Mark Breyer, Arizona personal injury attorney, continues his discussion of requirements that are incumbent upon any personal injury plaintiff to prove to win their case.
A personal injury claim only exists when someone other than the injured person recklessly or negligently causes an injury to the victim. For instance, over the years we have talked to people who wanted to know if they could make a claim where they were injured in an Arizona auto accident that they, themselves, caused. By way of example, one mother called us after her daughter negligently drove into the rear end of another vehicle. The mother wanted to know if her daughter could make a claim through her insurance policy as a result of the medical bills incurred by her daughter.
We explained that it is possible that the daughter may be able to receive reimbursement of her medical bills from their own insurance company, depending on which insurance coverage had been purchased prior to the incident. However, the first step in a personal injury claim begins with being able to prove that another person was negligent. Well, in this example there was someone that was negligent: the mother’s own daughter. An injury victim that was the cause of her own injuries has no personal injury claim. Since no one else caused the injury, the potential “case” would not make it past this first requirement in the analysis.
There are many types of injuries that are suffered as a result of someone else’s negligence. However, not every injury is meant to be compensated under the law. In fact, although we have no statistics on the subject, it is probable that most injuries are not compensable under the law.
Regardless of the type of case, most Arizona personal injury cases have specific requirements that must be met under the law in order to have the opportunity to obtain compensation for the injury victim. What evidence is required under the law to meet these criteria can vary widely depending on the type of personal injury case, but these different considerations must always be taken into account. These requirements that are incumbent upon any personal injury plaintiff to prove include:
- prove a person/party was negligent and responsible for the incident;
- prove that the negligence/incident caused an injury;
- prove the extent and duration of the injury and any damages that arose as a result; and
- be able to obtain the money owed from the responsible party/parties
As each of these elements are vital to the ability to pursue a personal injury claim. Although these criteria are each distinct and necessary elements of an injury claim, remember that this is not a situation where “most” is good enough. Either all four requirements must be met or no recovery is likely to occur.
More often than not, it is the most honorable, sincere, compassionate, law-abiding citizens that find themselves being denied justice by our current legal system in Arizona personal injury cases. Why? It is because usually it is the honest, trusting citizens that wait the longest to consult with an attorney. These are the people who do everything that the insurance adjuster working on behalf of the at-fault defendant asks of them, not realizing that their trust is misplaced. They often start with no intention of even considering hiring a lawyer or filing a lawsuit, and they often suffer greatly as a result of this otherwise admirable mindset.
If victims knew how our legal system worked and understood the process of pursuing an injury claim, these well-intentioned victims could increase their likelihood of a fair settlement or favorable jury verdict. If people were simply provided valuable information and warned of the potential pitfalls, they are more likely to increase the chances of a just result for their injury claim.
We know, from our many jury trials and successful settlements for our Arizona personal injury clients that a fair jury verdict in favor of the injury victim can provide needed medical bills, reimbursement of money from a job that can never be performed again, and an overall return to something approaching the quality of life experienced before the injury. A jury verdict for the plaintiff, in particular, is something that announces that the injury victim – our client – has overcome all of the hurdles and built-in impediments to recovery, survived all of the challenges, and come out with a fair result.
There are times when, due to our frustration with the hurdles that are placed in front of deserving people, we voice disgust at rulings, laws, and verdicts that favor defendants in Arizona personal injury cases. However, we strongly believe that an innocent defendant should prevail. A false claim of injury or exaggerated claim by an alleged injury victim should be rejected. We are in favor of justice in the legal system. In our view, however, justice is often denied to the person who was injured and to whom fair compensation should be awarded under the law.
A defense verdict for a seriously injured Plaintiff, who is an innocent victim of the recklessness of another, is neither justifiable nor fair. Unfortunately, our current legal system often rewards the negligent party and punishes the injured victim. We hope to help injured parties avoid making crucial mistakes in pursuing their injury claim so that if their case goes to trial, they hear:
“We the jury duly empaneled and sworn, upon our oath do find in favor of the Plaintiff.”
