Do I Have a Personal Injury Case? How to Determine if My Situation Is a Case for a Lawyer?
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If you have been injured in an automotive accident your immediate reaction may be to sue the party responsible for your injuries. However, not all cases warrant a personal injury attorney’s involvement. Here is how you determine if you have a personal injury case in Knoxville, Chattanooga, or the Tri-Cities.
Elements
Most personal injury claims require the showing of four basic elements: 1) the defendant owed a duty to the victim; 2) the defendant breached that duty; 3) the breach proximately and legally caused the victim’s injuries; 4) the victim was damaged or harmed in some way due to this breach. Even if three out of the four elements are particularly strong, a victim might not receive compensation for the accident if the remaining element is missing. Each element must generally be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. These elements are discussed in more detail below. |
A. Duty
A duty may arise in a variety of situations. For example, a driver has a duty to drive in a safe and prudent manner. In order for a victim to recover, he or she must show that the defendant had a duty to the victim. If there is no duty, there is no case.
B. Breach
Simply because an accident occurs does not mean that someone acted in a negligent manner. A person may have taken every precaution to ensure that they were driving safely and not negligently and yet they still may have been involved in an accident. This could occur if, for instance, a driver experienced an unexpected medical emergency that led to an accident. There must be some type of breach of the duty that was owed to the victim for recovery to ensue.
C. Causation
The defendant’s breach must have caused the victim’s injury; something else cannot have been the primary factor in the injury. In some cases, the breach is too far removed from the timing and circumstances surrounding the victim’s injuries for the defendant to be found to have caused the accident or the victim’s claimed injuries may have existed prior to the accident.
D. Damages
The defendant must have suffered harm in some manner. For example, he or she may have been physically injured and incurred medical expenses. His or her property may have been damaged. The victim might have suffered emotional trauma because of the accident which required treatment. In each case, the victim has to prove that the accident caused the injury for which damages are sought.
All of these elements together basically ask the question of, “Was the defendant liable for the accident?” In some situations, there is clear-cut liability. The defendant was responsible for keeping the victim safe and acted in an unsafe manner that can be easily proven. However, in other situations, liability may not be as clear. The victim may be blamed for his or her own actions that led to the accident. A third party may have shared the blame. Before an attorney agrees to take the case, he or she may want to ensure that liability can be established on the part of the defendant.
Level of Damages
Even if there is clear-cut liability in the case, an attorney may refuse to get involved in the case if there are not enough damages. A conscientious attorney will conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether it is worth his or her time to take the case.
Evidence
Another factor that an experienced Knoxville personal injury lawyer, Chattanooga personal injury lawyer, or Johnson City personal injury lawyer will consider is whether there is sufficient evidence available to support your version of the event. In many cases, this is not known until the completion of the discovery process and the participants and potential witnesses have given depositions. In this case you need a knowledgeable attorney who understands how to evaluate the evidence available at the early stages of a case and decide what needs to be preserved in order for a case to have a successful outcome. For example, there might be a video of the accident if the accident occurred in a national retail chain. In such a case you need to review that video as soon as possible to see what it actually shows and to make sure it is not destroyed. Additionally, an experienced personal injury lawyer may learn that witnesses are available by reviewing the police report and will try to get statements from those witnesses to help prove your case. If you have suffered physical injuries, your medical records and bills may be used to establish damages in your case. In order to do so, this may require the attorney to take doctor’s depositions to prove the nature and extent of the injuries a victim sustained in an accident.
A duty may arise in a variety of situations. For example, a driver has a duty to drive in a safe and prudent manner. In order for a victim to recover, he or she must show that the defendant had a duty to the victim. If there is no duty, there is no case.
B. Breach
Simply because an accident occurs does not mean that someone acted in a negligent manner. A person may have taken every precaution to ensure that they were driving safely and not negligently and yet they still may have been involved in an accident. This could occur if, for instance, a driver experienced an unexpected medical emergency that led to an accident. There must be some type of breach of the duty that was owed to the victim for recovery to ensue.
C. Causation
The defendant’s breach must have caused the victim’s injury; something else cannot have been the primary factor in the injury. In some cases, the breach is too far removed from the timing and circumstances surrounding the victim’s injuries for the defendant to be found to have caused the accident or the victim’s claimed injuries may have existed prior to the accident.
D. Damages
The defendant must have suffered harm in some manner. For example, he or she may have been physically injured and incurred medical expenses. His or her property may have been damaged. The victim might have suffered emotional trauma because of the accident which required treatment. In each case, the victim has to prove that the accident caused the injury for which damages are sought.
All of these elements together basically ask the question of, “Was the defendant liable for the accident?” In some situations, there is clear-cut liability. The defendant was responsible for keeping the victim safe and acted in an unsafe manner that can be easily proven. However, in other situations, liability may not be as clear. The victim may be blamed for his or her own actions that led to the accident. A third party may have shared the blame. Before an attorney agrees to take the case, he or she may want to ensure that liability can be established on the part of the defendant.
Level of Damages
Even if there is clear-cut liability in the case, an attorney may refuse to get involved in the case if there are not enough damages. A conscientious attorney will conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether it is worth his or her time to take the case.
Evidence
Another factor that an experienced Knoxville personal injury lawyer, Chattanooga personal injury lawyer, or Johnson City personal injury lawyer will consider is whether there is sufficient evidence available to support your version of the event. In many cases, this is not known until the completion of the discovery process and the participants and potential witnesses have given depositions. In this case you need a knowledgeable attorney who understands how to evaluate the evidence available at the early stages of a case and decide what needs to be preserved in order for a case to have a successful outcome. For example, there might be a video of the accident if the accident occurred in a national retail chain. In such a case you need to review that video as soon as possible to see what it actually shows and to make sure it is not destroyed. Additionally, an experienced personal injury lawyer may learn that witnesses are available by reviewing the police report and will try to get statements from those witnesses to help prove your case. If you have suffered physical injuries, your medical records and bills may be used to establish damages in your case. In order to do so, this may require the attorney to take doctor’s depositions to prove the nature and extent of the injuries a victim sustained in an accident.
