Personal Injury Claim

If you’ve recently been injured at what you believe to be the fault of someone else, you’re probably itching to hold that individual responsible for their mistake. But while you may want someone to blame, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have a personal injury claim.

So, how do you know if you have a serious personal injury claim? These personal injury claim requirements can help you answer your question.

The Responsible Party Made a Careless Mistake

Whether or not the party that caused the accident acted intentionally or unintentionally, the accident that occurred must be the result of a careless decision that they made. If they ignored a clearly marked sign, failed to inform you that you were in a dangerous area, or acted negligently in some other way, then it can be said that the party did not meet the expectations laid out for them.

One of the best examples of a careless or negligent mistake that can cause a personal injury is when a driver runs a stop sign. While they were not paying attention to the traffic signals and rules, they missed a clearly marked sign to stop their vehicle. In passing through the stop sign, they struck your car as you were legally driving through the intersection. The decision to ignore the stop sign and continue driving is proof that the responsible party made a careless mistake.

The Responsible Party’s Careless Mistake Caused Injury

If you are looking to file a personal injury claim, you will need to have sustained an injury. There are no strict guidelines that outline how large or serious your injury must be to qualify as a personal injury claim, but the connection between the injury and the accident must be clear.

Say your car was hit by that same reckless driver from the first example. While you don’t have any life-threatening injuries, you still have a broken wrist that will need medical attention and potentially some rehab once the cast is off. An injury like this, meaning it is a relatively serious injury that is directly linked to the accident, can be easier to file as a personal injury claim. On the other hand, if you were still struck by the careless driver but did not suffer any injuries as a result of the accident, it may be harder or even impossible to prove you have a personal injury case.

The Injury Must Have Caused You Harm

While you may be wondering how an injury does not cause you harm, in this case, harm actually refers to the consequences of the injury. If you were forced to take time off of work because of your injury, you may have lost wages that can qualify as harm. Medical bills for your injuries that will not be covered by your insurance company can also qualify as harm.

Returning to our example of the car accident, we can address harm as supplemental negative occurrences that result because of the responsible party’s mistake. If you have a broken wrist from the car accident but the majority of your job duties revolves around typing at a computer, you may be unable to do your job. This would classify as harm. If your injuries from the accident were minor and do not require much additional attention after the initial accident, proving harm may be more difficult for you.

If you can thoroughly answer each question with a strong case as to why your injury was the fault of the other party’s mistake, you probably have a good personal injury claim. For additional assistance determining if you should move forward with your personal injury claim and what the next steps for filing may look like, you should consider contacting a personal injury lawyer.

An expert personal injury lawyer can help you to determine the best approach to your case, help you lay out the details of the accident in the easiest to understand way and guide you through the process of filing a claim and working through the court system.

With a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer at your side, you can get the full amount of personal injury compensation that you are entitled to.