Negligence is a common basis for personal injury claims. A party is considered negligent when they fail to exercise reasonable care, resulting in harm to another person. Under personal injury laws, individuals can be held accountable for damages if their negligence causes injury.
However, the injured party must demonstrate all elements of negligence, including causation, by a preponderance of the evidence. Proving causation is essential in a negligence claim and can be challenging without strong supporting evidence.
What Is Causation for a Personal Injury Case?
Cause explains why something happened. For example, suppose you fell and twisted your ankle after tripping over an exposed root in the sidewalk. The cause of your injury was tripping over the exposed root.
You must prove another party caused your injury to hold them liable for damages. However, causation is a two-part test for a personal injury case. You must prove proximate cause and factual cause to recover damages.
What Is Factual Cause for a Personal Injury Claim?
Factual cause refers to the actual event or action that directly caused the injury. The “but for” test helps decide whether there is actual cause for an injury claim. For example, let’s use our example above of tripping over the exposed branch on the sidewalk.
The factual or actual cause of your ankle injury is tripping over the branch. You would not have injured your ankle “but for” falling over the branch.
Proving factual cause requires evidence you can use to convince a jury what happened to cause you injuries. Examples of evidence proving factual cause can include:
- Photographs and videos of the accident scene
- Statements from eyewitnesses
- Physical evidence gathered from the accident scene
- Opinions and testimony from expert witnesses
- Medical records and opinions from specialists
- Videos of the accident as it occurred, such as surveillance videos
There may be additional evidence in your case, which can be used to prove factual cause, depending on the circumstances involved and the type of case. An experienced personal injury lawyer will complete a thorough investigation to determine fault and gather evidence to prove that the other party caused your injuries.
What Is Proximate Cause for a Personal Injury Case?
Proximate cause provides a legal reason to find the at-fault party financially responsible for damages. It refers to the relationship between a specific scenario and the harm caused.
To be held liable, a party must be able to reasonably foresee that a specific set of circumstances can lead to someone being harmed.
In our example above, let’s assume the sidewalk in question is located within a vacation resort. It is reasonable to foresee that someone could trip over an exposed branch breaking through the sidewalk. Therefore, unless the owner or operator does something to rectify the matter, they could be liable if someone trips and falls.
Jurors use the reasonable person standard to determine whether a specific outcome could be a foreseeable consequence of a party’s actions. The reasonable person standard examines what a reasonably prudent person would have done in the same circumstances.
What Are the Other Legal Elements of a Negligence Claim?
In addition to proving causation, you must prove the other elements of negligence to establish liability for damages. The elements of a negligence claim are:
Legal Duty
The party must have had a legal duty of care. A legal duty is an obligation created by law, contract, custom, or morality. The duty requires the party to use reasonable care to avoid causing someone harm or injury.
For instance, doctors owe their patients a legal duty of care based on the doctor-patient relationship, drivers have a legal duty of care to follow traffic laws and drive safely to avoid causing car accidents, and property owners have a legal duty to maintain safe premises for invitees and guests.
Breach of Duty
The evidence must prove that the party failed to meet the legal duty because of something they did or failed to do. Jurors also apply the reasonable person standard to the breach of duty.
They must determine what a reasonably prudent person would do in the same situation. If the party’s conduct fell short of that standard, the jury may find a breach of duty occurred.
Causation
The jury must find that the breach of duty directly and proximately caused the victim’s injuries. In other words, they apply the “but for” test and proximate cause test we discussed above to determine whether the party’s actions caused the accident that resulted in the victim’s injuries.
Damages
The victim must have incurred damages because of the other party’s actions. There would be no monetary compensation if the victim did not sustain damages.
What Damages Are Available for a Personal Injury Claim?
When you prove the elements of negligence, you can seek compensation for your economic and non-economic damages. Examples of damages for a negligence claim include:
- Impairments and disabilities
- Pain and suffering
- Medical expenses and bills
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Physical therapy and rehabilitative treatment
- Lost wages and benefits
- Emotional distress and mental anguish
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Diminished earning capacity
- Loss of enjoyment of life and quality of life
- Long-term nursing and/or personal care
The amount you receive for damages depends on the factors of your case. Your injuries and financial losses are significant factors that determine how much your case is worth.
However, the evidence you have proving causation and the other elements of negligence is also critical. If you cannot prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the other party caused your injuries because they breached their duty of care, you may not receive any money for your claim.
Do I Need to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
You are not required to hire personal injury to file a personal injury claim. However, you must meet all the legal requirements to prove your claim. Hiring an attorney to handle your claim will even the playing field by giving you a legal team with your best interest as its only priority.
Learn More About Personal Injury Claims During a Free Consultation
Contact Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer. Learn about your legal options to recover compensation for damages from the parties who caused your accident or personal injury.
Contact the Utah Personal Injury Lawyers at Parker & McConkie Today
For more information, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer at Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers to schedule a free initial consultation today. We have 5 convenient locations in Utah, including Midvale, Salt Lake City, Ogden & Provo, UT. Clients can also visit our offices in Idaho Falls, ID & Rock Springs, WY.
We proudly serve Weber County, Utah County, Salt Lake County in Utah, Bonneville County in Idaho, Sweetwater County in Wyoming , and its surrounding areas:
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Salt Lake City Office
466 S. 500 E., Suite 100,
Salt Lake City, UT 84102
(801) 851-1202
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Midvale Office
7090 Union Park Ave, #160,
Midvale, UT 84047
(801) 845-0440
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Ogden Office
2510 S Washington Blvd, Suite 160,
Ogden, UT 84401
(385) 402-8187
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Provo Office
37 E Center St, Suite 300,
Provo, UT 84606
(801) 876-4107
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Rock Springs Office
531 N Front St,
Rock Springs, WY 82901
(307) 205-7400
Hours: 24/7
Parker & McConkie Personal Injury Lawyers – Idaho Falls Office
2235 East 25th St. Suite #280,
Idaho Falls, ID 83404
(208) 418-0633
Hours: 24/7
