Craig County Personal Injury Lawyer
While recovering damages for personal injuries seems straightforward, it still requires sufficient evidence of wrongful action by the defendant. The law imposes thresholds of proof the plaintiff must meet to succeed in their lawsuit. A Craig County personal injury lawyer provides a plaintiff an opportunity at meeting these thresholds.
To begin discussing the details of your case, be sure to schedule a consultation with a skilled injury attorney today.
Negligence
The key to success in the plaintiff’s lawsuit lies in proving the defendant acted negligently. To prove negligence, the plaintiff must establish the defendant owed a duty to the plaintiff, they breached that duty, the breach caused the plaintiff’s injuries, and the breach resulted in the plaintiff’s injuries.
Duty of Care
A plaintiff must establish the defendant owed them a duty of care. Duty of care is generally the easiest element to prove as everyone owes a general duty of reasonable care to others. A duty of reasonable care requires that the defendant acted as an average person would have in the given circumstances.
Breach of Duty
Defendant failing to act as a reasonable person would have in similar circumstances constitutes a breach of that duty.
Causation
The plaintiff must establish the defendant’s breach of duty caused their injuries. To cause the plaintiff’s injuries, the defendant’s actions need to factually and proximately cause the injury.
To prove causation, the plaintiff must first prove the defendant factually caused the plaintiff’s injury. Courts will typically apply a “but for” test to determine causation. They look to see if the plaintiff’s injuries would not have occurred “but for” the defendant’s actions.
To establish the defendant proximately, the plaintiff must prove it was foreseeable to the defendant that injuries would result from their conduct. In other words, the defendant could have anticipated the plaintiff becoming injured due to their actions.
Damages
Finally, the plaintiff must prove they suffered an actual injury due to the defendant’s breach. The plaintiff cannot recover damages without an actual injury, making this a crucial aspect of the plaintiff’s case. Work with a personal injury attorney in Craig County to develop strong evidence of your damages.
Plaintiff’s Contribution to Their Personal Injury
Under Virginia Code § 8.01-34, Virginia utilizes contributory negligence, meaning if the plaintiff was responsible in any manner for their injuries, no recovery is allowed. A negligent defendant may avoid liability by proving the plaintiff contributed to their injuries. An experienced personal injury attorney in Craig County could help the plaintiff avoid contributory negligence.
The same standard of negligence applies to the plaintiff’s actions. Therefore, the defendant needs to prove the plaintiff did not act reasonably, and their actions caused or contributed to the resulting injuries.
The plaintiff can be the factual cause of the injury and still recover damages. Therefore, if it was not foreseeable that the plaintiff’s actions would result in injury, they may still recover.
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney in Craig County for Help
Proving a defendant was negligent takes more than an injury. You must prove each element of negligence occurred and that you did not contribute to your injuries. While some cases are straight forward, many lawsuits are a battle that is best handled by a legal professional.
If another person’s negligence injured you, you deserve to receive damages, do not let the legal technicalities stand in your way. Hiring a skilled Craig County personal injury lawyer could be the difference in winning or losing.
