Proving Negligence in San Antonio Catastrophic Injury Claims
A catastrophic injury can permanently change the course of your life. A catastrophic injury claim allows you to recover financial compensation for those losses, which can prove instrumental in covering your medical needs and managing other expenses—especially if your injury prevents you from working. Before filing a claim, however, the injured person will need to work with their catastrophic injury attorney to establish who bears liability for the incident. Proving negligence in San Antonio catastrophic injury claims is a key step in seeking compensation for the losses from the injury.
Defining Negligence
Legal negligence is the failure of an individual or entity to exercise the level of care that a reasonable person, under similar circumstances, would choose to offer in order to avoid harm to another party. It can include things like:
- Failing to exercise needed safety precautions
- Ignoring common rules and requirements, including the rules of the road
- Doing something dangerous that could cause harm to another person
- Failing to take care of a serious hazard they bear responsibility for that could cause harm to another party
In some San Antonio catastrophic injury cases, more than one party can commit an act of negligence that leads to the accident.
Elements of Negligence
As part of proving negligence in catastrophic injury claims, a lawyer in San Antonio will evaluate several key elements of negligence.
Duty of Care
The duty of care establishes that the negligent party had some type of responsibility to the injured person: a requirement to exercise caution or care to prevent them from suffering injury. In some cases, duty of care can be stated, such as the duty of care a nursing home bears to its residents. In other cases, as in drivers on the road, the duty of care is implied.
Breach
The breach of the duty of care establishes that the negligent party acted in a way that failed in their responsibility to avoid harm to another party. That breach could include both direct negligence, when the injured person does something dangerous or risky, or a failure to take reasonable steps to reduce or avoid the risk of injury. Laying out the breach of the duty of care helps show what actions the liable person took, or failed to take, that led to the accident.
Causation
In order to prove negligence in a catastrophic injury case, the injured person’s lawyer will work to show that the negligence caused or contributed directly to the accident. If the negligence did not contribute to the accident, the negligent party may not bear liability for the accident or face responsibility in an injury claim.
Damages
A catastrophic injury generally results in severe damages, including high medical bills, ongoing income losses, and substantial suffering for the injured person. Clearly laying out those damages is crucial to establishing negligence in a personal injury case and recovering compensation for those losses.
Contact a San Antonio Attorney for Help Proving Negligence in Catastrophic Injury Claims
Proving negligence in San Antonio catastrophic injury claims allows the injured person to establish who caused or contributed to their injuries. Without that essential step, you may struggle to recover the compensation you deserve for the many losses associated with your injuries. At Felix Gonzalez Law Firm, we work to help injured individuals investigate their case and seek the compensation they deserve. Contact us today for your free consultation.
