Personal Injury Lawyers

Breach of Duty

A breach of duty occurs when an individual fails to meet the standard of care required in a given situation. This involves proving that the defendant’s actions (or inactions) were not what a reasonably prudent person would have done under similar circumstances. For instance, if a driver runs a red light and causes an accident, they have breached their duty of care to other road users.

Another example of a breach of duty can be seen in slip and fall cases. If a store owner neglects to clean up a spill in a timely manner and a customer slips and injures themselves, the owner may have breached their duty to maintain a safe environment. 

Causation

Causation connects the defendant’s breach of duty to the plaintiff’s injury. It must be demonstrated that the defendant’s actions were both the actual and proximate cause of the injury. 

• Actual cause, or "cause in fact," means that the injury would not have occurred but for the defendant’s actions. 
• Proximate cause considers whether the injury was a foreseeable result of the defendant’s behavior.

For example, in a medical malpractice case, if a surgeon leaves a surgical instrument inside a patient, the actual cause of any resulting infection or complications is clear. However, what about a car accident case where the plaintiff had a pre-existing back problem? Was the car accident the cause of their back and neck injuries, or was the pre-existing condition? It’s the job of the plaintiff’s lawyer to make the connection between the injury and the incident. 

Damages

Damages refer to the actual losses suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the defendant’s negligence. These can include tangible losses such as medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage, as well as intangible losses like pain and suffering or emotional distress. The goal is to compensate the injured party for the harm they have endured.

• The value of your case depends on a few key  factors that include, but are not limited to:
• The circumstances surrounding your accident
• The severity of the injuries you sustained
• Limits on insurance coverage

When conducting an analysis of what your case is worth, we’ll consider your past and future medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of earning capacity, and loss of consortium. We help you evaluate these factors by reviewing your medical bills, police reports, witness statements, and other available evidence.