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3 Defenses To Present If Someone Sues You For Personal Injury

Accidents happen every single day, but they do not all end up in lawsuits. If someone decides to sue you for an accident you were involved with, you may easily be able to get out of it if you have the right evidence. Here are three things you will need to prove in order to avoid paying out compensation to the plaintiff that is suing you.

You Did Not Owe Duty of Care

If the accident involved hitting a pedestrian while driving, the pedestrian must first prove that you owed a duty of care. In personal injury law, duty of care simply means doing something you are supposed to do.

For example, if you flew through a red light instead of stopping, and this caused you to hit the pedestrian, you would have violated a duty of care by not yielding to the red light. On the other hand, if the light was green and the pedestrian was not supposed to be crossing the street, you will be able to prove that you did not owe duty of care to this person.

You Were Not Negligent

The second part of all personal injury cases is proving negligence. Negligence is very closely associated with duty of care, yet it is slightly different. Your goal in this case is to prove that you did nothing wrong and that you were not negligent in your actions.

In this case, negligence would be easy to prove if you failed to stop at a red light when the accident took place. If the light was green as you drove through the intersection, it will be hard to prove that you were negligent, unless the pedestrian had the right to cross the street during a red light.

As long as you followed all traffic rules, it will be very difficult for the plaintiff to prove that you were negligent in the accident.

The Plaintiff Has No Damages

The final piece of evidence needed to prove your side is the damages suffered by the plaintiff. If you struck the plaintiff while driving slowly and there were no injuries from the event, the plaintiff cannot sue you for damages. There must be physical damages in order for the plaintiff to sue you for this, and this cannot be possible if he or she was not injured.

If you are sued, these are the three things you will need to prove. If you need help defending your case, hire a personal injury law firm for assistance.


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