Practice Area: Personal Injury 1 of 2

BASIC PERSONAL INJURY LAW

Tort law holds people (or other legal entities, i.e. companies, partnerships, etc.) accountable or liable in civil court for conduct that falls below the standard conduct expected of a “reasonable” person in similar circumstances. Personal injury is part of tort law and encompasses several theories of law under which one can hold accountable another for unreasonable behavior leading to damages. The ultimate goal of tort law is to replace with monetary and other valuable compensation the damage that was done to the claimant.

The leading theory and the one most commonly used to attach liability on the tortfeasor (wrongdoer) is the negligence. The theory of negligence is largely based on the concept of fault, but includes several sub-theories that the claimant must prove in order to collect damages for the harm done. These sub-theories include: the duty of care one owes to another, the standard of care expected by one from another, breach of the duty of care, damage(s) either physical, emotional or monetary, resulting directly and proximate from the tortfeasor’s conduct.

A personal injury (PI) is anything that results in temporary or permanent damage upon the person (or interest). In the typical case, PI means a bruise, cut, strain or sprain upon a muscle or tendon, a fracture, injury to a cervical, thoracic or lumbar disc., head injury, amputation, loss of hearing or vision, headaches, disease or some other harm.

Here are some typical torts:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Slip and falls on premises (homes or commercial properties)
• Medical Malpractice
• Slip and fall on ice and snow
• Dog bites
• Assaults and or batteries
• Injuries from faulty products, including harmful medications
• Injuries from faulty construction of structures or roads or public ways

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