Driving is not that difficult. Neither is keeping a sidewalk free from snow and ice or other debris. But some drivers are careless, whether it be due to texting, admiring the scenery, speeding, or more. And some home or store owners are lazy or careless, failing to shovel, salt, sand or otherwise clean the area where pedestrians may traverse. This carelessness, otherwise known as “negligence,” leads people to suffer injuries. And when people are injured due to negligence of another, there are Attorneys In Anchorage Alaska qualified to obtain compensation for the victims of these careless acts.
Beyond the auto accidents and slip-and-fall cases, personal injury cases can arise out of broken streets and sidewalks (trip-and-falls), products liability, medical malpractice, defamation and more. No matter what the cause of such an injury, Attorneys In Anchorage Alaska understand that there are certain steps that must be taken in order for a victim to prevail and collect an award from the defendant.
First, the plaintiff must show that the defendant was in fact negligent. In essence, this means that the defendant strayed from the ordinary level of care that a person in the same situation would have or should have exercised. In the car accident scenario, if someone was texting, admiring the scenery or speeding, this is not using the appropriate level of care. If a property owner fails to remove debris or snow and ice from a place where a pedestrian may walk, this is a deviation from the ordinary standard of care. If a doctor leaves a piece of equipment inside a patient during surgery, this is a failure to exercise the standard of care a doctor in that same situation should have exercised. Any of the above are likely to be found negligent.
But that is only the first step.
An injured person must also demonstrate damages, or that there was some sort of injury sustained as a result of the defendant’s negligence. If you are driving and you are run into by another negligent driver, but you are not injured, there is no personal injury case. If you slip and fall on the snow and ice left in front of the store, but the only result is some laughter, there is no personal injury case. You must have had actual compensable injury.
And even if you can show that a defendant was negligent and that you were injured, Attorneys In Anchorage Alaska know that you must show causation between the negligent act and the injury. In other words, if a doctor leaves a sponge inside you during surgery and you later develop cancer, which had nothing to do with the sponge, there is no claim for medical malpractice. If you are involved in a car accident, but you are not hurt until you trip over a curb while getting out of your car, this is not an injury caused by the negligence of the other driver.
As there are many factors to consider when prosecuting a personal injury claim, it is important to retain attorneys capable of bringing your case from start to finish.
