You have probably heard the term “personal injury” before, but you might not be aware of its specific, legal meaning. Mary Anne Covone, a Woodridge Personal Injury Lawyer, is committed to helping people understand personal injury law.
First, a personal injury does not require a physical injury, but can include emotional and mental damages in addition to physical damages. Second, a personal injury, from a legal standpoint, needs to have been caused by a third party’s actions. In fact, there are four elements to a person injury claim:
- the person who caused the harm had a duty of care to the person who was injured. The duty of care can be specific to the relationship between the two parties, such as when a doctor causes harm to a patient, or it can be a general duty of reasonable care that all people have towards other people. Statutes can help explain what a reasonable standard of care is by setting legal limits on the behavior expected of reasonable people;
- the wrongdoer breached that standard of care. The breach of a standard of care can be established in a number of ways. If a professional relationship exists between the wrongdoer and the person harmed, then any applicable rules or guidelines for that profession will be used to help establish reasonableness;
- the breach of the standard of care was the cause of the injured party’s injuries. It is not enough to prove that a person committed a wrong; in order to establish a personal injury, one also has to establish that the wrong caused an injury. This does not mean that the wrong had to completely cause the injury, on its own. A wrong that exacerbates a current injury can still be determined to be a personal injury; and
- the injuries resulted in damages to the person harmed. These damages may be physical damages, such as a physical injury, or mental or emotional damages. However, the damages referred to mean that the injuries can be monetized in a way that a can help make the person whole. The concept of damages is important, because a court awards damages in order to help put an injured party in the same position that he or she was in prior to an injury. If damages are unable to do that, then they may not be appropriate, regardless of how severe the injury is.
Even if you have suffered a personal injury, a tort-based personal injury lawsuit may not be your only way to recover for your damages. For example, if the personal injury occurred while you were performing duties for your employer, you may be able to recover under worker’s compensation.
If you have questions about an injury you have received, the lawyers at Mary Anne Covone, P.C., would be happy to review your case and discuss recovery options with you.
