A personal injury lawsuit involves suing someone for financial compensation (“damages”) for injuries that a person has suffered. The injuries may be caused by a negligent act, such as a slip and fall on a greasy floor in a food store. Or the injuries may be caused by an intentional act, such as an assault and battery in a tavern.
The damages that are sued for are usually of three kinds. There are pain and suffering damages which involve assessing the physical and mental injuries suffered and how they affect a person’s life. There may also be loss of income damages because the person cannot work for a period of time as a result of the injuries. Special damages are those out-of-pocket expenses that a person has incurred, such as the cost of physiotherapy or medication.
To prove personal injury damages, the injured person must produce all relevant documentation. This will involve obtaining medical records of attendances at a hospital emergency room and visits to the family doctor. The person may also be required to produce past income tax returns to prove previous levels of income. Receipts to prove special damages as a result of the injuries will also be required.
There may be good defences to a personal injury lawsuit either to prove that the defendant was not in any way at fault (“liability”) or to weaken the liability issue and reduce the amount of the damages. On liability, the defendant may argue that the injured person contributed to the event which caused the injury, for example, by the type of shoes worn in the store or by provoking the assault by drunken behaviour. On damages, the defendant may canvas issues with the injured person that may be sensitive, such as a history of mental health problems or a failure to declare income in a tax return. Such defence tactics often promote early settlement for less than the financial compensation claimed.