Life comes with bumps and bruises. The more you live it, the more you can get injured somewhere down the line. And while those pains often make for interesting stories, they can also be used against you when you are injured later. If you’ve been denied a personal injury claim by an insurance company because of a prior injury, you must speak with a personal injury lawyer Raleigh nc. You can receive fair compensation if the new injury exacerbated your pre-existing condition.
Step 1: Proving Negligence
Proving negligence requires proof of duty, breach, causation, and damages.
- Duty and Breach
If someone owes you a duty of care, they are responsible to act toward you with vigilance and caution. For instance, everyone must exercise care while operating a vehicle. A driver who runs a red light breaches the duty of ordinary care to other motorists. If running the red light turns into a crash, and the collision causes injury to someone in the other vehicle, then the injured person has a claim for negligence against the red-light runner.
The “duty of care” is not so simple. For instance, say you are injured because you are at a neighbor’s barbecue and got injured by a falling tree branch. Now the question is, was the tree healthy or dead and rotting? If the property owner was “on notice” that the branch was likely to fall, the neighbor likely breached their duty of care to you as a guest.
Acting negligently signifies failing to act toward others like a reasonable person would in the same circumstances or taking an action that a good person would not. Knowing that a particular tree branch posed a danger to those underneath, a reasonable person would not invite people over for a barbecue without removing the tree branch first.
If you need clarification on what to do in such a situation, connect to a personal injury lawyer Raleigh NC.
- Causation and Damages
- “But For” Cause: Negligence is the direct cause; the injury wouldn’t have occurred without it.
- Proximate Cause: The extent between negligence and injury affects its determination.
- Foreseeability Test: Assessing if consequences were reasonably foreseeable in establishing negligence.
- Legal Guidance: A personal injury lawyer evaluates specific facts to determine proximate cause.
- Damage Requirement: Actual damages like medical bills and lost wages are essential for a negligence claim.
- Compensation Purpose: Negligence claims aim to compensate for irreparable harm, balancing the scales financially.
For the best legal help, contact a personal injury lawyer Raleigh nc.
Step 2: Contributory Negligence
Did you know? In North Carolina, even 1% fault can bar recovery from the 99% at fault. For example, having a green light doesn’t ensure a claim if you were to avoid a collision. Contributory negligence depends on intersection layout and reaction times. An expert North Carolina personal injury attorney can guide you through the legal landscape, helping you maximize your chances for a successful claim.
Step 3: New or Exacerbated Injury
Has your insurance company denied your claim because of a previous injury? To overcome this determination and get compensation for your current injury, you need to show that the existing injury is either new or a worsening of a prior injury. Much like proving a liability, it is another fact-intensive inquiry.
Suppose you previously injured your back, and your new injury was also to your back. To show this, you must prove either a lack of connection between the injuries – the previous injury was to the lower back, while the new injury is to the upper back – or that the recent injury worsened the previous injury. The best way is to present medical records for old and new injuries. X-rays, MRIs, and other diagnostic tests can prove where the further injury occurred or show that the old injury had worsened.
The bottom line
Proving these elements of negligence and facing allegations that you were contributorily negligent can be complicated. It will always depend on many facts of your case. If you need an experienced North Carolina personal injury attorney because you’ve had a denied personal injury claim, the lawyers at Laura S Jenkins know your rights. The team is ready to help you receive the compensation you deserve.
Call on (919) 846-7766 for a free consultation. Receive trusted legal counsel to prepare your case and guide you on the best next move to secure benefits if you’re injured due to another person’s actions.
