Suffering any form of injury can be an emotional and stressful experience. If you believe the injury resulted from someone else’s reckless or negligent acts, you may consider suing the at-fault party for damages.
However, there are key elements that must be established before your lawsuit can commence. These elements are crucial to determining your case’s strength and whether you stand the chance of winning your case and getting the compensation you deserve.
Here are the essential elements you must establish to prove your personal injury case when filing an insurance claim or litigating such a case in court.
Duty of care
This is the first element that you must establish in a personal injury claim. This is the legal or moral obligation that one party owes the other to safeguard their safety and wellbeing. Duty of care varies depending on the parties involved and the nature of the case. For instance, a motorist has a duty of care to other road users to drive their vehicle responsibly and reasonably, reducing the risk of an accident.
Breach of duty of care
Next, you must establish that the defendant breached the duty of care owed to you. For this, you must prove that they failed to act with the expected level of care of a reasonable person under the given circumstances. For instance, you can argue that the defendant’s decision to drive while texting amounted to a breach of duty of care.
Causation
This is, perhaps, one of the most important elements of a personal injury claim. You will be required to link the defendant’s actions to the accident that resulted in your injury. This is where your evidence comes in. Using evidence, you must prove that it is more likely than not that your injuries resulted from the defendant’s reckless acts.
Damages
Finally, you will be required to prove that you suffered damages so the court can award compensation for the harm you have suffered. West Virginia personal injury law allows you to seek compensation for both economic and non-economic damages.
Personal injury law can be quite complex. To understand how the claims work, you must focus on establishing these key elements. This way, you will build a competent case and win the compensation you deserve for your damages.
