A personal injury case begins with a personal injury claim. When someone causes an accident or injury that results in another suffering harm, the victim may claim compensation from whoever is legally responsible for such harm.
In most states, the law determining fault and damages combines common and statutory law. Negligence is the basis for most personal injury claims.
Thus, when a Missouri resident suffers injury from a car accident, trip and fall at a local business, workplace hazard, defective product, or medical professional error, they may need reimbursement for medical expenses, lost wages, and physical and emotional suffering costs. The victim injured by the liable party, called the claimant or plaintiff, is legally eligible for compensation for their losses, such as damaged mental health, way of life, and family relationships.
If you have a personal injury claim, it’s crucial to have a skilled personal injury lawyer to help you pursue and, if necessary, litigate your case. They are experts in gathering evidence to support your claim, negotiating settlements with the liable party’s insurance carrier, and proving responsibility for your injuries by establishing the elements of negligence.
The Elements of a Personal Injury Claim
To prove negligence, a claimant must demonstrate that the defendant had a duty of care toward them, that this duty was breached, and that the breach directly caused the claimant’s damages. In other words, the liable party’s negligence caused the victim losses.
Duty of Care
Every individual or entity has a legal duty to act reasonably and prudently to prevent foreseeable harm to another.
The duty of care is a legal obligation imposed on individuals or entities to act reasonably and prudently to prevent foreseeable harm to others. For example, when you sit down in a dark movie theater, you don’t expect to find a broken seat that collapses to the floor when you sit on it.
Clearly, the theater owner could reasonably expect a moviegoer to sit on a chair in a darkened theater expecting a functioning seat and get hurt on a broken seat. The owner is responsible for keeping patrons safe by warning moviegoers of broken seats or maintaining seats to avoid breakage.
Breach of Duty
A breach of duty of care occurs when, by negligence or recklessness, an individual or entity fails to act reasonably under the circumstances. Once you establish that a duty of care existed based on the relationship of the parties–such as a business relationship to its invited customers, a doctor to a patient, or a vehicle driver to a pedestrian–you must then show that the person or entity failed to uphold that duty. This means demonstrating that they did not take reasonable steps to prevent harm to you as a customer, patient, or pedestrian.
Causation
The next element of a negligence claim is causation, which means the breach of duty directly caused your harm. In other words, you must prove that the person or entity who failed to fulfill their duty was responsible for your injury and that no other factors were to blame.
For example, if a supermarket negligently left a broken juice bottle and a puddle of juice on the floor, causing you to slip and fall, you must demonstrate that this specific breach directly led to your injury. In this case, the store owner breached their duty to keep a safe environment for customers entering their store.
However, suppose your broken foot was originally injured in a previous accident and only worsened due to the fall at the store. In that case, it becomes difficult to determine the exact cause of the injury, and might be unclear whether the severity of your broken foot is due to the initial accident or the slip and fall. Establishing how much each incident contributed to the injury can be challenging in such cases.
Damages
Finally, you must prove that the breach of duty caused your injury and that you suffered economic and/or non-economic damages as a result. In Missouri, economic damages include medical costs and income loss, while non-economic damages include pain, suffering, loss of quality of life, and emotional distress.
With the help of a personal injury attorney, you prove your damages with medical records, medical bills, physician notes regarding diagnosis and prognosis, future medical procedures, paycheck stubs, and other documentary and witness evidence about past, present, and future losses due to the sustained injury.
Missouri Personal Injury Laws
Missouri limits the amount of damages a plaintiff may receive from a government entity. In addition, medical malpractice claim caps for non-economic damages are $400,000.00 for all uncatastrophic injuries and $700,000.00 for catastrophic injuries.
Comparative Negligence
Missouri’s comparative negligence law allows a party to receive compensation for their damages regardless of the percentage of fault they contributed to the accident. An insurance adjuster, judge, or jury assigns each party’s fault percentage to a personal injury claim or lawsuit. So, when a plaintiff is 40% at fault, they can get 60% of their damages compensated. They can even be more than 50% liable and still recover damages up to their fault percentage.
Statute of Limitations
In Missouri, the deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit is five years from the date of injury. However, wrongful death lawsuits have a three-year statute of limitations, with the clock running from the date of a loved one’s death.
Statute of limitations exceptions include injured minors who have until two years from their 21st birthday to file a lawsuit for injuries they incurred as a minor unless their parents sue for them while they are still minors.
Additionally, those deemed legally competent may file a personal injury lawsuit within three years of receiving a competent declaration by a court. Legally incapacitated people cannot file lawsuits themselves.
Lastly, when the liable party leaves Missouri after injuring you but before you sue or the statute of limitations lapses, you have until the at-fault party returns to the state to sue.
When to Call a Personal Injury Lawyer for Your Personal Injury Case
Your personal injury claim resolves with an agreement between you and the at-fault party’s insurer or a jury verdict after a court trial. Either way, you will need the help of a legal professional. When you do not know the personal injury laws or the tactics insurance companies use to settle personal injury cases for the least amount of money, you may receive less than you deserve.
A personal injury attorney has the legal knowledge and skills to negotiate a settlement that fairly compensates you for all your losses and to convince a jury that you should receive a damages award that fully compensates you.
If you have been injured in Missouri, call Roach Law firm at (636) 519-0085 to schedule a free case assessment to learn how you can recover damages for your injuries.
