Personal injury claims are legal disputes that arise when an individual suffers harm from an accident or injury caused by the negligence or intention of another individual or party.  A personal injury case can become formalized through civil court proceedings, or may be resolved through an informal settlement before a lawsuit is filed.

Unlike criminal cases, which are initiated by the government, a formal personal injury case typically starts when a private individual (plaintiff) files a civil charge against another individual, business, corporation, or government agency (defendant), alleging that their negligent or careless actions caused the plaintiff to sustain injury or harm.

Most personal injury disputes are resolved through an informal settlement, usually between those involved in the dispute, their insurers, and attorneys representing both sides. A settlement commonly takes the form of negotiation, followed by a written agreement in which both sides forgo any legal recourse, opting instead to resolve the dispute through an acceptable monetary arrangement.

Before an injured person can collect an award in a personal injury case, their attorney will have to prove that the defendant is liable. To prove liability, the attorney must establish negligence. If there is a failure to exercise reasonable care, or to prevent injury or damage, then there may be negligence involved. Once liability and negligence have been established, the judge or the jury may award monetary compensation for medical costs, lost wages and lost future earnings, as well as for pain and suffering.

How do I know if I have a Personal Injury claim?
To have a personal injury case, you must be able to show that you have been injured. This may be a physical injury or it may be an emotional injury. In addition, you must be able to show that someone else (the defendant) is at fault for your injury under a negligence, strict liability, or intentional misconduct theory. In some cases, it may be necessary for you to show that the other party is more at fault for the injury than you are.

What financial compensation am I entitled to in a personal injury claim?
Personal Injury victims are entitled to recover monetary damages for all losses and expenses they incur as a result of an accident. The damages may include:

• Medical bills
• Lost Wages (including overtime)
• Pain & Suffering
• Physical Disability
• Disfigurement
• Permanent Scars
• Emotional Trauma
• Mental Anguish
• Loss of Enjoyment
• Loss of Love & Affection
• Embarrassment
• Mental Disability
• Property Damage

What if the accident is partly my fault, do I still have a claim?
Even if an accident or injury was partially your fault, you still may have a claim based on the concept of Comparative Negligence or Contributory Negligence. The term "Contributory Negligence" is used to describe the actions of an injured person who may have contributed to their own injuries. For example, a person who ignores a "Caution - Wet Floor" sign and slips and falls in the supermarket may be found to have been careless and at fault for any injuries sustained. "Contributory Negligence" can prevent a person from collecting any monies to compensate for injuries suffered, even if that person's carelessness was minor. 

The term "Comparative Negligence" means that the fault of all parties involved is compared, and the amount of the recovery for damages sustained by the injured victim is reduced by the percentage of his or her own fault. In this way, each person is held accountable for the amount of damages that they caused.

What is negligence in regard to personal injury?
Negligence is any conduct that falls below the standards of behavior established by law for the protection of others against unreasonable risk of harm. A person has acted negligently if he or she has departed from the conduct expected of a reasonably prudent person acting under similar circumstances. Negligence is also the name of a cause of action in the law of torts. To establish negligence, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant had a duty to the plaintiff, the defendant breached that duty by failing to conform to the required standard of conduct, the defendant's negligent conduct was the cause of the harm to the plaintiff, and the plaintiff was, in fact, harmed or damaged.

How do I prove negligence?
The burden of proof in a tort case, as in most civil law cases, is lower than the proof required in criminal law cases. In a criminal case, the state must prove a person's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. To win a personal injury lawsuit based on tort law, the plaintiff need only prove that a majority of the evidence shows that an injury was caused by the defendant's negligent actions. This standard of proof is called "the preponderance of the evidence." The different burdens of proof mean that a company might be acquitted of criminal charges stemming from its actions, but be found liable in a civil lawsuit stemming from the same actions.