Can I Sue If I Suffered a Back Injury?

 Posted on July 28, 2021 in Personal Injury

Back injuries, neck injuries, and spine injuries can be excruciating and debilitating. When a person suffers a back injury resulting from another party’s recklessness or negligence, the injured person may be entitled to damages. They may recover compensation for the financial losses they suffered due to the injury, such as medical bills and non-financial losses like their lost quality of life. However, successfully recovering money for a back injury can be challenging. To do so, you and your attorney will need to prove several elements.

Do I Have a Valid Back Injury Lawsuit?

A personal injury lawsuit is used to pursue financial restitution after an injury. The liable party may be a business like a restaurant or retail store, an individual such as a negligent driver, or even a government entity like a city. Most of the time, the party who is ultimately responsible for paying the damages is an insurance company.

There are four main components in any personal injury case based on negligence:

• Duty – The party must have owed some type of “duty” or legal obligation to the injured person. For example, an apartment complex has a duty to keep the property in a reasonably safe condition. A store owner is responsible for ensuring that the store is free of unreasonable slip and fall hazards. A trucking company has a duty to ensure that the trucks’ brakes are in proper working condition.
• Breach of duty – The party violated the duty. The plaintiff must prove that the defendant failed to exercise “reasonable care” to uphold the responsibility.
• Causation – A key component in many back injury claims is proving that the defendant’s actions led to the plaintiff’s back injury. The defendant may argue that the plaintiff’s back injury was preexisting or unrelated to the plaintiff’s actions. Often, testimony from doctors and medical experts is used to confirm the causal relationship between the defendant’s actions (or inaction) and the plaintiff’s injury.
• Damages – It is not enough to prove that the defendant’s actions caused the plaintiff’s injuries. You must also show that the injuries led to damages. Damages in a back injury claim usually include past and future medical expenses incurred by the injury including imagining tests, hospitalization, and physical therapy. The injured person may also recover compensation for his or her lost income and lost earning capacity. Compensation for non-economic damages like the victim’s physical pain and psychological suffering may also be available.

Many personal injury claims are based on an allegation of negligence. However, there are some situations in which a party is considered negligent per se. If the party’s actions were illegal, you may not have to prove the “duty” and “breach of duty” components to recover compensation. For example, if a truck driver was over the legal blood alcohol limit at the time of a truck collision, the driver or trucking company may automatically be considered negligent.

Contact a Bloomington Back Injury Lawyer

If you or a loved one suffered a back injury, contact a Wheaton personal injury attorney at the Law Offices of David W. Clark, P.C. We can help you understand your rights and determine whether you may be entitled to compensation for your damages. Call 630-665-5678 for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Source:

https://www.illinoiscourts.gov/courts/circuit-court/illinois-pattern-jury-instructions-civil/