Personal injury claimants in Washington, DC, often confuse personal injury with personal injury litigation, but they mean different things. While personal injury refers to the injury you suffered to your body or mind, personal injury litigation refers to civil tort law. It is a legal theory that covers a person or entity’s wrongdoing against another, dictating how they should be held liable.

“Litigation” is a legal term referring to one method of conflict resolution in which the court system is in control. Others include negotiation, mediation, and arbitration, all of which take place outside the court system. With that said, below are the legal theories involved in personal injury litigation in Washington, DC, along with the potential difficulties involved.

Personal Injury Litigation: The Legal Theories You Should Know

There are three theories or types of personal injury claims generally: negligence, strict liability, and intentional torts. “Regardless of your type of claim, however, you must present strong evidence to show why you should recover damages,” says Personal Injury Attorney John Yannone of Price Benowitz Accident Injury Lawyers, LLP.

Negligence

In a negligence-based personal injury claim, you must provide evidence that there is more than a 50/50 likelihood that the following happened:

• The defendant owed you a duty of care act with caution
• They did not uphold that owed duty, acting or refusing to act in a way that would prevent you from getting harmed
• Their actions or inaction caused your injury – that is, ‘but for’ their actions or inaction, your injury would not have happened.
• Your injuries come with quantifiable economic, physical, or mental damages

Strict Liability

Under strict liability, you do not have to prove that the defendant was negligent or at fault to hold them responsible. Usually, this only happens in ultrahazardous events where someone does not exercise reasonable care to prevent others from getting harmed. Given the nature of these activities, the at-fault party is expected to foresee the potential harm.

Some of these ultrahazardous activities include owning or keeping a wild animal, particularly around residential areas. Also, transporting, handling, or storing hazardous chemicals, using or storing explosives, and making potentially dangerous products fall under this category.

Intentional Torts

Lastly, intentional tort is a type of personal injury claim that results from the defendant being intentionally harmful. Furthermore, proving intentional torts is like proving negligence, but the plaintiff also has to prove the defendant’s state of mind. Meanwhile, in certain cases, intentional torts can also apply whether the defendant intended to hurt someone or not.

For example, Carol has a physical stability problem, which Tommy was well aware of. Tommy decides to surprise Carol and jumps out of hiding, causing Carol to fall and sustain a serious injury. In this case, Tommy has committed an intentional tort, even if he only meant it as a prank.

Difficulties to Anticipate in a Personal Injury Litigation

Personal injury litigation comes with many difficulties that can make you feel like giving up on the whole thing. However, when you are aware of these challenges, you can prepare for them and overcome them when they appear. Below are some of the major difficulties you may encounter during your personal injury litigation in Washington, DC:

Determining Fault

One of the most common challenges claimants face with personal injury litigation is the determination of fault. After all, if the plaintiff wants the court to hold the defendant responsible, they must prove their fault. That means, therefore, that you must thoroughly utilize the evidence you have at your disposal, including eyewitness testimony, medical documentation, and pictorial evidence.

Meanwhile, determining fault is even more difficult in cases like medical malpractice and defective products, especially when many defendants are involved. In medical malpractice cases, for instance, determining what exactly the doctor did wrong that caused injury or death is difficult.

Calculating Damages

Another challenge you should prepare for is calculating how to demand damages from the defendant. This part is especially tricky because there are many factors to consider, such as economic and non-economic damages with no monetary value.

Conclusion

Personal injury litigation in DC is complex and can be frustrating without the help of a lawyer. Conversely, lawyers can offer legal guidance, among other things, to help you navigate the complex waters of DC’s personal injury law.