How Do I Know if I Have a Personal Injury Case?

How do I know if I have a personal injury case? You know you have a personal injury case if you were seriously injured due to someone else’s negligence, you can establish their negligence, and you can prove that their negligence directly led to your injuries.

You can get more clarity on your personal case by talking with a New Orleans personal injury lawyer today.

Qualifying Your Personal Injury Claim in Louisiana

A personal injury happens when you suffer physical, emotional, mental, financial, or other property harm because someone else did something wrong, like failing to warn you of the harm when they should have. Moreover, their negligence must have directly caused your harm. When you pursue a claim or lawsuit, you have to be able to prove all of these things with sufficient evidence and argument.

Personal injuries can come from a wide range of accidents, like car accidents, slip and falls, worksite injuries, maritime accidents, and things like defective products, among many more. The type of accident determines which specific laws apply, but the key is to link the damages to the at-fault party’s negligence properly. Your damages must also exceed a mild inconvenience.

With our 120+ years of combined experience, even common personal injuries in New Orleans can still bring new elements that require special attention. We can closely examine your case to determine if the details meet all the necessary criteria for a personal injury case. If they do, we can immediately get started on filing your claim.

How Negligence is Established in a Personal Injury Case

To have a viable claim, you first have to show that you were owed a duty of care, whether that be obeying traffic rules meant for safety or properly guarding against known hazards. This means that the situation called for a reasonable obligation to act in the interest of everyone’s safety to the best of someone’s ability.

You then have to show that the defendant failed in that duty and that their actions, or inactions, fell below how a reasonably careful person would act. For example, if a driver is texting while driving, they are breaching their duty of care for others on the road with their distracted driving practice. You can know if you have a personal injury case by looking for things that indicate a breach of duty.

Even if we are totally sure in your case, we must be prepared to counter defense strategies that may try to paint a different picture. They may argue that the accident was unavoidable, that you contributed to the negligence as defined in Louisiana Civil Code § 2323, which outlines comparative negligence. Paying attention to proving a breach of duty of care early can provide a solid foundation for the rest of the case.

Establishing Your Injuries are Directly Related to the Accident

We could prove negligence and that you have sustained damages stemming from an accident, but we still need to establish a direct link between their careless act, the accident, and your damages. For example, even though someone may have been texting while driving, a sudden mechanical failure does not mean that their texting caused your accident.

This is why we need to determine the exact cause of the accident. A mechanical failure typically involves pursuing a claim against a vehicle manufacturer or mechanic. Still, it does not necessarily implicate the driver as the liable party unless they have knowingly neglected regular and reasonable maintenance. According to Louisiana Civil Code § 2316, everyone is responsible for their own negligence, not others’.

Our best course of action here is to gather strong evidence. Documents like medical records and service receipts, witness testimony, accident reports, photos, video, and input from experts can all help create the clear links that let you know if you have a personal injury case worth filing a claim for. This can take quite some time, so enlist the help of a good personal injury lawyer sooner rather than later.

Your Injuries Need to Be More Than an Inconvenience

Even if we can prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that you were harmed and it was directly someone else’s fault, you have to have been harmed beyond a slight inconvenience. Losing a few minutes on your commute for getting bumped in traffic without any injury or actual property damage does not constitute a claim-worthy accident. That does not mean you should not stop and exchange information, however.

Damages worthy of being claimed include medical bills related to recovery from the accident, mental and emotional anguish that has gotten in the way of your normal daily life, and property damage that truly hinders your financial standing, whether directly or indirectly. For instance, if your car is damaged to the extent that repairs are necessary, you should claim and be compensated for those repairs.

Being able to move on with your day as if nothing happened is a likely indicator that you may not have a strong case. However, minor accidents can still qualify for a personal injury claim if they meet certain criteria. Contacting a personal injury attorney in New Orleans is the most important step to determine if you have a personal injury case.

Consulting with a Lawyer Can Help You Know if You Have a Personal Injury Case

If you believe that your accident involved real negligence, that the negligence directly caused your accident, and you were harmed in ways that truly derail your life, you would benefit greatly from consulting with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

With conversations guided by a professional, you can get a personalized assessment of your case that lets you know if you have a personal injury case. Schedule a free consultation with Scott Vicknair Injury Lawyers today.