Common Defenses in Personal Injury Liability Cases

If you are the Defendant in a personal injury liability case, you may have a valid defense. You should consult with your attorney and build a valid defense strategy.

Personal Injury

You will be sued as a Defendant in a personal injury liability case if you have in anyway contributed to the injury suffered by the Plaintiff. You need not actually contribute the injury but the Plaintiff will try to establish that you are somehow connected with the injury. Personal injury claims run into millions of dollars. So it is important that you defend yourself.

Defense against Negligence

In a personal injury liability claim based in negligence, you should negate the plaintiff’s evidence. You should establish that you do not owe the plaintiff a duty of reasonable care by demonstrating that the plaintiff’s injury was foreseeable. Another defense is proving that the actions you took were reasonable under the circumstances and that you did not breach any duty. You can claim that the plaintiff did not sustain a legally recognized injury – either the plaintiff is not injured or the law does not provide for payments for the injury. You can also claim that your negligence did not contribute to the injury but something besides your negligence caused the injury.

Defense against Strict Liability

In personal injury liability cases involving defective products, the claim is generally based on strict liability. In such cases there are defenses available to you. You can claim that the product was misused but the misuse could not have been foreseen or anticipated by a reasonable person. If the plaintiff modified the product, then you have a valid defense but the modification should be one that could not be reasonably anticipated. Under the concept of comparative fault, your liability will be lowered by the extent of the plaintiff’s fault. If the plaintiff’s claim is based in design defect, you can prove that the product was state of the art at the time of manufacture. You can also defend yourself by relying on industry custom, industry standards and government standards. You can show that you complied with the industry custom or standards and government standards.

Getting Legal Help

Consult with an experienced personal injury attorney if you are being sued as a Defendant in a personal injury liability case. The attorney can review your case and use the available defenses. The attorney can also work with an expert witness to prove that there was no negligence on your part.

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