When you have been wrongfully injured because of another party’s carelessness, proving negligence in a personal injury claim is essential. Demonstrating the negligence links the cause and effect of the accident together to provide a clear picture of the situation. A Greenville personal injury lawyer from Smith Jordan Law has extensive experience with this process and can help you get justice for your losses.
The purpose of a personal injury claim
Personal injury claims arise out of accidents that are triggered by negligence. One party behaves in a way that endangers others rather than taking the appropriate precautions to prevent an incident altogether. These types of accidents can be caused by inaction as much as action.
As such, proving negligence in a personal injury claim is a key component to demonstrating the other party’s liability. This must be shown before you can recover any compensation.
Establishing the standard of care and breach of that duty
The standard of care is the basic requirement you and your personal injury attorney must meet to establish that a party acted negligently. If a person violates the standard of care, then they are negligent. There are four elements in determine liability and, therefore, who is responsible for providing compensation to the victim. These components are:
- Duty of care: An individual or entity has a responsibility to act in a safe manner and prevent harm from happening to those around them.
- Breach of duty: The individual or entity failed to take the proper measures to provide care and inflicted harm upon others instead.
- Causation: An individual or entity’s actions were the direct cause or contributed to the accident that led to the injury.
- Damages: The victim was damaged as a result of the harmful event. The individual or entity responsible for causing the harmful event is held liable and must pay for the victim’s damages.
Your lawyer will work diligently to gather the evidence needed for your personal injury case to meet these requirements and secure a favorable outcome.
Comparative negligence laws
There are times when multiple parties are responsible for the accident that caused your injuries, or you may partially be at fault. For circumstances like these, South Carolina’s modified comparative negligence laws are applied to determine liability, who will receive damages, and how much they will receive.
Under these statutes, each party involved in an accident is evaluated for their contribution to the accident and assigned a percentage ranging from 0 to100%. Each party can recover compensation for their injuries, but it will be reduced in proportion to their percentage of fault. However, any party responsible for more than 50% of the accident will be prohibited from receiving damages for their losses.
For example, if one party was responsible for causing 20% of an accident and the other party was 80% responsible, the first party’s maximum settlement will be reduced by 20%, and the other party will recover nothing. If you could be partially be at fault, your lawyer will fight to ensure that you are found to have minimal or no fault so you can recover the maximum amount possible.
Receiving damages at the end of your case
Proving negligence in a personal injury claim is necessary to recover the losses you have suffered in an accident. When you have been hurt, expenses add up quickly and can be overwhelming. By establishing that negligence was the cause of your losses, you can secure compensation to offset the losses and costs you are likely facing.
At the end of a case, you may be able to claim damages to cover the following:
- All expenses related to your medical care
- Lost income if you cannot work
- Damage to property and personal belongings
- Funeral and burial expenses if death occurred
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment
- Reduced quality of life
- Emotional and mental distress
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of consortium
To ensure you can secure enough compensation to cover your losses sufficiently, your lawyer will assess each one when they take on your case and calculate the value of each loss. They will use this number to guide their negotiations.
You must seek damages within the statute of limitations
To secure damages, you should pursue a personal injury claim as soon as possible. South Carolina provides injured individuals three years to file a claim to recover what was lost, according to S.C. Code § 15-3-530(5).
Smith Jordan Law helps you navigate your personal injury claim
Smith Jordan Law is skilled at proving negligence in a personal injury claim to ensure you get the resources you need to move forward after the wrong you have suffered. Our firm cares about your case and well-being and works tirelessly to help you recover. To talk with one of our personal injury lawyers, schedule your free consultation today by contacting us online or calling our office at (864) 343-2222.
