Some Important Facts About Personal Injury Claims

Personal injury is a legal concept in comparison with an accident or a disease, which is a medical term for a physical damage to your body. In English, personal injury is also commonly known as an actionable claim, which means that someone may bring an action against another person on account of his or her injury caused by negligence. Personal injury is also a broader term than wrongful death, although the two are not similar.

The difference between the terms personal injury and wrongful death can be illustrated by the words stomach, brain or heart. In a stomach problem, one person may be at fault for the death of a third person. Similarly, brain or heart problems may cause death, while personal injuries are generally the result of a negligent act. Thus, one might say that personal injuries are the harm or death caused to one’s body by an entity without one’s fault.

A personal injury claim, in the legal sense, pertains to the damages incurred due to the negligence of another party. Personal injuries sustained during traffic accidents, medical malpractice, slip and falls, etc. are considered as personal injury claims. In other words, any injury or damage suffered at the instance of others (accidental injury) is deemed to be a personal injury claim. However, it should be kept in mind that in the US state of Michigan no personal injury claim can exceed the amount of one thousand dollars.

Bodily injury is an obvious form of personal injury. This means physical harm inflicted on another person caused by somebody else’s negligence, recklessness or intentional misconduct. Bodily injury can be of different kinds, such as broken limbs, fractured bones, cuts, paralysis or even death caused due to defective product or service. For instance, someone else’s negligence caused a child to get hit by a car. A broken bone brought by someone else and caused the accident can also be considered as bodily injury.

A personal injury lawsuit is also known as a tort claim. Such a lawsuit, when claimed by a victim under the Michigan personal injury claim statute, is heard and determined by the court. Under the law, personal injury claims are always of different types, each of them having unique features. Bodily injury claims are filed by those who have been physically hurt due to another person’s negligence. For instance, if a child was killed because of an automobile accident, then the parents may file a personal injury claim for the payment of medical expenses, funeral expenses and possible lost wages.

Legal Duty: In Michigan, personal injury claims have to be filed within three years from the date of the injury, but this time limit doesn’t apply in cases of gross negligence or deliberate misconduct. If the negligence has resulted in a permanent or extensive disability or disfigurement, then it has to be proven that the defendant had a legal duty to act. This means that proof that the defendant owed a legal duty to avoid the victim from being injured or killed, or that he failed to perform that duty, is important to establish the damages in a personal injury case.

Identifying the Types of Wills and Damages: Personal injury cases can either be tried in a criminal trial or a civil court trial. A criminal court proceeding is usually a result of a person filing a personal injury claim against another individual or company. In such cases, the plaintiff has to prove that the defendant knew of the duty, failure to act or omissions that resulted in the victim receiving personal injuries. On the other hand, in a civil court case, a plaintiff has to prove that the defendant violated the legal duty owed to him/her. The major differences between the two types of court proceedings are as follows:

Obtaining Damages: The goal of a plaintiff in a personal injury case is to receive monetary damages for the injuries that the plaintiff has sustained. However, this will only be possible if the defendant can be proven guilty. The plaintiff has to be able to prove that the defendant was aware of his/her duty to avoid the injury or that the defendant failed to perform that duty. This task can be quite difficult because the defendant and his/her attorney are entitled to argue that the plaintiff’s version of the story is false or have acted unreasonably. In such cases, the court can order substantial compensations to ensure that the victim is properly compensated.