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Liability in a personal injury case isn’t always clear-cut. Sometimes, those of us who feel like victims can end up being sued ourselves.
Every case is different, but there are some common themes to defending a personal injury lawsuit. Here are a few:
Defenses to Negligence Claims
Most personal injury lawsuits are based on negligence. Most defenses to negligence lawsuits are based on the elements of the claim itself:
In certain cases, you could say the defendant assumed the risk of their behavior, and therefore should be responsible for his or her own injuries.
Defenses to Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice cases make up a large amount of injury claims and are constantly the topic of reform discussions. Striking a balance between a doctor's interests and a patient's interests is the subject of some restrictions on malpractice lawsuits as well as the defense to medical malpractice claims. As modified negligence claims, some of the same defenses apply, but there are some that are unique to the liability of medical professionals:
Contributory and Comparative Negligence
In many injury cases, there wasn't just one person acting negligently. Comparative and contributory negligence are ways to apportion liability to two or more negligent parties. In states that have comparative negligence laws, a person's recovery for damages will be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to them. In states that retained classic contributory negligence standards, a person may not sue at all if his or her own negligence contributed to the accident.
Your best defense against a personal injury lawsuit is an experienced personal injury attorney. You can contact one near you today.
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