A Guide To Duty Of Care In A Personal Injury Case
In a personal injury case, one of the most important concepts you will learn about is duty of care. To hold an individual responsible for your injuries, you must show that they had an obligation to be careful and to not be negligent. However, that individual breached their duty and caused your injuries. If you are not sure if the other party breached their duty of care, you should consult with a personal injury lawyer.
Reasonable Caution
Duty of care is the amount of care that a reasonable person would exercise. In many cases, the duty of care is the amount of care that you are expected to show as required under law. For example, a driver is expected to follow traffic laws. In other cases, duty of care is based on the standards of a particular profession. For example, a doctor is expected to use best practices when treating a patient.
The reason why duty of care is important is that some parties cannot be held responsible for an accident that occurs. For example, if you slip and fall, a nearby individual who is not responsible for the property would not be at fault for failing to catch you as you fall.
If the individual has a duty of care, you must prove that they breached the duty. For example, a property owner might be responsible for your slip and fall accident, but only if the dangerous conditions were foreseeable and the individual with duty of care didn't take the steps necessary to prevent the accident.
The Breach of Duty
Next, you must show that you suffered damages as a result of the breach of duty. For example, if you suffered a minor injury, you might not be able to receive compensation for the accident. However, you should always consult with a personal injury lawyer and visit a medical professional because you might be more injured than you think.
Damages Suffered
To determine how many damages you have suffered, you must take into consideration more than simply your medical expenses and lost wages. You must also consider your future medical expenses and lost wages. There are also various other types of damages you can suffer including:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of society
- Loss of consortium
- Mental anguish
- Punitive damages
Once you have been able to calculate all of the damages that you have suffered, your personal injury lawyer will be able to maximize your settlement.
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