Not all personal injury cases filed in courts end in a plaintiff’s favor, sometimes due to a lack of evidence and sometimes due to poor handling of the case.
Also, different types of cases have different success rates based on their complexity and whether or not the victim involved a personal injury lawyer. This guide looks into the success rates of personal injury claims and what you can do in your specific case to improve them.
What Is a Personal Injury?
The term personal injury on face value can mean any injury. However, its definition under Tort law is precise. It refers to injuries suffered due to another person’s negligence, intentional conduct, or reckless behavior.
In negligence-based claims, which form the largest part of personal injury claims, you must show that the defendant owed you a duty of care which they failed to uphold and that their failure led to an accident that resulted in your injuries. For intentional tort claims, you only need to prove the intentionality of the person’s conduct.
Strict liability applies in cases that involve reckless behavior. The victim doesn’t have to prove negligence; they only have to create a connection between the harm and the defendant. For example, if a defendant is a drug manufacturer whose drug causes harm to patients, they will be liable for harm irrespective of their efforts at exercising reasonable care.
What Types of Cases Have the Highest Success Rates
“Each type of personal injury claim requires a specific approach, which can sometimes affect its complexity. But you may have relatively lower chances of winning any case if you are unrepresented,” says personal injury lawyer William Umansky of The Umansky Law Firm Criminal Defense & Injury Lawyers.
Car accidents, intentional tort, workplace accidents, and premises liability lawsuits have the highest success rates because they have relatively less complex claims and the evidence required to prove the cases is easily accessible. Medical malpractice and product liability present the most difficulty in navigation, and it follows that they have the lowest success rates.
How to Improve Your Chances of Success
Several factors determine the success of a personal injury claim, including the clarity of liability, the severity of the injuries, the strength of the evidence, the coverage limits of the at-fault party, demonstrable damages, and the cooperation of all parties involved. As a plaintiff, your goal should be to present a case that clearly demonstrates these factors to the jury, leaving no room for doubt.
You can do several things to improve your chances. First, seek medical attention, preferably immediately. If not, ensure you do not wait more than 72 hours before seeking medical attention. You can still seek medical attention later, but that would mean introducing medical gaps that could end up hurting the validity of your case, as the other side could claim your injuries aren’t related to the accident.
Also, hold on to all the paperwork your treatment journey produces, which will be critical in making your case. If it’s a case of a car accident or intentional tort, ensure you involve the police because the record can help bolster your chances of success. Most importantly, get a lawyer. Statistics show that you can improve your chances of winning a claim by a huge margin when you involve a personal injury lawyer. This is especially true when handling cases involving severe injuries and complex processes such as medical malpractice and product liability.
