Suffering from an injury is difficult to handle, but it can be even tougher when someone else is responsible for your injury. In that situation, the other party may have liability for your injury and other damages. This means that they may bear all the financial responsibility for the effects of the accident they caused.
There are several different types of liability that can apply in personal injury cases. Keep reading below to learn more about liability and what it means for your personal injury claim.
Liability for Intentional Acts
A person can be held liable for their intentional acts. If someone intentionally causes you harm, they are responsible for any injuries they cause. Some common examples of intentional conduct that may result in personal injury liability include:
- Assault
- Battery
- Slander or libel
- False imprisonment
- Conversion
Establishing liability for intentional torts requires the victim to prove that the defendant acted willfully or with general or specific intent. These are the most egregious torts because the conduct involved cannot be classified as mere carelessness.
Since intentional torts involve extremely egregious behavior, punitive damages may be available in these cases. Punitive damages are rare, and they are intended to punish the defendant for their improper conduct or behavior. They are also designed to help deter that kind of conduct in the future.
Negligence-Based Liability
Most personal injury claims are based on the concept of negligence. Negligence occurs when someone’s careless behavior results in an injury to another person. To prove negligence, a victim must show:
- Duty of care: The defendant had some legal obligation to act in a specific manner. The standard required in most cases is that of a reasonable person in a similar situation.
- Breach of duty: The defendant failed to uphold the reasonable standard of care, which means that they violated the accepted standard.
- Causation: The defendant’s actions were both the direct and proximate cause of the victim’s injuries. Put another way, the victim would not have sustained their injuries but for the defendant’s conduct.
- Damages: The victim must show some actual damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, or pain & suffering.
Proving liability in a negligence case requires proving all four of these elements. Failure to prove any one of these elements may cause you to be unsuccessful with your claim.
Strict Liability
Strict liability covers some special situations. This means that the defendant can be held responsible for the consequences of their actions even without the presence of negligence. If they cause an injury, they are liable even if they took the most careful precautions. Some examples of situations involving strict liability are:
Defective Products
When a manufacturer introduces a defective product into the market, they can be held responsible for any resulting injuries or damages. There is no need to prove that the manufacturer was negligent as part of a product liability claim. This also applies to distributors and retailers of the product.
Dog Bites
While some states have a strict liability rule for all dog bites, North Carolina has a strict liability rule for dogs classified as dangerous. This means that the owner of a dangerous dog may be liable for any bite injuries, even if the owner took reasonable precautions to prevent them.
Ultrahazardous Activities
By engaging in certain highly dangerous activities, you automatically accept responsibility for the outcome. For instance, imagine a trucking company that transports extremely hazardous material. If the material spills and causes injuries, they can be held liable even though they were not negligent in their duties.
Vicarious Liability
Vicarious liability allows an injured victim to hold one party responsible for the actions of another. For instance, employers are often responsible for the actions of their employees. Similarly, parents may be held liable for the actions of their children in some situations.
Damages Available After Proving Liability
Once liability has been established, the defendant is responsible for all the resulting damages. This may include both economic and non-economic damages. Some common examples of damages available in personal injury cases include:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Property damage
- Loss of companionship
- Diminished quality of life
- Depression
- Anxiety
Proving the value of your economic losses is quite easy. However, assessing your non-economic damages is much more challenging. As previously mentioned, punitive damages may also be available in some rare situations.
Contact a Raleigh Personal Injury Lawyer at Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
If you have been hurt in an accident in Raleigh, you will first need to establish liability before you can recover compensation for your damages. An experienced Raleigh personal injury lawyer can help you do just that. The team at Riddle & Riddle Injury Lawyers has more than 190 years of combined experience in personal injury law, so we can help you establish liability in even the most complex cases.
Call us today to schedule a free consultation with a Raleigh personal injury lawyer and learn more about how we can help.