What is Personal Injury?
A Nevada personal injury lawyer can assist people injured, or the families of those killed, due to the fault of another person or company. The issues involved in an injury case are often complex, and a personal injury attorney can assist individuals and families navigate the legal process.
Personal injury encompasses that area of the law known as “torts.” A person commits a tort when he or she injures another person because of negligence or some other type of fault. Typically, a tort involves an accident, such as when one driver is momentarily distracted and collides with another car.
Negligence is a failure to exercise ordinary care. Essentially, it is carelessness. When carelessness causes an injury, the injured person has a claim for damages. This is a personal injury claim.
What Are My Options When Someone Injures Me?
When negligence results in injury, an injured party may suffer loss in various ways. The law allows an injured party to pursue monetary compensation for those losses. Common types of damages recoverable in a personal injury case include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Loss of ability to work
- Pain and suffering
- Scarring and disfigurement
When someone’s negligence results in the death of another person, family members of the person killed can seek damages for the death of their loved one. This type of claim is called “wrongful death,” and recoverable damages include:
- Medical expenses incurred prior to death
- Conscious pain and suffering prior to death
- Loss of the economic support of the loved one
- Loss of the companionship of the loved one
- Funeral expenses
If a person is injured by intentional conduct on the part of another, or if the conduct is so reckless that malicious intent can be implied, then the injured person can seek “punitive damages” from the wrongdoer. Punitive damages are assessed in order to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar conduct in the future.
Injured parties and their families are encouraged to speak to a Nevada personal injury lawyer to learn more about their rights and remedies.