Personal injury law includes the different guidelines necessary to file a lawsuit against a third party for damage they caused. Negligence law is at the heart of all personal injury cases. This means that all cases follow the same general cause-effect timeline when addressing burden of proof.
Each claimant is responsible for proving their case is viable. In negligence-based cases, this means proving the defendant’s guilty stature by providing evidence that supports the following criteria:
The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty to provide safe services and/or products.
The defendant breached this duty in some way (negligence).
This breach of duty directly caused the incident that injured the plaintiff.
The plaintiff sustained verifiable injuries from the incident.
The claimant in each case possesses the burden of proof – after all, defendants are not guilty in any legal context unless valid evidence supports a plaintiff’s claims. Skilled Bend, OR personal injury lawyers, like Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC, understand negligence law and can guide your case to success.
For instance, some claimants might not realize their ability to file depends on their state’s statute of limitations. Each state establishes different timeframes in which an individual can file a claim to initiate different legal processes. In Oregon, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is two years.