The better you understand personal injury cases, the better prepared you will be when you find yourself in that situation. If you have been injured due to the negligence of another person or business, you have a claim on your hands, in which case you would need a professional accident lawyer. Your lawyer will not only guide you through the process and argue on your behalf, but your lawyer will also help you establish and articulate these four essential elements of personal injury.

1. Duty of Reasonable Care

The duty of reasonable care refers to a person’s legal duty or obligation to behave or act in a certain way that demonstrates reasonable care in a situation.

If you have been in a vehicle accident, a driver’s reasonable duty is his duty to pay attention and drive with care specifically to avoid accidents while on the road. If you slip and fall on a company’s property, this might involve proving that an employee was required to clean a particular area or had a reasonable duty to do so. Reasonable care will vary on the situation, but it’s an essential bit of information.

2. Failure to Demonstrate Reasonable Care

The next step in a personal injury case is showing that an individual failed to demonstrate reasonable care in a particular situation. This is where you would typically establish negligence, and even if an individual never intended to cause the accident, by his lack of action, he may still be liable for the accident. Here, you may also establish reckless behaviour. For example, if you have been injured by a drunk driver, his failure to demonstrate reasonable care is responsible for the accident. As the victim, you and your lawyer will also consider your own contribution to the accident, if it exists.

3. Causation

Your attorney will likely gather information himself, in addition to your detailed accounts, and using that information, you will establish causation. This involves proving that the failure to demonstrate reasonable care was the direct cause of the injury.

Most states will have standards regarding causation. The other person must have at least contributed to the cause, but this is where you will also want to pay attention to your own contributions to the accident. The amount of fault you personally hold will influence your attorney’s approach to the claim, as well as the outcome of the entire case.

4. Damages Suffered

For there to be a valid personal injury claim, there needs to have been actual damages suffered. In some cases, this even requires severe enough injuries. However, damages may include medical costs, loss of income, disability, or general pain and suffering. In extreme cases, the negligence of someone else may result in wrongful death of somebody close to you. Your attorney will be majorly helpful in this stage, as he or she might discuss the situation with medical professionals and do whatever else is necessary to get the full extent of the damages suffered by the victim.