What You Need to Know About Accident Legal Matters The unexpected and typically sudden events that happen without intention or conscious thought, though sometimes due to carelessness, ignorance or even a lack of awareness. Accident lawyers can review your medical records, and even interview witnesses and experts, like life-care planners, to determine the impact of your injury on your future. They also have experience dealing with insurance adjusters and know how to negotiate a fair settlement. Negligence In legal terms, negligence is an act of tort. Torts are civil wrongs which fall under a separate category from criminal offenses. Negligence cases are those where the defendant fails to take reasonable care and caution with their actions or actions. The failure could result in injuries or harm that are not intentional to someone else. Negligence is the most common reason for injuries in accidents such as car accidents, slip or trip and falls at businesses and restaurants or private homes medical negligence (when doctors violate the standards of care) and wrongful deaths (when someone dies as a result of the negligence or recklessness of others). A claim for negligence is made up of four elements such as duty breach, causation and damages. First, the defendant has to owe a duty of diligence to the plaintiff. This could mean a duty to perform a certain action or a duty to do something under particular circumstances. In a car accident for instance the drivers are all required to drive in a safe manner and adhere to traffic laws. The defendant must then violate this duty in some manner, such as being negligent or reckless. This could include driving while texting or speeding, or failing to wear a seatbelt. This breach must have caused the victim's injury. A defendant isn't liable for injury if it was caused by another reason, like the victim's emotional state or anxious or a natural calamity which was out of their control. Once the court determines that the defendant was owed by the plaintiff a duty of care The next step is to demonstrate that the defendant breached that duty by not taking actions or taking act that violated this duty. It could be an act or an oversight. The court must also determine that the breach of duty directly led to the victim's loss or injury. This can be established by establishing a causal link that is a close connection between the breach of duty and the direct, proximate cause of the loss or injury as in the above examples. In the past, American courts used to adhere to a doctrine known as contributory negligence, which meant that a person could not receive compensation if they were even partially responsible for their own injuries. But, many states use a model known as pure comparative fault or negligence, which allows victims to receive less compensation, based on their level of responsibility for the incident. Damages In accident legal proceedings, damages are given to compensate victims for damages. Special and general damages can be awarded in a variety of forms. Special damages are tangible and straightforward to prove. They include medical bills, property damages and out-of-pocket costs for litigation and court costs. General damages comprise emotional pain and distress, loss of enjoyment of living physical impairment, disfigurement and other non-tangible damages. During the investigation phase of your case, we'll gather and analyze all documentation available in connection with your accident. This will help us construct a complete picture of your damages and determine what damages you are entitled to receive. Our lawyers will work with experts to ensure that damages are correctly estimated and calculated. Economic damages are easy to determine and can be proved with a written trail. These include medical expenses as well as property damage and lost wages. If you can show future economic damages such as the cost of continuing medical care or loss of earning capacity, our lawyers will consult with expert witnesses to help estimate these costs. Non-economic damages are difficult to quantify since there is no clear monetary value for these types of losses. The most common non-economic damages in car accidents include pain and suffering loss of enjoyment life, emotional distress, and loss of consortium. The extent of your injuries and the impact they have on your quality of living, can determine the amount of pain and suffering you will suffer. Loss of enjoyment refers to your ability to enjoy hobbies or recreational activities. Physical impairment and disfigurement are also often included in this category because they can have a negative impact on your daily activities. Punitive damages are seldom awarded in car accidents, but can be ordered when the defendant's conduct was particularly outrageous, such as when they committed reckless conduct or fraud. These kinds of damages are intended to punish the defendant and deter others from engaging in similar actions. Expert Witnesses Expert witnesses are crucial for the success of your personal injury claim. Expert witnesses are experts who didn't witness the accident and have the specialized knowledge, training, education and/or experience with respect to the specific details of your claim that they are able to provide to jurors. In most cases, a car accident expert will be brought to provide a thorough analysis of the crash. This is particularly true when there aren't any witnesses. They could be asked to recreate the incident, or even create models using computers and physical objects to show how the accident took place. Their experience can help lawyers gain a better understanding of the incident that they can then use to convince insurance companies or a jury that you're entitled to compensation for your injuries. A medical expert is another common type of expert witness. These are doctors who vouch for the medical condition or injury a victim sustained during a collision and explain to jurors the ways in which the condition may have been caused by the crash. They can also offer advice on treatment options as well as ways to recover. Engineers and experts are often utilized to support car accident claims. They can discuss a crash's technical aspects such as roadway design, the construction of buildings, and other physical properties involved in the collision, and even the design of vehicles. Your lawyer can help you determine which experts are most beneficial in your case. Mental health experts are often employed in personal injury cases. They can assist in quantifying emotional damages such as pain, suffering and loss enjoyment of life. In general an expert witness has to be licensed to practice in the field that they are testifying about. However there are exceptions to this requirement and the laws vary from state to state. Personal injury attorneys are the best persons to ask about laws regarding expert witnesses in the region. In a lot of states expert witnesses must declare their credentials and areas of expertise prior being called to be a witness in a court of law. This is done to prevent possible bias or conflicts of interest from being raised. https://vimeo.com/709670071 Depending on the circumstances, you may be subject to a different time-limit for filing a lawsuit against the person who caused the accident. These are referred to as statutes of limitations and vary widely between states. Your case could be dismissed if you do not meet the deadline. Consult a lawyer as soon after an accident as you can to avoid being caught by the statute of limitations deadline. In New York for example, you have three years to file a claim after an accident. But that doesn't mean you should delay until the deadline to file a claim. It's generally better to file earlier, while the details of the incident are fresh in your mind. This will also make it easier for you to find and speak with witnesses. If you're seeking compensation for property damage or personal injuries, you are able to make a civil suit against the party responsible for the accident. But, the lawsuit must be filed within the statute of limitations or else you won't be able to hold the other party responsible. The clock starts ticking the date of your accident. Under certain circumstances the statute of limitations may be extended. For instance, if a recurrence isn't immediately obvious and you do not discover it in the first place, your case can be kept open with a discovery rule. Minors are also subject to a specific time limit. If a child has been injured in a car crash the child has up to two years from when the statute of limitation expires to file a lawsuit on their own behalf. If you file a lawsuit against a municipality or local government the statute of limitation is significantly shorter. If you're involved in a crash with the City of New York garbage truck or police vehicle, as well as a Sanitation Department pick-up truck, for instance, you'll have just 90 days to make a claim before the time limit expires.