Personal injury lawyers practice what is known as “tort law.” Under tort law, an individual can engage a Chicago personal injury lawyer and go to civil court in an effort to recover damages that stem from an accident. The entire concept of personal injury law is to “make whole” the individual that has suffered injury and property damage as a direct result of negligence or intentional misconduct of another individual or entity.
There are many situations where personal injury law prevails:
Accidents: The greatest number of personal injuries is the result of negligent acts which result in harm to a person. There are many examples of where this applies; car accidents, dog bites, slip and fall injuries, medical malpractice and more.
Intentional misconduct: When the misconduct of a person is the direct case of an injury, tort law applies. A good example is assault and battery.
There are also situations where defective products can result in personal injury; the same is true for defamation which harms the good name of another person.
A typical personal injury case:
Just as there are no two accidents which are exactly the same, there are no two personal injury cases the same. Although there are variables in every case, there are also certain standard steps that a Chicago personal injury lawyer takes on behalf of a client.
-
The defendant does something, the result of which is injury to the plaintiff
-
It is determined that the defendant has breached his or her legal duty such as operating a car in a way that would be expected by a reasonable individual
-
A settlement is reached
In many personal injury cases an acceptable settlement is made out of court, however, when this is not possible for one reason or another the plaintiffs personal injury lawyer will sue and take the case in front of a judge and jury.
If you are injured and you are not at fault you deserve to be compensated for damages resulting from the incident. You are invited to discuss you particular situation with the Shea Law Group.
