If you were injured due to another party’s negligence, Georgia personal injury laws provide a legal basis for seeking compensation for your injuries. However, you must prove the elements required to establish liability before you can recover money for your damages.
Most personal injury cases are based on negligence. Causation is an essential element of a negligence claim. It can also be one of the most challenging items to prove.
What Is Causation in a Georgia Personal Injury Case?
Cause refers to the reason that something happens. For example, the reason that you skinned your knee is because you fell. Had you not fallen, you would not have a skinned knee.
Causation in a personal injury case requires you to demonstrate that the other party’s actions directly and proximately led to your injuries. It is not sufficient to prove that someone acted carelessly. You must prove that your injuries wouldn’t have occurred had the person not behaved in such a way.
Unfortunately, proving legal causation in a personal injury case may not be straightforward. You must prove factual cause and proximate cause. One without the other is insufficient to establish liability for damages.
What Is Factual Cause in a Personal Injury Case in Augusta, GA?
Factual cause (or actual cause) answers the “but for” test. It is why something happens. For example, the collision would not have occurred “but for” the car running the stop sign. The driver running the stop sign is the direct cause of the accident. Had it not been for the driver’s actions, thecar accident would not have occurred.
Examples of evidence an Augusta personal injury lawyer might use to prove factual cause include, but are not limited to:
Physical evidence from the accident scene
Statements made by the parties involved in the accident
Videos of the accident as it happened, such as surveillance from traffic or security cameras
Photographs of the accident scene
Testimony from eyewitnesses and bystanders
Opinions and reports from expert witnesses
The types of evidence proving factual cause vary depending on the circumstances and the facts of the case. When you hire an experienced Augusta personal injury attorney, they will conduct a thorough investigation to determine factual cause. They’ll gather evidence to build a solid case proving that the other party caused the accident that resulted in your injuries.
What Is Proximate Cause in an Augusta Personal Injury Case?
Proximate cause can be more challenging to prove. It is the legal concept that makes someone responsible for their actions.
Proximate cause requires that the harm be a foreseeable result of the at-fault party’s conduct. It is based on the idea that a party could reasonably foresee that their actions could cause someone harm. Therefore, proximate cause relates to the relationship between a specific set of circumstances and the harm caused.
Let’s use our example above to discuss proximate cause. It can be concluded that if a driver runs a stop sign, a collision might happen if another vehicle is in the intersection. It is reasonably foreseeable that someone could be hurt in this situation. Therefore, running a stop sign could cause harm.
Generally, proximate cause is based on the reasonable person standard. Would a reasonably prudent person foresee that running a stop sign could cause an accident? When liability is in dispute, it is up to the jurors to determine whether the situation meets the proximate cause threshold.
A person may not be held responsible for consequences they could not reasonably foresee. For instance, suppose the stop sign had been knocked down and was hidden in tall grass. The driver had never driven that route before.
Therefore, a jury might conclude that the defendant was not responsible for the car wreck because the stop sign wasn’t visible, and the driver didn’t know the area. In these circumstances, it may have been unforeseeable that the driver would cause an accident.
What Damages Can You Recover in a Georgia Personal Injury Claim?
Once you prove the elements of negligence, you can seek compensation for youreconomic andnon-economic damages.
These damages include, but are not limited to:
The cost of past and future medical treatment and care
The amount you receive for your personal injury case depends on several factors, including the strength of your evidence proving causation and the other legal elements of negligence.
An Augusta Personal Injury Attorney Can Help You Prove Causation and the Other Legal Elements of Your Case
Hiring an attorney is a personal choice. However, an Augusta personal injury lawyer understands the law and the evidence needed to prove causation and the other legal elements of your case. If you have questions about a personal injury claim, contact us for a free consultation.
