Injuries can prove more than an inconvenience. They may alter your life significantly, requiring long-term medical care and reducing your income.
Particular rules govern whether an incident rises to a personal injury or not. The key to getting compensation to make up for all you lost may come down to what you can prove in court with the two-year limitation contemplated under Pennsylvania law.
What makes a personal injury claim?
The burden of proof falls on you in a personal injury claim. You need to establish these elements before a judge awards you compensation.
Negligence
You need to show that the person responsible for causing your injury acted in a negligent manner. For a car crash, you need to prove that the responsible driver broke the law or behaved recklessly. You may not have a personal injury case if you cannot prove negligence.
Connection and causation
Once you have the proof of negligence, you need to show a connection or relationship between the at-fault party and you. In a car accident, this means that the person responsible operated the vehicle that caused your injury. You must have your injuries well documented by a medical professional, and these must connect back to the incident in question.
Financial loss
Finally, you need to prove that the injury caused you financial harm. Your absence records from work, your hospital bills, etc., will show that your injury caused your financial distress. If you prove this, you may then ask the court to consider emotional distress to award you further monetary compensation.
Establishing negligence is the first prong of the personal injury case test. Once you have that, you may want to speak with someone familiar with how the court system works.