What Is Liability in a Personal Injury Claim?

 Posted on August 19, 2024 in Personal Injury

You have probably heard that you can obtain a settlement if you are injured by another party’s negligence. Some kinds of personal injury claims can get you that compensation for your accident-related losses. Common types of claims involve car accidents, truck accidents, premises liability, and wrongful death.

Obtaining the compensation you deserve is not as simple as blaming someone for your injury and waiting for a payout. You must establish several facts before you can file a claim. One of our experienced personal injury lawyers at Barrington Injury Attorneys can evaluate your circumstances, discuss the validity of your claim, and explain how we can help during your free consultation.

What Is Liability in a Personal Injury Claim?

In personal injury claims, liability refers to fault for causing an accident and an obligation to compensate injured victims. You cannot receive compensation unless you can prove a party’s liability, which is usually a matter of negligence. To explain how this applies to your personal injury claim, we will first define two legal terms:

• A duty of care is a legal obligation to use reasonable care to avoid harming others.

• Negligence is failing to behave like a reasonable person would behave in the same circumstances to protect the safety of others. Negligent behavior can be an action or inaction.

Negligence is the basis of almost all personal injury claims, as it establishes liability. You will need evidence that proves all of these statements are true:

• Someone owed you a duty of care

• That person or persons breached their duty of care.

• Your injuries are a direct result of the breach.

• You suffered damages, such as financial expenses and other eligible losses, because of your accident and injuries.

Many times, you will need to investigate your accident thoroughly to determine who the liable parties are. This can get complicated because multiple parties may share responsibility for causing your accident. When you choose to work with Barrington Injury Attorneys, we understand how investigations work and how to find the right kinds of evidence to support your claim.

Can You Get Compensation If You Are Partially Liable?

In Illinois, modified comparative negligence laws cover accidents where more than one party is at fault. You can obtain compensation from other liable parties as long as your degree of fault is less than 51 percent, but the same percentage reduces the money you may receive.

This concept makes you liable for the portion of your damages that you caused yourself. For example, if you are 30 percent to blame for a car accident, you are liable for 30 percent of your own damages. The most you can obtain from other at-fault parties is 70 percent of your total damages.

Schedule Your Free Consultation With Our Experienced Barrington, IL Personal Injury Lawyers Today

Proving liability can be challenging, and obtaining as much compensation as you deserve is almost impossible without the assistance of a qualified Cook County, IL personal injury attorney from Barrington Injury Attorneys. Call us now at 224-900-HURT for your free consultation.