Personal Injury Lawyers In Sunbury, PA

A personal injury can leave you feeling hopeless. Between healing from physical injuries and emotional trauma, you may be discouraged from the never-ending medical bills. If you have suffered severe injuries, you may be forced to work a reduced schedule, or you may be unable to work at all. Both options come with financial struggles.

At Fanelli, Evans & Patel, P.C., we are aware of the hardship facing personal injury victims. Our Sunbury personal injury attorneys will evaluate your situation to determine if you have a personal injury case.

Proving Liability

Any successful personal injury case requires that the injured party prove that another person directly caused their injuries. There are various ways in which a person can be liable, but most personal injury cases are caused by another’s negligence.

Negligence is the failure of a person to take reasonable care in completing a task. Reasonable care is defined as the care that a person of ordinary intelligence would have used in the same or similar situation.

Negligence has four elements:

Duty of Care

Duty of care is a person’s legal obligation to maintain a certain standard of care to prevent harming others. Every situation requires that each of us behave with care. For example, following a snowstorm, a business owner should ensure that snow and ice are removed from walkways on the property to keep patrons safe.

Breach of Duty

If a person violates his or her duty of care, this is known as a breach of duty. This is the second element of negligence that must be demonstrated for a successful negligence claim. In the above example, if a business owner fails to properly maintain sidewalks following a storm, this is a breach of the owner’s duty of care.

Causation

Causation links the defendant’s actions to your injuries and other losses. For a plaintiff to win a personal injury claim, both factual and proximate causes need to be present. Below, we discuss the differences between both types of causes:

Factual Cause

Also known as “cause-in-fact,” it is the action that sets a chain of events in motion. A factual cause can be determined by using the “but for” test. This test asks if the plaintiff would have sustained injuries but for the defendant’s actions. If the answer is “no,” then the defendant is not the factual cause of the plaintiff’s injuries.

Proximate Cause

It is not enough to show that the defendant was the factual cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. To win a negligence lawsuit, you must also prove that the defendant’s actions had the foreseeable consequence of causing you harm. This is known as proximate cause.

If a judge or jury rules that the harm was not foreseeable, then the defendant will not be found liable.

Damages

The final element of negligence is damages. To recover compensation, the plaintiff must demonstrate that he or she incurred measurable losses as a result of the accident or injury. Damages can be in the form of lost wages, lost earning capacity, medical expenses, property damage, or pain and suffering.

Pennsylvania Negligence Law

Pennsylvania practices the doctrine of comparative negligence when it comes to personal injury claims. Unlike some states that prohibit a victim from receiving compensation if the individual contributed in any way to the accident, Pennsylvania takes a more lenient approach.

In the Keystone State, an injury victim is barred from recovering compensation if he or she is found to be more at fault for the accident than the defendant. Percentage-wise, this means that the injured party can recover as long as he or she is less than 51% at fault.

A Dedicated Sunbury Personal Injury Attorney

Proving that another party caused you harm is not always enough to be compensated for your injuries. A Sunbury personal injury attorney is prepared to gather evidence to show the degree to which the wrongful person contributed to your injuries.

At Fanelli, Evans & Patel, P.C., we are dedicated to fighting for your rights. Contact us today online or by calling 570-622-2455 to schedule your free consultation. Evening and weekend appointments are available.