If you are injured in an accident or incident caused by another party, you may be entitled to recover compensation for your damages with the help of a Chicago personal injury attorney. However, you must prove the necessary elements of your personal injury claim with evidence.
The type of evidence needed depends on the type of personal injury claim. Personal injury claims are based on tort law. A tort is a legal term that refers to a wrong that harms another person. There are generally three types of tort cases – negligence torts, intentional torts, and strict liability torts.
Types of Personal Injury Cases
The evidence you need to prove your case depends on whether your personal injury case is based on negligence, intentional tort, or strict liability.
Most personal injury cases are based on negligence. For example, a motorists ran through a stop sign and crashed into you. In this instance, a car accident attorney in Chicago can help you get the compensation you deserve.
To be successful in a personal injury case based on negligence, you must establish the existence of four elements:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care.
- The defendant breached their duty of care by negligent action or inaction.
- The defendant’s breach of duty action or inaction caused your accident and injury.
- You suffered actual damages due to the defendant’s negligence.
Your personal injury case could be based on an intentional tort. These actions usually involve crimes and malicious harm rather than accidental harm. An example of an intentional tort would be battery, false imprisonment, murder, and sexual assault.
Intentional torts require a victim to prove:
- The defendant purposefully committed an intentional act to harm you.
- You did not consent to the act.
- The act caused an injury to you.
- You suffered actual damages related to the defendant’s act.
Another type of personal injury case is based on strict liability. In these cases, you do not need to prove that the defendant was negligent. Examples of strict liability torts include defective product liability claims or dog bite injury claims.
The evidence needed in a strict liability claim depends on the type of case. For example, in a dog bite case, you need to prove the dog attacked or attempted to attack you, you were lawfully on the property or in a public place, and you did not provoke the dog.
As you can see, the type of evidence you need to be successful in a Chicago personal injury case depends on whether your claim is for damages based on negligence, intentional tort, or strict liability.
Since most personal injury claims are based on negligence, let’s consider the types of evidence needed to prove that the defendant owed you a duty of care, they breached that duty, their breach of duty caused your injuries, and you suffered actual damages.
Important Evidence to Prove Negligence in Chicago Personal Injury Cases
First, you need to prove that the defendant owed you a duty of care. For example, all motorists owe a duty of care to operate their vehicle in a reasonably safe manner to avoid harming others. Proving that the defendant owed you a duty of care is usually, but not always, straightforward.
Then, you need to prove that the defendant breached their duty of care by their negligent action or inaction. In the case of a car accident, you would need to prove that the defendant failed to operate their vehicle in a reasonably safe manner.
If the defendant violated a traffic law by speeding, or running a red light, proving that they did so could establish that they breached their duty of care. A police report, traffic citation, or video footage may be used as proof that the defendant’s actions were negligent.
Next, you need to prove that the defendant’s negligent action or inaction caused your harm. You need to show not just that the defendant breached their duty by running the red light, but that their running the red light was the cause of your accident and injuries. Eyewitness testimony, photographs, or video footage may be used to show that the defendant not only ran the red light but then crashed into you.
Finally, you need to prove that you suffered actual damages because of the defendant’s action or inaction. You need to prove that you have damages caused by the defendant’s action or inaction. This could be medical expenses, lost wages, an estimate to repair your vehicle, or some other example of damages you suffered.
Evidence we may submit to establish causation, liability, and damages for your claim include:
- Photographs and video footage.
- Dashcam video.
- Event data recorders (EDRs) of involved vehicles.
- Accident reconstructionists.
- Eyewitnesses.
- Medical expert witnesses to establish current and future medical injuries.
- Medical records.
- Paystubs and income tax returns.
- Employment records.
- Police reports.
- Pain journals and other types of logs.
- Receipts, invoices, and estimates.
- Economic experts to establish current and future financial damages.
At Meyers & Flowers, our lawyers work diligently to uncover all essential evidence. We then carefully consider each piece of evidence when building your case and helping you recover maximum compensation for your damages.
We Can Help Build Your Strongest Chicago Personal Injury Case
When you have been injured because of another party’s negligence or wrongdoing, you deserve to be compensated for your damages. However, you must prove each element of your claim with solid evidence to get the compensation you deserve.
Let the experienced, skilled Chicago personal injury lawyers at Meyers & Flowers help you. Call (630) 394-5189 or visit our contact page and schedule a free consultation to discuss your Chicago personal injury case.