Proving that someone is responsible for your expenses often means showing that they acted negligently in some way. This includes slip and fall accidents, negligence in safety resulting from aggression or injury, dog bites, swimming pool accidents, and elevator or escalator accidents. However, the process for proving negligence is fraught with legal complexities that require specialized guidance. One of the elements of negligence is damages, meaning that the plaintiff must have suffered injuries or losses in order for the defendant to be held responsible.
For a victim to be able to obtain compensation from someone who hurt them, the victim must generally be able to prove that the defendant was negligent or that he intentionally acted to cause harm. Establishing this causal connection is essential for attributing liability and forms the basis for awarding compensation for damages in cases of negligence. The outcome of a negligence case depends on whether the defendant had a duty of care to the plaintiff. An experienced personal injury attorney can help you prove the five elements of negligence and demonstrate the extent of the harm you suffered.
Even if you can prove that the defendant was negligent, you may not be successful in your negligence lawsuit if that negligence didn't cause you any harm. But if a patient dies of cancer and it turns out that the autopsy reveals that they had a heart condition that had not been detected, the patient's surviving family members cannot file a negligence lawsuit against the cardiologist because their action did not cause any harm. Virginia courts examine this element to ensure a clear causal relationship between the breach of duty and the resulting harm, stressing the predictability of the harm as a key factor. If a driver accelerates carelessly and interrupts you, but there's no accident, you can't start a lawsuit even if the driver acted negligently because you didn't suffer any losses compensable.
Under the traditional rules of legal duty in negligence cases, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant's actions were the actual cause of the plaintiff's injury. Medical expenses, along with lost income and vehicle repairs, satisfy the damages element of the negligence lawsuit. Finally, the victim must have actually been harmed by the defendant's negligence and, consequently, must be entitled to compensation. If a person does not behave prudently but does not cause harm, this will not result in a successful personal injury claim stemming from negligence.
