Preparing a Strong Personal Injury Case

What You Need to Prove Your Case

When you bring a personal injury claim against someone who has harmed you or injured you in some way, one way or the other, you are going to have to prove that you have the right to recover compensation for your injuries. Sometimes, everyone involved knows just who was responsible, the person at fault admits he or she was at fault and a settlement becomes a strong possibility as long as you can agree with the insurer or responsible party on what dollar figure is reasonable for you to give up the right to sue.

Other times, though, a case finds its way to court- either because the other party did not accept that he or she was liable or because no reasonable settlement offer could be reached. When a case gets to court, there are a number of things that a plaintiff has to do in order to prove a personal injury case. At this point, building a strong case becomes essential because you need to first convince a jury that the defendant should be held liable before you are allowed to collect any damages at all.

The Plaintiff's Burden in a Personal Injury Claim

When a case goes to court for a personal injury claim, the burden is on the plaintiff to prove the required elements of the tort that led to the action. This means, very simply, that the defendant doesn't have to prove anything at all. If the plaintiff does not prove his part of the case, the defendant's lawyer could just stand up and point that out and not make any arguments at all or provide on proof at all, and the jury would have to find for the defendant.

This is just like in a criminal court where a defendant is "innocent until proven guilty." However, in a civil court case, the burden the plaintiff has is not as stringent as the burden a prosecutor has in a criminal case. A plaintiff who is suing a defendant doesn't have to prove that the defendant did what is asserted beyond a reasonable doubt. Instead, a plaintiff usually must prove beyond a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant did what is being asserted and that what the plaintiff says is all true. So, what exactly does this mean? It means the plaintiff has to show that more likely than not or most likely everything he has to prove for his case is true.

What Does a Plaintiff Have to Prove?

So, what does the plaintiff have to prove? It depends on the case. Usually, though, there are four essential elements of any personal injury claim and the plaintiff has to prove all of them. These include:

1. The fact that some kind of duty was owed to the plaintiff by the defendant.

A duty can arise out of virtually any relationship. A driver has a duty to be reasonably careful and he owes that duty to all other drivers. A company has a duty to produce products free of dangerous defects and to warn consumers of risks or side effects of using the product. A doctor has a duty to provide care that is reasonably skilled and competent to all patients.

2. The fact that the duty was breached.

Often, this means that the plaintiff is required to prove the defendant was negligent. However, this isn't always true. In strict liability cases (some dog bite and product liability cases), the plaintiff doesn't have to prove negligence- he just has to prove some kind of defect or problem happened with the product, thereby breaching the duty of the manufacturer not to make a defective product

3. The fact that the breach led to harm.

This is often the hardest part about building a strong personal injury case, as the defendant is probably going to try to argue that something else caused the plaintiff's injuries. For example, in a defective product case where the plaintiff took a bad drug and got cancer, the manufacturer could argue that there are a whole myriad of things that cause cancer, and that no one really knows what causes it, and so they should not be held liable because the plaintiff can't prove the harm came from their breach.

4. The fact that injuries occurred for which damages can be paid.

These include damages for medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and emotional distress.

How to Gather Evidence to Build a Strong Case

A plaintiff who wants to prove his or her case needs to gather as much evidence as he or she possibly can to prove each of the four above elements. Again, the kind of evidence that needs to be gathered will depend on the type of case. Some examples of evidence that may be used to build the strongest possible personal injury case includes:

Photographs from the scene of the accident.

This is absolutely essential in car accident cases. The damage to the vehicles, the location of the road debris, and the street conditions at the time of the accident should be photographed at the scene. All of these things can be used to show how the accident happened in case fault becomes an issue. Of course, this is also important for some other kinds of accidents too. Say, for example, a plaintiff wants to sue for a premises liability injury because he is asserting that there were unsafe conditions in a storefront. If the plaintiff has a photograph from the accident scene of a cracked floor or teetering boxes that fell on top of him, that's going to go a long way towards proving that the conditions really were unsafe.

Police reports of the accident or action surrounding the injury

After a car accident, you should always call the police so they can write up what happened. This accident report can be invaluable evidence if the police officer assesses that the accident was caused by some specific negligent act of the defendant, like failure to yield or running a red light. If the police officer issues a citation to the other driver, this is hugely helpful in proving your case as well. A police report is also essential in intentional torts cases, such as if you sue someone in a civil suit for assault and battery. If you have a police accounting of what happened, then you have solid proof from a credible source.

Eyewitness statements.

Whenever an accident happens, you should get the names of as many witnesses who saw events unfold as you can. If the defendant is not wholly truthful about what happened, these witnesses can back up your story. Make sure you have not only their names, but also their contact information and some idea of what they actually saw so you will know who should make a good witness.

Medical records.

The medical records you have should date back to right after the injury. In fact, when you get into any kind of accident, you need to go to the hospital or a doctor right away to get checked out. Any delay will give the defendant ammunition to argue that the injuries weren't really actually caused by the accident at all but that they instead developed for unrelated reasons. Medical records documenting further treatment are also important both to prove that the injuries are real and because your medical bills should be paid by the defendant as part of your damage award.

Photographs of your injuries.

This can help you to prove that the injuries were legitimate and can help you to show first hand how those injuries harmed you and resulted in you suffering pain. Photos of gruesome injuries can tug at the heart strings of a jury and help to increase your damages greatly, and can also make insurance companies very nervous and a lot more eager to settle.

Expert witness statements.

This is more important in some cases than others. In medical malpractice cases, it is absolutely essential for example. These expert witnesses will have to show the jury just how the doctor or healthcare providers level of care fell below a reasonable professional standard since most juries won't know offhand what a reasonably competent doctor would do. Expert witnesses from the medical field can also help you prove causation by showing how the defendant actually caused or contributed to your injuries. Of course, there are also other types of expert witnesses besides just doctors and medical experts. An accident reconstruction expert can help you to prove fault in a car accident case, for example.

Records of the defendant's.

These become important in cases where you are trying to show the defendant's negligence in doing something he should have was the cause of your injuries. For instance, if you have a premises liability claim, you may want the store's safety or maintenance logs to prove that the store was not properly cleaned or checked for dangerous situations. You might want records to show that the defendant knew about his faulty brakes in a car accident case and chose not to pay for repairs. You might want the doctor's notes from your initial consultation in a medical malpractice case. Of course, the question is, how do you get these things? You get them through the discovery process when preparing for your case, when the other side is compelled to turn over potentially relevant evidence you ask for.

Proof of missed work.

This is important because lost wages a portion of your damages, and proving your damages and financial losses is just as important as proving any other part of your claim.

A pain journal or other documented proof you suffered pain.

Pain and suffering damages can be significant in a personal injury case and the more proof that you actually suffered pain, and information as to what extent you suffered it, becomes essential to maximizing this aspect of your damages.

Evidence is Key

Some of these different things listed are necessary in all cases, like proof of lost wages and proof of pain, while others are more important in certain kinds of claims than others. The key is you want to have as much detailed information and evidence as possible, and as many experts or third parties corroborating your story as possible, if you want to be sure you can win your case and collect the maximum damage award.

Gathering the right evidence for a personal injury claim is something you should seek legal help with. A good lawyer is essential to maximizing your personal injury damages, and the sooner you get your lawyer involved, the better and stronger your case will be.

Next Steps

15. How Personal Injury Cases are Settled
16. Personal Injury Litigation
17. Insurance Companies and Injury Claims

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