Joel and I handle personal injury cases, most of which are legal cases. Car accidents are “cakes”, which means that there was a legal obligation, the obligation was violated and damage was caused as a result. That’s two full semesters of law, and all three have to be passed.
The first two are easy to understand. A driver operating a stop sign has “violated” a “legal obligation”.
The damage or injury that occurs when another driver drives a stop sign must be “immediately caused” by this breach of duty.
Every living American lawyer studied and remembers Palsgraf versus Long Island Railroad. In this case, a railroad worker dropped a bundle of fireworks on a man. They exploded, causing a major fall, and hit Helen Palsgraf. She was injured and then stuttered.
Law professors love this case. It has a lot of moving parts.
One of these parts is the relationship of harm to tort and how to prove it.
For example, all personal injury attorneys will hear or have heard that a person’s cancer emerged from remission following an accident. While this was happening, it cannot be that the accident brought the cancer out of remission. A doctor would have to testify that the cancer was out of remission as a result of the accident. Without this type of “evidence”, a judge would not lead a jury to believe that a wrecked car caused cancer. It doesn’t matter how much the injured person thought that.
Injured persons can certainly report cuts, abrasions and bruises to a jury. An injured person can talk about how they were before and after the accident, as long as the injuries result from the accident. When it is complicated like surgery, a doctor must state the cause for the surgical treatment.
The law requires that the accident and injury be caused by law.
Be safe and healthy. As always, your recommendations are appreciated! 256-764-0112.
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