NEWS
How a Personal Injury Lawsuit Can Make You Whole After Car Insurance
The last thing any driver wants is to be involved in a car accident that leaves them with debilitating injuries. While car insurance can take care of smaller injuries that may have been caused by the accident, it’s possible that the accident caused more damage than insurance can handle. Especially if the car accident was caused by the negligence of another person, it’s worth diving into how a personal injury lawsuit may help make a person whole.
The Difference Between Insurance and Personal Injury
Oftentimes, the terms car insurance and personal injury are intertwined by people despite the fact they are completely different. Car insurance is the policy a person pays for on a monthly or yearly basis and, in the event of an accident, their car insurance company will pay for any damages to another person’s body or vehicle that may have occurred if the person was at fault.
On the other hand, personal injury is a form of tort law which deals with rectifying a wrongdoing to one person that another person performed. It doesn’t just apply to automobile accidents but can also apply to slip and fall accidents, medical malpractice, animal attacks, and more. A key factor involved with personal injury, however, is that the party who caused the accident must have acted with negligence.
What is Negligence?
As defined by Cornell Law School, negligence refers to when a person behaves in such a way that they fail to act how a reasonable person would act in their given situation. Generally, acting with negligence means acting with a general disregard for those around you and how the consequences of one’s actions will affect the people around them.
The Tenets of a Personal Injury Lawsuit
When a car accident occurs due to another driver’s negligence, as opposed to an honest accident, a personal injury lawsuit may be more suitable given the severity of injuries. To win a personal injury lawsuit, however, the four basic tenets of personal injury law must be proven in court:
1. Duty of Care
First, it must be established that the other driver on the road had a duty of care to keep you safe. Regardless of whether you are a pedestrian or were another driver, all drivers on the road have a duty of care to keep themselves and others out of harm’s way while driving.
2. Breach of Duty of Care
Second, it must be shown that the other driver breached their duty of care via negligent actions. For example, if the other driver chose to check their smartphone for a text or if they were eating and became distracted by food that fell, only to then cause the accident due to this, breach of duty of care could be established.
3. The Breach Caused an Accident
Next, it must be shown that their breach of duty directly leads to the accident in which you suffered your injuries. For example, if the person who checked their phone ran a red light and slammed into you, this would be a direct correlation.
4. The Injuries Warranty the Requested Damages
Finally, the damages you are requesting the court award to you must be justifiable based on the injuries you suffered in the accident. A person cannot claim thousands of dollars in medical expenses unrelated to the injury that they suffered due to the accident.
Earning Potential of Personal Injury Lawsuits
The amount you could potentially earn from a personal injury lawsuit varies drastically depending on the conditions of the accident. For perspective, a car accident involving a truck will likely be more devastating from an injury perspective, meaning there may be more on the table to recoup with a personal injury case. In general, plaintiffs walk away with an average of nearly $25,000, though this can go either lower or higher depending on the specific details of your case and the type of damages that a person is requesting from the court.
Speak with an accredited injury lawyer today
Rather than settling for the injuries you are currently living with as a result of your car accident, consider contacting a personal injury attorney to discuss what occurred. It’s entirely possible that an insurance claim will not cover the extent of your injuries, or that the injuries you suffered were after the fact and require damages from a personal injury trial to resolve them. Discuss your case with your lawyer to see what your options may be.
Umar Nisar was born and raised in the busy city of Abbottabad. As a journalist, Umar Nisar has contributed to many online publications including PAK Today and the Huffing Post. In regards to academics, Umar Nisar earned a degree in business from the Abbottabad UST, Havelian. Umar Nisar follows the money and covers all aspects of emerging tech here at The Hear Up.
Thanks
