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Article by Barbara L. Stewart Ph.D., PersonalInjuryHelp.org

You never know when and how an unfortunate accident can change your life altogether. Knowingly or unknowingly you might become a victim of a personal injury. Sometimes the ignorance or ill will of others can cause you devastating injuries and make your life a hell. Why should you bear the result of others’ mistakes? Just file a personal injury lawsuit to both punish the offender as well as recover the damages.

The reason could be just anything such as an accident caused by auto or other vehicles, medical negligence, product liability, airplane crash, wrongful deaths etc. To reduce and, if possible, prevent any fatal accident, there are various laws and safety regulations that have been put into practice over time in order to protect the citizens. Though, most often you can’t stop others from causing harm to you but you can always claim damages when you become a victim of some personal injuries.

Basically, there are two types of damages that the victim of personal injuries is entitled to:

Compensatory damages: The victim is awarded compensatory damages if the accident has caused him/her suffer loss of income, emotional distress or permanent disability and so on. Seeking advise from the local personal injury attorney can help you in filing your personal injury claim.
Punitive damages: The plaintiff can claim for this kind of damages if the behavior of the offender is oppressing towards him/her. Punitive damages not only entitle the claimant to compensatory damages but also punish the defendant, so that others can see the consequences of such a wrong deed and stay away from doing so.

Consider the following crucial points before you file a personal injury case:

Make sure that the offender is truly legally liable for the accident.
The damages that you claim should reflect the extent of injuries occurred to you.

Hence, liability and damages are the two most crucial elements of any case of personal injury. However, case can be filed on any of the three basis i.e. negligence, intentionally wrong and strict liability, depending on your condition.

In case you file the case of a personal injury lawsuit as a tort of negligence, you accuse the defendant of causing your injury by failing to prevent it. Strict liability applies to product liability law, which is a division of personal injury. The manufacturer or producer of the defective or harmful product can be prosecuted under strict liability. When you file a case on the basis of intentionally wrong, the offender is prosecuted under civil personal injury and criminal law. Both the civil as well as criminal lawsuits can be filed by the victims who have been suffering from some kind of domestic violence or sexual abuse.

An experienced personal injury attorney can help you decide on which basis you should file your case.

The damages of personal injury cases are different for each case. Your attorney decides the amount of compensation, which is reviewed by the court. The judge can order remittitur in case the damages are found to be excessive as compared to the injuries. Remittitur is a process in which punitive damages are lessened without any appeal or new trial. However, the judge can order additur, the opposite of remittitur, if the damages are considered to be inadequate.

Most often what happens is that the offender settles maximum numbers of personal injury claims out of court by paying the victim large sum of money. They do this in order to save extra-expenses on court trials, avoid negative publicity and also reduce any chances of court awarding more money to the sufferer.

Finally, never forget that speedy response on whether to go for legal advice or not can help you in making your case stronger.