Anyone who has sustained injuries in Connecticut due to the carelessness of another may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit in pursuit of financial compensation. When injured, it is common for the victim to wonder if they do indeed have a lawsuit on there hands, which is why we have broken down Connecticut personal injury claims into the basics. In this article you will learn what you must prove to win a CT negligence case, factors (damages) other than physical injury that can play a role in a financial settlement, how long you have to file a personal injury claim in Connecticut, some things an injury victim can do to preserve a claim and more. However, because of the uniqueness of every case this article should be taken as a general guideline instead of legal advice. Any potential CT personal injury claim should be gone over with a Connecticut personal injury attorney.
Proving Your Case
Commonly, to win a personal injury lawsuit in Connecticut you must prove the at fault party was negligent. Negligence is the failure to use unreasonable care to others. To prove Connecticut negligence you must show 4 things:
- The at fault party who caused your injury owed you a responsibility, otherwise known as a ‘duty’. We all owe a duty to the people around us to abide by a code of conduct that will prevent harm them. A common example of a duty would be simply driving the speed limit. When we drive a car we all owe the duty to other drivers and pedestrians to do the speed limit and drive safely.
- The person failed to carry out that responsibility or duty. You must prove that what the person did to cause your injury was reckless or negligent.
- You must prove you were harmed or in other words suffered ‘damages’. Damages are not limited to physical injuries (see below.) Rather, they can include mental or emotional injury, lost wages, pain and suffering, current and future medical bills and more.
- The other person’s failure to carry out the duty they owed caused your injury.
If you cannot prove these 4 things there will be no settlement in your future. If your own lack of caution played a role in your injury you may still be able to recover under Connecticut comparative negligence law. Comparative negligence assigns a degree of fault after a personal injury settlement is reached and works on percentage basis (if you are assigned 15% fault you will receive 85% of the settlement.)You may not recover if you were 50% or more at fault.
To prove you were injured by a defective product you must prove strict liability or product liability. These types of lawsuits are much different than negligence claims. To prove strict liability in Connecticut you must show:
- The product was defective.
- You used the product properly.
- The defecting product caused your injury.
- You suffered damages.
If you can prove the above you might be wondering what a settlement would be worth. This all depends on the amount of damages you have sustained.
Damages in Connecticut
As state above it is not only physical injury that will play a role in your settlement. Common damages that will play a role in a settlement include:
- Current and future medical bills
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Permanent scars
- Emotional trauma
- Mental anguish
- Loss of employment
- Loss of love
- Metal Disability
- Property Damage
- Any out of pocket expenses caused by your injury
Or, in other words, ANY harm caused to you by the at fault party will play a role in the settlement. However, regardless of the harm you have suffered time restraints in Connecticut personal injury laws may prevent you from ever being able to file a lawsuit. These time restraints are known as the statutes of limitations.
Statutes of Limitations (SOL)
Generally Speaking, under the CT SOL you have 2 years to file a personal injury claim. A general personal injury claim may not ever be filed after the 2 year period has passed. However, there are some technicalities in the SOL that can give you more or less time to file a claim. For example, in a case where your injury was caused by a malicious or intentional act you have only 1 year to file a claim. Because of the great complexity of these statutes as a general rule be sure to contact a Connecticut personal injury lawyer as soon as possible with any potential claim. Instead, lets take a look at the different kinds of personal injury claims.
Causes of Claims
Keep in mind injuries can be sustained in many different ways and from a legal standpoint trigger different areas of law. In many cases it is in your best interest to hire a lawyer to represent you who specializes in your type of case. Common injury causes that trigger CT personal injury lawsuits include:
- Slip and fall injuries – These types of injuries fall under premises liability law. Visit our premises liability section for more information.
- Auto accidents – Obviously, this includes injuries sustained in car, bus, truck and motorcycle accidents. However, there can be a big difference between, for example, a car and truck accident. If you have been injured in a motorcycle accident, you may want to consider hiring a lawyer who specializes and has great knowledge of motorcycle accidents.
- Defective products – This can be a very complex area of law regarding personal injury lawsuits, technically referred to as product liability law. Learn more at our product liability section.
- Dog bites/attacks – When Injured by a dog bite you may be able to sue the dog’s owner for financial compensation, but should waste no time filing a potential lawsuit. Visit our dog bite injury section for more information.
- Elder and nursing home abuse – In spite of the law, nursing home abuse continues to be a serious problem. The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates at least one in 20 nursing home patients has been the victim of nursing home abuse. Visit our nursing home abuse section to learn more.
- Maritime accidents – Maritime or boat accidents should be refereed to a lawyer specializing in these types of cases. If you have been injured in a Connecticut boat accident waste no time contacting a Maritime lawyer to begin the claim process.
- Medical Malpractice – These can be some of the toughest type of claims to win due to special laws or statutes (see below) for medical malpractice lawsuits, seemingly designed to protect the health care industry and insurance companies. More information at our medical malpractice section.
- Wrongful Deaths – When someone dies in CT due to the recklessness or negligence of another this is called a wrongful death, which can trigger a wrongful death lawsuit. A wrongful death lawsuits seeks financial compensation (damages) for the family of the victim. Read more at our wrongful death section.
The above are the most common causes of personal injuries and personal injury lawsuits in Connecticut. You should waste no time contacting a lawyer specializing in the types of injuries and damages you have sustained. As you can see every case is very unique, but lets look at some general things you can do to preserve a Connecticut personal injury claim.
Preserving a CT Personal Injury Claim
If you are thinking of filing a personal injury claim there are some general guidelines you should consider following to preserve your chances of being financially compensated. While we understand in cases of serious injury your actions can be limited they include:
- Preserving any evidence. This can be a vital in many different types of claims. For example, if your injury was the result of a slip and fall a photograph of what caused your fall can be vital. Many times in slip and fall cases (premises liability law) the owner of the property you injured yourself on will repair whatever it is that caused your fall in fear of being sued.
- Get any witnesses information. If anyone witnessed your accident they may be able to help your case by either talking to an insurance company or testifying in court. Commonly witnesses come into play in car accident lawsuits. If possible, get the names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses to your accident.
- Document ALL of your injuries. The best way to this is would be taking pictures of any visible injuries and/or promptly seeking medical attention. Without documentation of your injuries, there is probably not going to be a personal injury claim to pursue.
- Don’t talk to any insurance companies. Insurance companies have a way of manipulating what you say in order to pay out the least money possible or avoid paying you any money at all.
- Contact a CT personal injury attorney to get the claim process started.
As stated above this should not be taken as legal advice. Any potential personal injury claim should be gone over with a Connecticut personal injury lawyer.
Other Connecticut Personal Injury Resources
* The person failed to carry out that responsibility or duty. You must prove that what the person did to cause your injury was reckless or negligent.
* You must prove you were harmed or in other words suffered ‘damages’. Damages are not limited to physical injuries (see below.) Rather, they can include mental or emotional injury, lost wages, pain and suffering, current and future medical bills and more.
* The other person’s failure to carry out the duty they owed caused your injury. For example, if you are injured at an amusement park and you are injured on a faulty ride, you must prove the the ride’s defects were mainly responsible for your injury as opposed to your own recklessness.
