Bio picture of Attorney Philip J Geib.

PERSONAL INJURY

Member Virginia
and
North Carolina
State Bar

Specializing in:
Workers' Compensation
Personal Injury
Wrongful Death
Medical Malpractice
Nursing Home Malpractice
The Defense Base Acts

Who is Responsible When a Person is Injured?

Personal injury law covers injury suffered by a person. Personal injury is part of the law of torts, the legal term that includes all kinds of injuries to people and their property. State law usually governs personal injury lawsuits, but federal law may apply in certain circumstances.

Personal injury includes:

 

The concept of bodily injury to a person is a very broad one. Depending upon the law of the state in which an incident occurred, bodily injury may include not only ordinary physical injury such as a broken leg or disfigurement, but also mental or emotional injury, such as emotional upset caused by witnessing a serious physical injury done to a close family member. Inconvenience, due to the injury, that has been caused in the past or any that probably will caused in the future. Injury to property includes loss or damage to property such as a house, a car, or even a pet. Economic injury includes loss of pay and other types of money damages.

The law of personal injury is concerned with determining:

Who may be responsible (who is 'liable,' or has 'liability') for causing injury? How much the responsible party should be required to pay for any damages resulting from the injury? There are a number of broad principles applying to the law of torts, in general, and to personal injury in particular.

Degrees of Fault and Standard of Care

The law of personal injury recognizes different levels of responsibility or 'degrees of fault' on behalf of the person causing an injury. Generally, the degrees of fault are:

 

The degree of fault involved in a situation where an injury has occurred has an effect on:

 

In other words, when determining the degree of fault, the law applies different 'standards of care' to different situations. For example, a greater standard of care is usually required in situations involving children or people who are disabled. Generally speaking, in a lawsuit, a jury decides whether a person has 'met the standard of care' applicable to the situation. It includes, but is not limited to acts of Negligence, 'Willful and Wanton' or 'Reckless' Conduct, Intentional Harm and Intentional Torts.

Damages

Personal injury law is concerned with compensating people for the damages they suffer as a result of personal injury. To bring a lawsuit for a personal injury, the law requires the person bringing the suit to allege that the person being sued committed a wrongful act and that they suffered damages from that wrongful act. For example, another person may unintentionally hit you on the arm, but if you suffered no bruise, you had no medical bills, and no recognizable emotional or mental upset, the law assumes that you had no injury from the negligent act. Thus, you would not be able to recover anything in a lawsuit, because you had no injury or no 'cognizable damages'. However, if the act was intentional, you may be entitled to recover damages even if you suffered no harm other than the infliction of the intentional act.

Damages resulting from a wrongful act (actual damages) may include:

 

In a wrongful death lawsuit, your surviving relatives can sue for any expenses for the care, treatment, and hospitalization of the decedent incident to the injury resulting in their death and reasonable funeral expenses. A jury, in addition to actual damages, may award a special form of damages called punitive damages. Punitive damages are usually permitted only if the person causing the actual damages did so with either some degree of intent to cause harm or an indifference to the possibility of causing harm (recklessness).

The purpose of punitive damages is to:

 

If you have questions involving personal injury law or feel that you have been injured, please contact us at 757.425.7580, toll free 888.744.5434 or email.