Here in the United States, it’s estimated that nearly 400,000 personal injury lawsuits are filed each year. Unlike a criminal case, a personal injury lawsuit is a civil claim where an injured party seeks financial compensation from an at-fault party for their costs and other damages. While this seems relatively straightforward, personal injury lawyers in Marlton know that between filing a personal injury claim and its ultimate resolution, many important factors come into play that will determine the success of its outcome.
If you’ve been injured in an accident caused by another party, what key factors will determine the success of your personal injury case? Let’s take a look.
1. Severity of Your Injuries
One of the most important factors in your personal injury case will be the severity of your injuries, their short and long-term effects on your life, and what the personal and financial costs of those injuries have been to you.
If you’ve only suffered minor injuries that didn’t require much medical attention, chances are you won’t have a strong enough case to pursue a personal injury claim. The more severe your injuries, psychological harm, or impact on your life, the higher the value of your claim will be, and the more likely you will recover compensation.
2. Supporting Evidence of Your Injuries
It’s not enough for you to say you were injured. You must prove it. And this will require extensive evidence. Your evidence should include all records from first responders, the emergency room, hospital stays, surgeries, doctor’s visits, imaging results, physical therapy visits, or any other records and receipts that reflect diagnoses, treatment plans, prognoses, and costs.
This documentation not only proves the occurrence and severity of your injuries but can also establish their impact on your life, which will be critical when calculating your damages.
3. Determining Fault and Establishing Negligence
Most personal injury cases also require proof of liability and negligence, or who was “at fault” for the accident.
The legal concept of negligence has five separate “elements” which must be proven. These are:
- Duty of care
- Breach of duty
- Cause in fact
- Proximate cause
- Damages
Establishing negligence means that you must prove that the defendant owed you a duty of care, that the duty was ignored or “breached,” that the breach of duty directly caused the accident and your injuries, that the consequences of the breach were foreseeable, and that they resulted in economic and non-economic damages.
While this seems common sense, establishing negligence can get very complicated. Furthermore, in states with comparative negligence systems, your percentage of fault will also factor into what you’ll be able to recover in compensation. For instance, if you were found partially at fault for the accident, that percentage could reduce your compensation or affect your ability to collect compensation.
4. The Value of Your Damages
Injuries leave victims with losses – overarching financial responsibilities, an inability to work, and sometimes even an uncertain future. Personal injury damages refer to the losses you have sustained due to your accident.
Economic damages are the quantifiable financial losses you’ve suffered, such as medical expenses, doctor’s bills, rehabilitation costs, reimbursement for personal property losses, lost wages or future loss of earning capacity, or any other financial losses.
After a serious injury, some of the most significant losses you can suffer are called non-economic damages. Non-economic damages are the less-quantifiable losses you may have suffered from the accident, including pain and suffering, loss of quality of life, emotional distress, or other damages that may have impacted your life.
In some rare cases, the court can also award punitive damages for particularly egregious acts of negligence or intentional misconduct.
5. The Quality of Your Legal Representation
In most cases, a personal injury lawsuit will end in a settlement before it goes to trial. This can be a double-edged sword.
While a settlement can save you time and the cost of litigation, you must now negotiate a fair settlement for your damages. What is fair to you and fair to an insurance company or defendant will be vastly different. Unfortunately, as a profitable business model, the insurance company will prioritize its own bottom line in a settlement before your well-being.
Most accident victims don’t have the time, money, or experience to negotiate a fair settlement with a large insurance company. And insurance companies know this. The consequence? Your settlement will likely be woefully inadequate for your needs and not nearly what you legally deserve. This is when the expertise of a Marlton injury attorney comes into play.
A personal injury lawyer
- Investigates the circumstances surrounding your accident and builds a case by obtaining any critical physical evidence, photographic evidence, police reports, and witness statements
- Gets the assistance of medical and accident recreation experts to better understand and support your claim
- Gathers documentation and evidence of your injuries and expenses
- Represents you in any communications with the insurance companies
- Establishes who was at fault for the accident
- Defends and negotiates the best possible settlement for your claim
- Pursues your claim in court if a fair settlement isn’t possible to ensure you get the compensation you deserve
In short, the experience and expertise of your Marlton personal injury lawyer will play a critical role in the outcome of your personal injury lawsuit. Choosing an attorney specializing in personal injury law and with an established track record of success will be crucial to the successful outcome of your case.
While many factors contribute to the success of a personal injury lawsuit, these five elements are the most significant. Having a legal advocate with a thorough understanding of these factors and the personal injury laws of your jurisdiction maximizes the chances of achieving the most favorable outcome in your personal injury claim.
For over 40 years, the Marlton injury attorneys at Silver & Silver have been dedicated to protecting the rights of injury victims. If you have been injured because of someone else’s negligence, we will work tirelessly to get you the compensation you deserve. Call us at (610) 638-7255 or schedule a free consultation through our website contact form.
Disclosure:
This website is designed to provide only general information. The information presented on this website is not formal legal advice. You should not rely on any general information from any source for making legal decisions. Each legal matter is unique and requires specific attention from a qualified and experienced attorney. Unless a representation agreement has been signed with the Law Offices of Silver and Silver, we are not your legal representatives.