How Wrongdoing in a Civil Lawsuit is Investigated

Doing the wrong thing can cause innocent people to get hurt. If you are injured because of someone else’s wrongful actions, you must prove they caused the damage. You must investigate to gather evidence of wrongdoing to use in your civil lawsuit.

It can take time to figure out where to start when investigating whether to file a civil lawsuit. An experienced attorney can investigate your case to help you recover compensation. Talk to an experienced personal injury lawyer for legal advice about investigating wrongdoing in a civil lawsuit.

What Is Wrongdoing in a Personal Injury Case?

In a personal injury case, you have to prove legal liability. Legal liability is a fault for causing injuries or damages. Legal liability can involve:

• Intentional wrongdoing
• Negligent wrongdoing
• Strict liability

Proving wrongdoing in an intentional tort requires showing that the defendant acted intentionally. This includes wrongs like assault, battery, or defamation. Wrongdoing doesn’t mean the individual intended the consequences. The defendant intended to act in the way they did, which caused harm.

Most personal injury cases are based on negligence. This includes car accidents, slip and falls, and medical malpractice. Proving wrongdoing by negligence can be more complicated. Negligence is the breach of a duty of care that causes harm. You can prove negligence by showing that someone failed to act reasonably, which caused the injuries.

How Do You Investigate a Personal Injury Case?

You can only do so much investigation on your own. Once you file a civil lawsuit, you will have legal access to some of the defendant’s records and information. This is the discovery phase of a civil lawsuit. Discovery is the fact-finding part of a lawsuit. The parties exchange information to help build their cases. Discovery includes:

• Interrogatories are written questions that have to be answered by the other party.
• Depositions are interviews under oath that can be used as evidence in court.
• Requests for documents from the other party, including medical records, emails, employment records, photographs, and other physical evidence relevant to the personal injury case.
• Requests for admissions are a way to simplify the issues at trial by asking to affirm or deny specific facts.
• Site investigation can help when a specific location is relevant to the civil case, like a worksite claim.

If the defendants don’t cooperate with the discovery demands, your attorney can ask the judge to force them to comply or face sanctions.

When Can You Use an Expert Witness in Civil Litigation?

In some personal injury cases, you may need an expert to investigate your accident. An expert witness can help investigate when the case involves scientific, technical, or specialized issues.

A common example involves medical malpractice cases. A malpractice lawsuit may require a medical expert to review your medical records. A medical professional can identify when the doctor did something outside the medical standards of care.

The expert witness can also explain scientific or technical issues to the jury. For example, an engineering expert could help the jury understand how defective brakes led to a car accident.

Can a Civil Lawsuit Involve Criminal Charges?

The same actions can result in civil liability and criminal charges. However, civil suits and criminal proceedings are separate. If there are both criminal court proceedings and a civil action, the criminal prosecution will usually go first.

If you want to file a civil claim, you may want to wait until the criminal investigation before you file your case in civil court. Evidence and a criminal conviction can be admissible in a civil trial. This can help you prove the defendant’s liability based on the conviction.

Criminal law has a higher burden of proof than civil court. In a civil case, the burden of proof is by a preponderance of the evidence. This is more likely than not, or greater than 50% liable. In a criminal case, the state attorney general must prove the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

For example, if you were in a car accident with a drunk driver, they may face drunk driving criminal charges. If convicted of drunk driving, you could use the conviction to show that the driver was impaired at the time of the accident. You can use this as evidence to prove negligence and find the drunk driver liable for your injuries.

Do You Always Need to Prove Wrongdoing?

Not all civil lawsuits require showing that the defendant did something wrong. In a product liability case, the manufacturer is strictly liable for injuries caused by a defective product. You don’t have to show that the manufacturer did anything wrong. Instead, the manufacturer is responsible because the product was defective.

Some defendants are responsible based on vicarious liability. For example, if an employee was negligent and caused your injuries, the employer can be liable. An employer is liable for the negligence of an employee acting in the course of their employment. Even if the employer didn’t do anything wrong, they may still be liable.

How Can a Personal Injury Attorney Investigate Your Injury Case?

An experienced attorney understands how to investigate different types of cases to help you recover compensation. Your attorney can determine who may be at fault and use evidence to prove liability for your injuries. If you believe you have a personal injury claim, speak with an attorney for legal advice that can only come from years of dedicated experience.