If you’ve been injured in an accident in Columbus, GA, you could face serious physical, emotional, and financial trauma. Financial challenges from an accident can include mounting medical bills, lost wages, out-of-pocket costs, property damage, and other losses connected to your injuries. If your accident was caused by someone else’s negligence, you can seek compensation in a personal injury claim.
To collect in a Georgia personal injury case, you first must prove a negligent party was liable for your injuries. Legal liability in Georgia personal injury cases requires proving negligence in many cases. In other situations, liability is based on an intentional act or a theory called strict liability.
An experienced Georgia personal injury lawyer can review the details of your accident to determine who is responsible and how to prove liability.
Liability in Negligence Cases
The most common basis for liability in a personal injury case is negligence.
Proving negligence involves proving four unique elements:
- Duty of care. People can hold certain duties to protect others from harm in certain situations. Drivers, for example, have duties to obey traffic laws and drive safely around other drivers. Store owners, as another example, have duties to keep their shops free of hazards that can injure customers.
- Breach of duty. When people have a duty of care and don’t follow it, they’ve breached their duty. People are expected to use reasonable care and caution, which the average person would have used under the circumstances. A driver running a red light, for instance, breached their duty to drive safely and follow traffic signals.
- Causation. Causation refers to the connection between a negligent party’s breach of duty and the accident victim’s injuries. When a driver runs a red light and causes a car accident, that’s a clear example of causation. On the other hand, in a multi-car accident with multiple negligent drivers, causation for one victim’s injuries can become more complicated to prove.
- Damages. Damages are the economic and non-economic losses from an accident. Medical bills, vehicle damage, lost income, qualify as damages. Pain and suffering, emotional distress, anxiety, disability, and other less-visible forms of harm are also damages in a personal injury case.
Upon proving these four elements in a negligence case, the defendant can be legally liable for the plaintiff’s damages.
Liability in Intentional Torts
Intentional acts causing injuries to others are called “intentional torts” in a court of law. Intentional acts can have criminal consequences, but the wrongdoer can face civil liability for their actions as well.
Intentional torts can include:
- Assault
- Trespass
- Theft
- Fraud
- Arson
- Murder
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress
- Property damage
Claimants must show that the other person acted intentionally. Unlike a negligence case, where intent doesn’t need to be proven, intentional torts may be based on a defendant’s frame of mind when the incident happened. In an intentional tort claim, the offender can be held liable for the damages they cause – and responsible for the victim’s financial compensation.
Strict Liability
Strict liability does not require proving negligence or intent by another person. In strict liability cases, the victim only needs to prove they were injured by another person or entity. For example, when a defective product injures consumers, the manufacturer can be liable based on a strict liability theory. Those marketing products to consumers have a duty to make their products safe. When they don’t, they can be strictly liable for any harm caused.
Generally, strict liability arises under situations when there is an inherent risk of harm or danger. All reasonable precautions must be made to avoid harm to users of a product or invitees to an establishment. Strict liability can apply to everyday situations too, such as when a dog owner leaves a dog unrestrained and dog bites result. Strict liability cases depend on the duty that a defendant has to others in the specific situation.
Collecting Damages After Proving Liability
Damages in a Georgia personal injury case generally include economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are the “dollars and cents” costs from an accident, such as:
- Medical bills
- Property damage
- Lost wages
Non-economic damages in a personal injury case frequently include:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Disability
- Disfigurement
Calculating non-economic damages requires experience. Knowledgeable Columbus personal injury lawyers will be able to evaluate your potential non-economic losses and pursue those damages in court.
Shared Liability in Georgia Personal Injury Cases
Georgia follows a modified comparative negligence rule, meaning that a plaintiff can collect damages if their liability for the accident is less than 50%. If the claimant’s own liability is 50% or more, they cannot collect damages in a personal injury case.
If you were found to have 30% liability in a $100,000 claim, for example, you would only be able to collect $70,000 in the end. Experienced Georgia personal injury lawyers will work to minimize your percentage of liability and shift liability to the other party.
A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help Prove Liability
If you’ve been injured in an accident, you could be entitled to financial compensation. First, you will need to prove liability for your injuries. A Columbus personal injury lawyer can analyze the facts, identify the at-fault party, and prove liability in your personal injury case. Contact Mark Casto Personal Injury Law Firm to schedule a free consultation today with a personal injury lawyer to learn more about how liability can be established in your case at (706) 940-4030.
