If you are injured in an accident you need legal representation to insure that you are properly compensated.
WHAT IS A TORT?
When someone or something causes an injury to another person or thing, the legal profession calls such an act a "tort." A tort is committed when one person is harmed because of the wrongful act of another. The purpose of tort law is to assign responsibility to the individual, group or company responsible for causing such harm. The term "personal injury" encompasses a wide variety of circumstances ranging from a stubbed toe, to an amputated limb, to death, and everything and anything in between.WHAT IS ASSUMPTION OF RISK?
Assumption of the RisK is often claimed by Defendants in lawsuits regarding an injury that occurred during some form of risky or hazardous activity. Assumption of the risk basically stands for the proposition that you, the Plaintiff, knew that the activity you were participating in could be dangerous, and since you went ahead and participated anyway, you accepted that risk of injury and therefore you should not be compensated for any injuries that did occur. Essentially, the meaning of the assumption of the risk defense can be summed up with the phrase "you, the Plaintiff, knew what you were getting into, so don''t complain afterwards if you were hurt."
WHAT IS CAUSATION?
To prove causation the Defendant's behavior must be ruled as the cause of the injury. It is not sufficient to prove that the Defendant acted unreasonably, irresponsibly, or carelessly (and therefore breached a duty owed to you).
WHAT IS A CLASS ACTION?
A "class action" lawsuit is really nothing more than the consolidation of several related lawsuits into one. Not all lawsuits are eligible to become class actions, in fact, most cannot. However, if there are numerous plaintiffs (or possibly defendants), all with common legal issues to resolve, then a judge may allow them to join together as a class.
WHAT ARE COMPENSATORY AND PUNITIVE DAMAGES?
Compensatory and Punitive Damages Compensatory damages are comprised of those financial losses that you have suffered as a direct result of the Defendant's action. Compensatory damages are the most common type of damages awarded to Plaintiffs. Compensatory damages can include payment from the Defendant to compensate you for, among other things, lost wages, lost profits, hospital bills (current & future), cost of home medical care (including medical equipment such as beds, wheelchairs, etc.) property damage, mental anguish, loss of friends, loss of respect in the community, loss of reputation, loss of consortium, and pain & suffering. The purpose of compensatory damages is to put you back in the position that you were in prior to the injury or property damage caused by the Defendant. Insurance companies sometimes call compensatory damages "special damages."
WHAT ARE DAMAGES?
In the personal injury suit, your attorney must show that the careless, reckless, negligent or intentional act of the Defendant caused some injury which can be compensated by awarding money damages.
WHAT IS NEGLIGENCE?
An accident occurs when someone is injured because of someone else's negligence. While an intentional tort is a purposeful act meant to harm another, a negligent tort occurs when one simply fails to pay attention and therefore harms another person or thing. An intentional tort is inherently more evil, as it is done with the purpose of causing harm. The negligent tort is simply an accident. In order to win a lawsuit against another person or company for negligently causing you, your loved one, or your property harm, your attorney must be able to prove that the Defendant was responsible to act in a certain manner and failed to do so thereby resulting in an injury.
WHAT IS STRICT LIABILITY?
Under the legal theory of strict liability, if the Defendant is participating in an abnormally hazardous activity, then the Defendant will be absolutely liable for any harm he causes as a result of his participation, regardless of how careful the Defendant was or precautions he took to prevent an injury from occurring.
WHAT IS STATUTES OF LIMITATIONS?
Statutes of limitation vary. In general, they limit the amount of time an injury victim has to file a lawsuit. Failure to timely and properly file suit within the applicable limitation period may forever bar your claim.
HOW DO I CHOOSE AN INJURY LAWYER?
You can look in the Yellow Pages and get over whelmed by the number of lawyers who deal with injury accidents or give our office a call at 780 - 428 - 2267 and ask for Timothy Dunlap a skilled injury lawyer that has a proven success record in court.