If someone else’s negligence has hurt you, you might be able to get compensation for it. But in these kinds of cases, you have to meet certain legal requirements to win. Knowing these elements can help you make a good claim.
Wisconsin has laws that protect people who get hurt and make sure they get fair compensation. The state has a rule called comparative negligence, which means that someone who is hurt can get compensation even if they are partly to blame. However, their compensation would be reduced based on how much they were to blame. A Wisconsin personal injury attorney can help you gather the legal evidence you need to make your case stronger.
With that said, here are the four elements behind successful personal injury cases.
1. Duty of Care
In a personal injury case, the first thing that needs to be proven is that the defendant had a duty of care. In other words, they were required by law to act in a way that prevented other people from getting hurt. Examples:
- Drivers must follow traffic laws and be careful.
- Property owners are responsible for making sure their properties are safe.
- Doctors have to treat patients in a way that meets professional standards.
There is no reason to make a claim without this duty.
2. Breach of Duty
The next step is to prove that the offender did not follow through with their duty of care. We call this a breach of duty. Some examples are
- A driver who ran a red light and caused an accident.
- A store owner who didn’t clean up a spill caused someone to slip and fall.
- A doctor makes a wrong diagnosis because they are not paying attention.
To prove this, you might need evidence like witness statements, video footage, or expert testimony.
3. Causation
It’s not enough to prove that someone was negligent; what they did must have directly caused the harm. This is called causation. The courts look at two things:
- Actual cause: If the offender hadn’t done what they did, would the harm have happened?
- Proximate cause: Could the defendant have known that their acts would cause harm?
For instance, if a driver who is going too fast hits another car, the people who were hurt must prove that their injuries were caused by the accident and not by something else.
4. Damages
The last element is proving that the accident caused measurable losses. Some types of damages are:
- Costs of medical care for healing and recovery.
- Lost wages because they couldn’t work.
- A lot of pain and suffering, including emotional distress.
Even if someone was negligent, there is no case without proof of damages. This claim can be backed up by evidence like medical records and financial statements.
To win a personal injury case, you have to prove that there was a duty of care, a breach of duty, causation, and damages. If you don’t prove any of these, your case may be less strong. Getting legal help can make it easier to meet these standards and get fair compensation.
