Negligence Lawsuit
Are you hoping to receive compensation for injuries that you sustained due to the carelessness of someone else? There are a few things you need to know about a negligence lawsuit if you want to seek compensation for your losses. Here is some information about negligence lawsuits that you should know before calling an experienced Buffalo workers’ compensation lawyer.
What is a Negligence Lawsuit?
In order for someone who has suffered personal injuries to succeed in a suit for negligence, he or she must prove the following four elements:
- Duty. This refers to the fact that people are supposed to act a certain way. Drivers aren’t supposed to drive erratically or drunk while on the road and companies aren’t supposed to sell unsafe products without adequate warnings or protections.
- Breach of that duty. If no one has breached a duty, then there can’t be any negligence. Using the above example, a driver who runs a red light or a company that sells a medication without adequate warnings about its risks are potential examples of breached duty.
- Causation. The breach of the duty must be the actual cause of harm to the plaintiff. For example, if someone ran a red light, but the accident was because of another party driving drunk, then the driver who ran the red light isn’t responsible for the accident.
- Damages. This refers to the fact that the negligence must actually cause some form of harm, such as a personal injury. A plaintiff can’t recover damages if there wasn’t any damage.
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Negligence Lawsuit | Types of Damages Available Due to Personal Injury
In personal injury cases, the damages a plaintiff can recover will almost always be in the form of money. That calculation depends on the types of damages the plaintiff will be able to recover.
Damages can be classified into two types: compensatory and punitive. Compensatory damages, in turn, can be economic or non-economic.
Examples of economic compensatory damages include:
- Lost income
- Medical expenses
Examples of non-economic compensatory damages include:
- Loss of enjoyment
- Disfigurement
- Loss of consortium/companionship
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
Punitive damages are different – they don’t technically compensate the plaintiff for anything. Rather, they punish the person who acted negligently or intentionally.
If you want to start a negligence lawsuit, you will want the expertise of a Buffalo workers’ compensation lawyer. Here at Cole, Sorrentino, Hurley, Hewner & Gambino P.C. we have a half-century of experience, integrity, and personal service to resolve your personal injury case.