Personal injury claims – from car accidents to slip and fall injuries, dog bites, and product liability cases – occur when a defendant’s negligent actions result in injuries and losses for the plaintiff. In Florida, there are three important legal elements a plaintiff must prove to establish the at-fault party’s liability and recover compensation. These include – duty of care, breach of duty, and causation and damages.
Three Key Elements to Prove in a Personal Injury Claim
Duty of Care
The first legal element you must prove in a negligence claim is that the at-fault party or defendant owed you a duty of care. Duty of care, also referred to as legal duty, is the obligation of individuals or entities to act reasonably and prudently to avoid causing harm to others.
Breach of Duty
Once the duty of care is established, you need to prove that the defendant breached this duty through their actions or due to their failure to act. A breach of duty occurs when an individual or entity’s conduct falls below the standard of care expected in a given situation. This might involve negligent actions, reckless behavior, intentional acts, or failure to take reasonable precautions to prevent foreseeable harm.
Causation and Damages
Once the breach of duty is proved, you will have to establish a link between the defendant’s breach of duty and the plaintiff’s injury. In other words, you must prove that the defendant’s actions or failure to act was a key factor in causing the damages you have actually suffered.
The Role of Evidence in a Personal Injury Claim
In personal injury cases in Florida, the burden of proof lies on the plaintiff. Therefore, evidence plays a critical role in proving a plaintiff’s case. It can be used for proving negligence or wrongdoing on the defendant’s part and establishing their liability.
Proving Breach of Duty and Causation
Photographs of the accident scene, physical evidence collected at the accident scene, surveillance camera footage, witness statements, police report, accident reconstruction reports, and medical records can be used to prove that the defendant’s actions or failure to act caused the accident and to establish a link between the defendant’s actions and the accident.
Quantifying Damages
Medical records, diagnostic tests, physician and physical therapist reports, and prescriptions can be used to document the extent and severity of your injuries. Current medical bills, future medical cost estimates, records documenting the loss of income caused by your injuries, and expert opinions on the loss of future earning capacity caused by your injuries can be used to quantify the economic losses caused by the accident.
Documentation of your injuries, testimony from your family members, friends, and coworkers, and expert opinion from medical professionals can be used to quantify pain and suffering and other forms of emotional distress and psychological impact of your injuries.
Refuting Defenses
Evidence supporting your claim can also be used to refute any defenses raised by the defendant. For example, if the defendant claims that you were partially at fault for the accident, evidence like witness statements, surveillance footage, accident reconstruction report, and expert testimony can be used to refute their assertion and establish their liability.
How the Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers at Larry Moskowitz, PA Can Prove the Elements of Negligence in Your Claim
Duty of Care
We will conduct a thorough analysis of the circumstances surrounding the accident to establish that the at-fault party owed a duty of care to you and to determine the scope of the duty owed. We will examine relevant statutes, regulations, case law, legal theory, and common law principles to establish the applicable standard of care in your case.
Breach of Duty
We will collect physical evidence from the accident scene, police report, surveillance footage, witness statements, and other documentary evidence to demonstrate that the at-fault party breached their duty of care they owed you.
We may also seek the help of expert witnesses like accident reconstruction specialists, medical professionals, engineers, and forensic analysts to provide testimony in order to support the assertion of breach of duty.
Based on the evidence, we will make the argument that the at-fault party failed to exercise the level and standard of care that a reasonable person would have exercised under the same circumstances.
Causation and Damages
We will work closely with medical professionals to obtain detailed documentation of your injuries, diagnosis, treatments, and prognosis. This medical evidence forms the basis for establishing the link between the at-fault party’s actions and your injuries.
We will also seek opinions from medical specialists, forensic experts, and other professionals to provide testimony regarding the relationship between the at-fault party’s negligence or wrongdoing and your injuries. By presenting a clear and coherent chain of events linking the at-fault party’s breach of duty and your injuries, we can establish causation and actual damages.
By establishing the elements of duty of care, breach of duty, causation and damages, we can build a strong negligence lawsuit backed by compelling evidence and recover maximum compensation for the plaintiff’s injuries and losses.
Our Seasoned Personal Injury Attorneys Can Prove Negligence and Recover the Compensation You Deserve
Proving the elements of negligence that led to the plaintiff’s harm is a complex process that requires deep legal knowledge and experience. At Larry Moskowitz, PA, we have more than three decades of experience in handling personal injury claims. We can investigate your accident, gather compelling evidence, conclusively prove the elements of negligence to establish the at-fault party’s liability, and recover the compensation you deserve.
Our legal team is led by Larry Moskowitz, who is a former prosecutor and one of the highest-rated personal injury lawyers in Florida today. Thanks to his prosecutorial background and extensive experience in handling a wide range of personal injury claims, attorney Moskowitz knows how to build a strong case and negotiate aggressively to obtain the damages his clients deserve.
Being an experienced litigator, he can also take your personal injury case to court if needed to recover the damages you are owed. Call us today at 866-312-0708 or fill out this online contact form to schedule your free case evaluation.