When you’re hurt or injured in a mishap or accident, under personal injury law, you have the right to receive just compensation. To do so, you will need to identify four essential elements. Below is an in-depth look at each to understand how it applies to your situation.

4 Elements for Proving a Personal Injury Claim

1. Duty to Exercise Care

According to personal injury law, everyone has a moral or legal obligation to protect and safeguard others. In claims involving auto accidents, drivers must take care not to harm fellow motorists and pedestrians sharing the road.

With slip and fall incidents, the property owner is responsible for ensuring the safety of people on the premises. The same can apply to medical malpractice—a medical professional must exercise reasonable care in treating a patient.

2. Breach of Duty

In a personal injury case, the next crucial element is proving there was a breach of duty. Did the other party fail or neglect to live up to their duty to exercise care? Negligence, carelessness, recklessness, and blatant disregard for others’ safety are all potential causes of a dangerous situation. For example, a driver who is distracted by their cellphone or going over the speed limit is more likely to wind up in an accident.

3. Causation

Next, your personal injury attorney will show that the act of negligence or recklessness resulted in this particular collision and your injuries. In some cases, both parties may be assigned some of the blame. For example, if the other driver’s distraction led to the accident but you were also not wearing a seatbelt at the time, the severity of your injuries is partially due to your own actions.

4. Damages

To justify a personal injury claim, there must be damages resulting from the accident. If you sustained injuries that led to lost earnings, high medical expenses, and permanent disability, you have the right to pursue compensation. Sometimes, you can also ask for damages for intangible harm, including pain, suffering, and other forms of mental trauma.

Were you recently in an accident? Let the personal injury law attorneys at Ely, Bettini, Ulman, Rosenblatt, & Ozer, Attorneys at Law help you build your case. Serving the Phoenix, AZ, community, this team has over 200 years of combined experience and will fight aggressively to help you receive fair compensation for your injuries. Visit them online to learn more about their practice areas. Call (800) 303-2144 today to set an appointment.