What do I need to know about Personal Injury?
Personal injury occurs when a person is wrongfully injured by the negligent or intentional conduct of a wrongdoer. “Personal injury” cases are legal disputes that arise when one person suffers harm from an accident or injury, and someone else might be legally responsible for that harm. What is Negligence?
A person is negligent when he or she fails to act like the standard “ordinary reasonable person”. The critical issue in many cases is just how an “ordinary, reasonable person” was expected to act in the particular situation that caused the injury. The determination of whether a given person has met his/her “ordinary reasonable person” standard is often a matter that is resolved by a jury after presentation of evidence and argument at trial. What is premises liability?
Premises liability law is the body of law which makes the person who is in possession of land or premises responsible for certain injuries suffered by persons who are present on the premises. Premises Liability holds owners and occupiers of property legally responsible for accidents and injuries that occur on that property. A landlord remains liable for the condition of the housing it owns, even if it has contracted with a management company to provide all service and maintenance in relation to the housing. Sometimes the injured person will be partially at fault for what happened. A visitor has a duty, in most cases, to exercise reasonable care for his or her own safety. When this is not exercised properly the recovery may be limited. The comparative fault system in personal injury cases, contemplates a reduction in legal damages claimed by an injured person by a percentage that is equivalent to his fault for the incident. What is a slip and fall accident?
Slip-and-fall accidents or injuries comes under the category of premises liability injury, and occur when a person is seriously injured by slipping or tripping and falling because of unsafe or dangerous stairs, railings, or other structures. Restaurants, parks, museums, office buildings, homes, apartment buildings, outside steps, sidewalks, etc. are locations prone to safety problems such as slippery or irregular floors, irregular stairs, improper handrails, unsafe curbs, poor or improper maintenance, improper design, improper construction, unsafe equipment, and improper repairs. Falls can take place both indoors and outdoors.
What are the legal rights of a dog bite victim?
When a dog injures a person, whether by biting him, knocking him down or hurting him in another way, the burden of the loss should be on the shoulder of the owner of the dog, not the victim. Two-thirds of American states follow this rule. The legal rights of a dog bite victim depend on where the attack happened, i.e. the city, county and state. The laws vary from city to city, county to county, and state to state. In every state, a dog owner is legally liable for bites to people inflicted viciously by a dog that previously bit a person viciously. In almost every state, a victim can recover compensation from (a) a person whose negligence caused the attack, and (b) a person who violated a leash law, a law prohibiting dogs from "running at large," a trespass law applicable to dogs, and other dog safety laws. In most states, a victim can recover compensation even for the first bite by a dog, whether or not the owner was negligent. People who are remotely connected with the dog are also made liable like a landlord might be liable if he knows that a tenant keeps a dog that bites people, provided that the landlord has the legal power to get rid of the tenant. What is one bite rule?
The "one bite rule" (also known as the “one free bite rule” and the “first bite free rule”) is a centuries-old legal principle that shields a dog owner from liability the first time that his dog bites a person. The underlying principle of this rule is that liability is based on “scienter” (i.e., knowledge) that the dog has a dangerous propensity to bite people. The rationale of this rule was that domestic animals by definition were not injurious, and therefore liability could be predicated only on the defendant's knowledge that a particular domestic animal had a propensity to behave in manner that was injurious to humans. |
