Longmont Personal Injury Lawyer
When a person harms you because of intentional, reckless, or even negligent behavior, it is a personal injury. The law differentiates personal injuries, which refer to injuries to people or personal property, from other types of legal claims, including real property claims, contract disputes, and family law cases.
In addition to getting compensation for injuries, you may file a personal injury lawsuit to get a sense of justice. At Amy G Law, a Longmont personal injury lawyer could help you get the compensation that you deserve. Call our law office today to speak with a seasoned attorney.
What Is a Personal Injury?
Personal injuries are harm to a person’s body, mind, or personal property. They do not require physical injuries—an emotional injury is enough to qualify as a personal injury.
These injuries are the result of negligent and wrongful behavior by someone else. Reckless or malicious behavior, such as assault, can also fall under the personal injury umbrella. Additionally, the wrongdoer can be an individual, a company, a municipality, or any other party.
Generally, the injured party must prove negligence in a personal injury claim. However, some cases, like product defect claims, are strict liability, which does not require proving negligence.
Common Types of Personal Injuries
Some of the most prevalent types of personal injury claims include the following:
- Auto collisions
- Pedestrian accidents
- Premises liability
- Animal bites
- Product liability
A Longmont attorney could help their client determine if a claim can be classified as personal injury.
Proving Personal Injury Claims
Other than strict liability claims, proving a personal injury claim requires proving four elements: a duty of care, breach of the duty, injury, and damages.
Duty of Care
Duty refers to how someone must treat another person. It can result from laws, such as the duty not to speed while driving, or from common sense and social norms, like the duty not to leave a toddler unattended near a swimming pool.
While the law covers both scenarios, only one is explicitly detailed. Duty can also be general or specific. Drivers have a general duty to all other drivers on the road, while caregivers have a specific duty to the children in their care.
Breach of Duty
A breach of duty refers to a failure to live up to the standard of care. The measuring stick is a reasonable person, but the standard is situation-dependent. A reasonable pedestrian has a different duty than a reasonable driver because the driver has to pass a test and demonstrate knowledge of laws in order to get their license.
Cause of Injuries
The breach must cause the injury. If a driver runs a red light and narrowly misses another vehicle, then, 10 minutes later, the driver of the other vehicle has an accident, there is no causation. Intervening factors led to the accident.
However, if a driver slams on their brakes to avoid hitting the driver who runs the red light and it causes someone else to rear-end them, there could be a causal link. Causation depends on the specific circumstances.
Evidence of Damages
Lastly, the plaintiff has to show that their injury led to damages. Not every injury translates into recoverable damages. A mild car accident may not lead to physical injuries, for instance. A personal injury lawyer in Longmont could help determine the damages from an accident.
Types of Compensation for a Personal Injury
Monetary damages are the remedy in personal injury claims. The goal of these damages is to make the injured person whole, restoring them to as close to the pre-injury position as possible.
There are three types of potential damages: economic, non-economic, and punitive. Economic and non-economic damages repay someone for their tangible and intangible losses. However, punitive damages do not compensate the injured party; instead, they punish wrongdoers to discourage future bad behavior.
Talk to a Longmont Personal Injury Attorney
When someone else injures you in an accidental or intentional act, you deserve compensation for your losses.
A Longmont personal injury lawyer from Amy G Law understands that you deserve financial recovery for your injuries and can help you get the compensation that you deserve. Call our law office today to schedule an appointment.