The basis of almost every personal injury case is establishing negligence of the other party or parties involved. Your injuries were caused by the negligence of another, and whether it was their inaction to help, lack of attention to a hazard, or any other form of negligence, your personal injury claim must prove that the negligence of that person or persons caused your injury.
A Palm Beach personal injury attorney will know how to best help you develop your evidence and build your personal injury claim. Through you injury claim you may be able to recover compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and other accident-related expenses.
Proving Negligence with Duty of Care
The main element of a Florida negligence case is the duty the defendant owed to you, the plaintiff. When proving negligence in your personal injury claim you must be able to show that there was a relationship established between you and the defendant that resulted in the defendant owing you a duty of care.
You must show that you were related to the defendant in such a manner that they were responsible for your safety, such as a store owner owing a duty of care to his customers to keep the parking lot safe of hazards. Other relationships include a guest and party host, a patient and doctor, and a client and a service professional. The latter party in all of these relationships owes a reasonable duty of care to the former party through the services they provide.
Even driving on a road establishes a relationship between you and the other drivers. Each of you owes a duty to the others to drive safely and follow local traffic laws.
Proving Negligence with Cause in Fact and Proximate Cause
Cause in fact is where your Palm Beach personal injury attorney helps you show evidence that your injuries would not have occurred were it not due to the defendant’s actions. The fact you are presenting to the jury is that the actions (or inaction in some cases) of the defendant caused your injuries.
Proximate cause is when a plaintiff attempts to relate other related incidents to the main incident that caused their injuries. For example, a child is injured by a worker unloading cement bags and damages his bicycle in the process. The child’s injuries are directly caused by the negligence of the worker, as were the bike damages. But if the child is later injured while his father drives him to get his bike repaired, that cannot be found to be proximate cause from the worker’s negligence, as the worker could not have predicted the future incident.
Proving negligence with proximate cause is more difficult, as the secondary injury is normally far removed from the original incident. Your Palm Beach personal injury attorney will be able to best advise you on whether or not any related accidents or injuries can be considered proximate cause.
Obtaining the Help of a Palm Beach Personal Injury Attorney
Proving negligence in your personal injury claim can be a difficult process and you deserve to have trusted legal guidance on your side. A Palm Beach personal injury attorney from 24/7 Injury Law can offer guidance and legal representation for residents across South Florida. For a free consultation concerning your personal injury case, contact us today – 888-984-4878