PERSONAL INJURY AND THE LAW
Personal Injury claims are governed by Civil Tort Law.
Essentially, a tort is civil wrongful conduct which leads to harm of another.
Torts include unintentional wrongs, such as negligence, and intentional wrongs
(“intentional torts”), such as trespass. Personal Injury claims are brought on
the grounds that an injury has occurred as a result of another’s conduct, and
the injured person deserves to be compensated.
TYPES OF LIABILITY: The two ways a
defendant can be found liable for a personal injury claim are negligence and
strict liability.
NEGLIGENCE
A cause of action for Negligence occurs when the defendant’s
conduct fails to meet the standard of care toward others that a reasonable
person would meet in the same circumstance. Unlike an “intentional tort” (e.g.
assault and battery), negligent conduct is unintentional: occurring when the defendant
fails to act with the required care rather than overtly acting to harm another.
SUCCESSFUL NEGLIGENCE CLAIM: A finding of negligence requires that four things be
present: (1) A duty of reasonable care; (2) the defendant’s conduct breached
that duty; (3) that conduct was the cause of the harm and (4) actual harm was
suffered which has a legal basis for compensation.
DUTY AND BREACH: In order for
negligence claim to survive, it must be found that the defendant owed a duty of
reasonable care to the plaintiff. Although answering the question of whether or
not there was a duty can be tricky, there are some guidelines to help identify
when a duty does exist.
A duty exists when: (1) the
defendant created the harmful circumstances which led to the plaintiff’s harm
(e.g. speeding causes a harmful car accident); (2) the defendant did not cause
the harmful circumstances, but acted in a way which caused the plaintiff to
justifiably rely on the defendant’s aid and the defendant failed to render such
aid (e.g. defendant tells car accident victim he will get help and then fails
to do so); and (3) when there is a “special relationship” between the defendant
and plaintiff (e.g. doctor/patient or guardian/child).
If it is found that the defendant
did owe a duty of care to the plaintiff and, based on his action or lack
thereof, failed to meet that duty, it must then be showed that the plaintiff
suffered harm and defendant’s breach of duty was the direct and proximate cause
of the harm.
PROXIMATE CAUSE: The requirement for
proximate cause in a negligence claim is satisfied when the plaintiff’s injury
came about as a direct result of an unbroken chain of the defendant’s conduct.
In a nutshell, if the plaintiff’s harm would not have occurred absent the
negligent conduct of the defendant, and there were no intervening causes
outside of the defendant’s control which led to the harm, it is likely that the
court will find there was proximate cause.
STRICT LIABILITY
Another basis for a personal injury claim is strict liability.
It is not necessary to show that the defendant acted in any way which breached
a duty of care. It is only necessary to show that the defendant’s conduct was
the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s harm and the claim falls appropriately
under the category of strict liability. Examples of strict liability cases are
abnormally dangerous activities (e.g. storing of explosives) and injuries
caused by animals (e.g. dog bites).
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
There
is a set amount of time in which a personal injury claim can be brought
following the injury. In Washington State there is a three (3) year window to
file a claim for a personal injury. However, preparing a successful personal
injury claim takes time and anyone seeking to do so is encouraged to consult
with an attorney as soon as possible.
For
more information consider contacting a Seattle Personal Injury Attorney.
Weitz Law Firm
520 Kirkland Way, Suite 103
Kirkland, Washington 98033
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