If you have been involved in a personal injury accident of any kind, you likely have numerous questions and concerns. Unless you have been through the process before, you probably don’t know much about the law of torts, the standard of negligence or how your case will be handled. While each personal injury case is unique and presents its own set of facts and circumstances, the basic concepts remain the same.
The law of torts governs personal injury accidents. Torts can be based on intentional conduct,based on strict liability or based on negligent behavior. As the name implies, an intentional tort is one in which the injury was caused intentionally. An assault is often an intentional tort. Although assault is often charged as a criminal matter, the victim may also have a cause of action for an intentional tort.
Strict liability torts are cases in which the intention, or mind set, of the defendant does not matter. Some states, for example, make dog bite injury cases strict liability torts. In other words, it does not matter what the owner of the dog did or did not do to prevent the injury. If the dog caused an injury, the owner of the dog is liable.
The majority of torts are based in negligence. Most personal injury cases involve negligent behavior.
For most personal injury cases, the victim must prove that the defendant was negligent. The precise definition of negligence has been debated, clarified and studied by scholars, judges and attorneys for as long as the concept has been part of civil law; however, it can be explained in a way that you, the victim, can understand.
Negligence requires four basic elements–duty of care, breach of the duty of care, causation, and damages. Let’s look at each one to gain a better understanding of what you need to prove in order to receive compensation for your injuries.
The duty of care means that the defendant had to have had a legal obligation to take reasonable steps to prevent harm to you. For instance, it is well established that a driver on a public road owes a duty of care to other drivers on the road.
The breach of the duty of care means that the defendant must have done something, or failed to do something, that breached the duty he or she had to keep from harming you. Drinking while driving is an obvious breach of the duty of care. Texting while driving may be another breach of the duty of care. A shop owner who fails to clean up an obvious spill within a reasonable time could also be an example of a breach of the duty of care.
Causation means that the defendant’s breach of the duty of care actually caused your injuries. Although this is usually one of the easier elements to prove, there are times when a defendant did breach a duty of care, but the accident was actually caused by something unrelated to the breach.
Damages is the legal term used to refer to injuries. In order to be entitled to compensation, the defendant’s breach of the duty of care must have caused you to suffer damages. Damages can be economic, such as damage to your car, or medical bills. Damages can also be non-economic, such as pain and suffering.
Each one of the above mentioned elements must be met before the defendant can be found to have been negligent. In turn, the defendant must have been negligent before you are entitled to compensation for your injuries in a negligent tort personal injury accident case. An experienced personal injury attorney can evaluate your specific case and give you an opinion as to whether or not negligence played a part in your injuries.
If you have been involved in a New Jersey accident and you believe that negligence was involved, you may be entitled to compensation for those injuries.
The personal injury accident attorneys at Ginarte Gonzalez Winograd L.L.P., have six offices conveniently located in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. Contact the firm today by calling 888-446-2783 for your free consultation or fill out our online contact form.