What Is a Personal Injury?

A personal injury is an injury to a person’s body, mind, or emotions due to someone else’s wrongful act or negligence. Personal injuries are physical and emotional in nature and can range from mild bruises, cuts, scrapes, and sprains to serious long-term illnesses such as brain injuries or paralysis. They can even be emotional harm and include psychological trauma such as post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.

Definition of Personal Injury

Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind, or emotions as per personal injury law opposed to an injury to property. Personal injuries can occur in many different ways, such as car accidents, falls, medical malpractice, defective products, motorcycle wrecks, and more.

What Legal Remedy Is Available for a Personal Injury?

When a person is injured due to another person’s careless or negligent actions, they may be able to pursue legal action in order to recover damages for their losses. Depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, a successful personal injury lawsuit can award damages to cover medical bills, lost wages, and even pain and suffering.

What Is Needed to Prove a Personal Injury Claim?

According to the American Bar Association, to prove a personal injury claim, you must show that the defendant or other party was negligent and that their negligence caused your injury.

This means that you must demonstrate four elements:

• Duty of care is when someone has a responsibility to act reasonably in order to protect others from harm.
• Breach of duty occurs when they fail to act as a reasonable person would.
• Causation is when the breach of duty is determined to be the cause of your injury.
• Damages refers to the harm suffered by you due to the injury.

How Are Personal Injuries Related to Tort Law?

Personal injuries are considered a type of tort law. A so called tort law is a civil wrong, and personal injury is the result of a person’s careless or intentional act or omission which results in harm to another person. This harm can be physical, emotional, or financial in nature. When this occurs, the victim can file a lawsuit to recover compensation in the form of money damages for medical costs, loss of income due to time off work, pain and suffering, and more.

What Are Economic and Non-Economic Compensation?

When a person has suffered a personal injury due to the negligence of another party, they may be entitled to both economic and non-economic compensation. Economic damages are those which can be calculated in monetary terms such as medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage. Non-economic damages are more subjective and include pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement or scarring.

What Are Punitive Damages?

In certain more rare cases, a person may be entitled to additional compensation in the form of punitive damages. These are used to punish the other party for their negligent behavior or intentional conduct and are designed to deter similar conduct from happening in the future. Punitive damages are typically not awarded unless the other party acted with a malicious or intentional disregard for the safety of others.

What Are Personal Injury Claims?

Personal injury claims are civil lawsuits that may be brought by an injured person or their family members against the responsible party who caused the injury. In a personal injury claim, the victim is seeking compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and other damages related to the injury.

An experienced personal injury lawyer from The Kryder Law Group, LLC Accident and Injury Lawyers can clearly explain Illinois personal injury laws to help you understand your legal rights and options if you’ve been hurt because of someone else’s negligence.

How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Claim in Illinois?

In Illinois, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is generally two years from the date of the injury. This means that you must file your lawsuit within two years or risk forfeiting your right to do so. If you want to make sure your claim is heard and taken seriously, it’s important to speak with an experienced attorney as soon as possible after your injury.

What Are NOT Personal Injury Claims?

Personal injury tort claims are NOT criminal charges. A personal injury claim is a civil lawsuit pursued by the injured party in order to recover compensation for damages caused by another person’s negligence or carelessness. The focus of a personal injury case is monetary compensation, not punishment.

How Can a Personal Injury Attorney Help?

A personal injury attorney can help you navigate the legal process of filing a claim and getting the justice you deserve. The Kryder Law Group, LLC Accident and Injury Lawyers has decades of experience in handling personal injury cases, from motor vehicle accidents to medical malpractice.

Personal Injury Lawsuits

Our team will review the circumstances of your injuries, help you understand your rights and obligations, gather evidence to prove your case, negotiate with any insurance company involved, and advocate for you in court if needed. We are committed to achieving the best possible outcome for our clients and ensuring that they recover compensation they deserve for their losses in personal injury lawsuits. Call today for a free consultation.