A personal injury lawyer in Waterdown frames the argument that is meant to highlight the other party’s fault. In a personal injury case, an attorney frames such an argument around the client’s charge of negligence.
Lawyers learn the key elements of the liability concept that is known as negligence.
The first element is a duty of care on the part of the defendant. That duty must pertain to the situation in which the plaintiff got harmed. The defendant’s duty could concern an action that ought to be taken, or one that should be avoided.
The second element is a breach of duty on the part of the defendant. That breach could involve the performance of a wrong action, or the failure to carry out a needed action. The evidence presented by the plaintiff should prove the existence of the breach.
For instance, the plaintiff’s lawyer might have discovered that the opposing party got a speeding ticket from the cop that arrived at the scene of the accident. Another type of evidence could take the form of damage to the impacted vehicle, like the damaging effects of a rear-end impact. The third and last of the 3 elements is proof that the defendant’s commission of a breach caused the plaintiff’s injury.
What must be demonstrated with respect to the 3rd element?
The plaintiff’s attorney should be able to produce details about the client’s injury. What part of the body was harmed? How extensive was the damage to that same body part?
An injury’s effects are not always restricted to the physical. Did the victim/plaintiff suffer any mental or emotional damage? Was some aspect of the plaintiff’s life disrupted by the harm that had been inflicted upon it?
The additional pieces of information that the defense team tries to obtain from the victim’s attorney relate to the nature of the treatment received. Was the administered treatment appropriate, in light of the injury’s nature? Was treatment sought in a timely manner, or did the plaintiff delay completion of that first, post-accident trip to a doctor, a hospital or a clinic?
How could a defendant’s lawyer challenge a charge of negligence?
The elements’ existence would be challenged. Were all of them present at the time of the accident?
Did the situation demand the performance of certain actions on the defendant’s part? Did the defendant fail to carry out a specific task? Did the medical report include mention of a diagnostic test, one that revealed the extent of the harm done to the patient/plaintiff?
Those are the sorts of questions that the attorney for the defendant would be asking. The answers would show the strength or weakness of the plaintiff’s case.