What to do when someone claims personal injury against you?

A personal injury falls under the scope of Tort Law. Personal injury laws allow an injured person to file a civil suit in Court to get a legal remedy in damages for all the losses faced by the injured due to an accident or any other injury-causing incident. The object of the personal injury system is to allow the injured person to be compensated financially or 'made whole' after they have suffered losses or harm to their body, mind, and emotions because of someone's negligent behaviour.

In simple words, personal injury cases are brought about by physical injury or mental anguish caused by another party's actions or negligent behavior. As an element of civil law, personal injury cases include motor vehicle accidents, workplace accidents, product defects, slip and fall accidents, defamation of character, wrongful death, or other situations wherein the injuries prove fatal.

Now, one must remember that the term 'personal injury' also incorporates negligence in medical and dental procedures. For example, when a medical or dental practitioner fails to exercise reasonable care in treating a patient, he commits medical negligence or medical malpractice, for which they can be prosecuted.

The parties in a personal injury lawsuit include the plaintiff who is injured and the defendant whose negligence caused an injury or loss to the victim and whom the case is brought against. However, it must be noted that in cases of accidents that result in the death of the victim, the plaintiff is the representative of the deceased's estate.

A personal injury claim begins when the injured person i.e. the plaintiff, sues another business or person who was negligent in his or her behavior and seeks compensation for the injuries sustained in the form of 'damages'. Here, it is pertinent to note that one must be sure about the validity of its injury case and hence should contact a legal professional.

A person or business is legally responsible and liable to pay compensation if it has caused any accidental personal injury or damages. To establish responsibility, the Court looks for negligence and carelessness on the part of the parties involved in the case. Upon careful perusal of the facts, the Court determines the more negligent party and grants damages accordingly.

Here, it must be noted that valid personal injury lawsuits are difficult to defend. Suppose the plaintiff can establish the case with supporting documentation and identify the appropriate defendant who may have been acting carelessly or negligently when he or she owed a duty of care to the injured person. In that case, it is not easy to defend such a respondent. Suppose one finds themselves on the defendant's side. In that case, the first thing to do must be to hire a professional legal counsel who has experience in personal injury cases and has effective negotiation skills.

Further, the following remedies can be used by a defendant who is sued in a personal injury case:

1. Contentions of the plaintiff are invalid

In many cases, if the plaintiff's legal counsel cannot prove the claims made by the injured person, such invalid contentions can be stricken or removed from the record. Also, sometimes lawsuits are filed with overstated pain-and-suffering and an overly-calculated loss of future wages. In such cases, the diagnosis and prognosis of medical professionals must be evaluated and defended. A second opinion from an impartial medical professional who is legally qualified to present a proper analysis can prove helpful on several occasions. This may not always dismiss the case, but certain items can be eliminated and injury claims regarding the degree of injury can be altered thus resulting in a reduced amount of financial damages available.

2. Defendant's duty of care 

In a personal injury case, if the defendant can prove that he or she did not owe a duty of care to the plaintiff, the charges against him or her may be dropped. However, this is possible only when the plaintiff's original filing of the legal claims fails to establish a reasonable duty of care by connecting the defendant to the accident that caused the injury. Here, it must be noted that such a defense depends upon the specifics of a case. Suppose it is a motor vehicle accident case. In that case, documents such as police reports and ambulance records support the claims of the plaintiff, whereas, a case filed against a business operator may be misdirected when a property owner is the actually liable one.

3. Plaintiff was responsible for his or her own injury

This remedy allows an injured party to receive some amount of financial compensation unless that person is totally at fault for the injury. For example, the plaintiff intentionally committed an act that caused the injury or the plaintiff was convicted of drunk driving. In such cases, plaintiffs are barred from any financial recovery if their negligence percentage is greater than the defendant. Here, technicalities matter a great deal as the state of occurrence and the particulars of the claim are all potential reasons for case dismissal or a reduced financial liability. A perfect example of this remedy would be injured trespassers. If a trespasser is injured, he or she will lose the claim based on no authority to occupy the property.

4. Claim for compensation was filed late

In several personal injury cases, an injury that did not appear as serious when it first occurred can later be manifested into a serious situation that requires medical treatment and creates pain and suffering compensation situation. The statute of limitations law is assessed for every personal injury case and when a lawsuit for personal injury is filed late or at the end of the limitations time period, even if the injury was recognized at a significantly earlier time, it can lead to dismissal of the claim. The fact that the plaintiff waited until the end of the limitations time period can be used as this action of the plaintiff could indicate that the injury is not as serious as claimed and it was a frivolous claim in the first place. 

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Conclusion

if one is sued in a personal injury case, the aforementioned remedies can be used by the defendant's legal counsel. However, it is important to know that appointing an experienced attorney will help the defendant a great deal.