Proving Liability in San Antonio Personal Injury Claims

Navigating the personal injury claim process can prove incredibly difficult. In many cases, injured individuals end up fighting with the insurance company to get fair compensation for the damages they sustained and hold the liable party accountable for their negligence. Establishing liability is a key part of the process. Proving liability in San Antonio personal injury claims requires establishing several key elements. Our personal injury attorneys are ready to help with your claim.

Duty of Care

Lawyers and insurance companies, as they consider liability for serious injuries, will start with a look at the duty of care the liable party bore to the injured person at the time of the accident. In some cases, duty of care is implied: for example, each time a driver goes out on the road, they have an implied duty of care to watch out for others on the road and reduce the risk of potential accidents. In other cases, duty of care may be more specific. Businesses, for example, have a duty of care to their customers and employees and must make sure they provide a safe environment for them.

Negligence

The next step in proving liability in San Antonio injury lawsuits is determining what act of negligence the liable party committed or how they violated their duty of care to the injured individual. Negligence can include both deliberately negligent actions, like failing to follow the rules of the road when driving, and failure to take care of essential tasks, like keeping up with repairs on a building. An act of negligence shows how the liable party violated their duty of care to the individual who suffered injury.

Causation

In order to establish liability for an accident in San Antonio, lawyers and insurance companies also need to show that the liable party’s negligence caused the accident in some way. Negligence can occur without injury taking place. For example, suppose that the owner of a vacation property failed to take care of needed repairs on their stairs. They may have several visitors who do not suffer injury due to the poor state of the staircase, either because they avoid using it or because they do not trigger the right conditions to cause an injury. On the other hand, eventually, a visitor may arrive who falls down or through those stairs when they break. The injured individual can show that the property owner’s negligence caused the accident and their injuries. Other visitors to the property, on the other hand, do not have the right to file an injury claim because they did not have an accident because of the negligence.

Likewise, suppose someone visits that property and suffers injury because they trip on a fully maintained walkway. Though negligence existed on the stairs, it did not cause the tripping incident. As a result, the injured party does not have the right to file a claim against the property owner for failure to maintain the stairs.

Damages

Finally, in order to prove liability in San Antonio injury claims, the injured party will need to work with their lawyer to show that they suffered damages due to the liable party’s negligence. Damages can include medical costs, wage losses, or suffering related to the incident. Without the presence of damages, there is no injury claim.

Contact an Attorney for More Information on Proving Liability in San Antonio Personal Injury Suits

Proving liability in San Antonio personal injury claims is essential to the injury claim process. If you suffered injuries due to someone else’s negligence, a lawyer can help you better understand who bears liability for the accident and how you can file a claim. Contact Felix Gonzalez Accident and Injury Law Firm today to learn more.