Personal injury can be a difficult practice area because a person must prove that they were harmed due to the negligence of another.

When it comes to personal injury cases, there are two major components that you’ll need to prove. These components include liability and damages.

Liability

When someone has a responsibility to act as a reasonable person, and then fails to do so, liability arises. In order to prevail in a personal injury case, an injured person must prove that another person/corporation/government was at fault for their injuries and that they could have been prevented had different decisions been made.

Damages

There must be harm or a loss that is associated with a failure to act reasonable. Legal damages include specific and general damages.  Specific damages include loss of income, medical expenses, and other costs associated with the injuries that have a defined monetary value associated with them. General damages are those, which do not have a specific monetary value. These types of damages include pain, suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment, and others.

Both of these components must be proven under a “more likely than not” standard. That is, someone acted irresponsibly, more likely than not, and as a result, someone was harmed, more likely than not.

There is no guarantee of winning a personal injury case. People can, however, protect themselves by keeping important documents or receipts regarding injuries, taking photos of the incident and injuries, and contacting an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

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