for what happened. For instance, if a driver had a duty to halt at a red light, but didn’t, they have breached their duty to others on the road. 

You Accrued Damages

Another element of every personal injury claim is whether the victim had actually suffered injury and financial loss. A claimant has to have physical injury or monetary damages for a claim to be submitted. This injury must be from the defendant violating their duty of care. As a personal injury lawyer explains, if there is not sufficient evidence of injury, a case may not move forward.

Conclusion About Causation

A claimant has to show that the defendant’s behavior is what led to the accident happening in the first place. It must be proven that the defendant is responsible for the injuries that someone else sustained. As a real life example, if a driver doesn’t stop at a stop sign and hits another driver in the intersection, then they are liable for any injuries and property damage that resulted. 

You Haven’t Missed the Deadline

For every legal case, there is a statute of limitations. This is the timeframe in which someone can file a lawsuit after an incident has occurred. And each state has established its own statutes. So as long as the above elements apply to your case and you have not missed the statute of limitations, then you can submit a claim against someone who has injured you or caused you financial loss. 

Personal injury claims are worth pursuing, as they aim to provide victims with financial recovery. Those who are thinking about filing a claim are advised to chat with a lawyer, similar to a team member from Cohen & Cohen, to make sure that their situation meets the criteria outlined above before moving forward.