A personal injury claim revolves around two basic issues – damages and liability. Damages are the losses you have experienced – physical, financial, and emotional. Liability means that a certain party – a person, a group of people, or a company – is responsible for these damages. For example, you might have been injured in a motor vehicle accident or in an incident at your workplace. Alternatively, you may have suffered an injury, or prolonged or worsened illness due to medical negligence. You may have suffered because of a defective product or a preventable danger on public or private property. In any of those cases, your first step is to file a personal injury claim in which you identify the responsible party and then prove their fault in causing your damages. Once this has been established, you may be able to obtain financial compensation for your losses – either through an informal settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company or – if such settlement cannot be achieved – by a jury verdict following a court case.