DERENZO
DURRETT, PLLC
239 S. Fifth Street, Suite 600, Louisville, KY 40202 Phone: (502) 587-3454 Fax: (888) 400-6919
De Renzo Durrett, PLLC
239 S. Fifth St.
Suite 600
Louisville, KY 40202
ph: (502) 587-FINE (3463)
fax: (888) 400-6919
alt: (502) 650-1076
informat
Have You Been Injured?
If you have been injured and it is someone else's fault, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit. Personal injury lawsuits are filed by people (or their representatives) injured due to the negligence of someone else. The injury may be either physical or emotional, and it can arise from a variety of sources or types of conduct. Some of the most common types of personal injury cases include slip and falls, automobile accidents, work injuries, dog bites, medical malpractice, and products liability. In general, the goal of a personal injury action is to determine who was responsible and to compel the responsible party to compensate the injured person or persons for the losses sustained. If you or someone you know has been injured by the careless actions of another, contact De Renzo Durrett, PLLC to find out how we can help you preserve your rights. We understand. We can help. Everything will be fine.
Personal Injury Damages
Injured parties (the "plaintiff") may be entitled to recover from responsible parties (the "defendant") for lost wages, past and future medical expenses, damages for both physical and emotional pain and suffering, and damages for disfigurement.
Other kinds of damages that may be awarded include damages awarded to compensate the plaintiff for the loss of enjoyment of activities that he or she once valued but can no longer participate in as a result of the injuries suffered. In addition, punitive damages may be awarded when the defendant’s conduct was particularly egregious and the court or jury determines that the defendant should be punished by paying an amount above and beyond the plaintiff’s actual damages. Punitive damage awards may also serve to deter others from engaging in similar wrongful conduct.
“Legal Causation” of Personal Injuries
Not every injured person is entitled to recover damages for the injury he or she sustains. Besides the injury, the person must also establish, through credible and relevant evidence, that the defendant is legally responsible for his or her injuries. This link is called "causation."
In some personal injury actions, legal causation may be established if the plaintiff can show that the defendant engaged in intentional conduct. This means that the wrongdoer intentionally or purposefully harmed the plaintiff or knew that the conduct in which he or she engaged gave rise to a substantial likelihood that harm would result.
Negligence and Strict Liability
Other personal injury actions are based on a looser concept of fault called negligence. Under the negligence theory, a defendant is held liable for the results of action, or inaction, when an ordinary person in the same position should have foreseen that the conduct would create an unreasonable risk of harm to others. Still other types of personal injury actions are based on strict liability, which is a no-fault system under which liability may be established regardless of the fault of the various parties, including the plaintiff. Strict liability may be applied in products liability cases, such as when a manufacturer or seller of a defective product puts that product into the hands of consumers and users of the product are injured.
The defendant can be held liable for actions taken or for actions not taken. A driver who fails to stop at a red light and hits another vehicle and injures the other driver or passengers is liable based on her negligent acts. A property owner who fails to clear the ice and snow from the front steps of a business open to the public may be liable for his inaction if a patron falls and breaks her leg when attempting to enter the premises.
Defenses to Liability in Personal Injury Cases
In some situations, the defendant’s conduct, while questionable, may not give rise to damages, or, there could be some other reason that the plaintiff is not able to recover for his or her damages.
The following are possible defenses to personal injury claims.
- Statute of limitations. Statutes of limitations are laws setting forth the period within which the lawsuit must be initiated. (In Kentucky, this is generally one year from the date of the injury.)
- Sovereign immunity. Sovereign immunity provides that certain government officials are immune from civil liability for their official conduct
- Intentional misuse. Injuries caused by a plaintiff's intentional misuse of a product may be a defense to liability in a products liability case
- Contributory or comparative negligence. Contributory or comparative negligence exists where the plaintiff’s own conduct caused or contributed to his or her injuries De Renzo Durrett can explain these and other defenses and determine whether they apply to a particular case.
Conclusion
Personal injury actions often require a lawyer’s careful examination of the surrounding facts and circumstances to determine whether the defendant is legally responsible for the plaintiff’s injuries. A personal injury attorney at De Renzo Durrett, PLLC can look at the facts of your case and determine whether you have a legally valid claim, how soon you must act to preserve your rights, the damages to which you may be entitled, and whether you may be entitled to some type of financial benefits before your lawsuit is even resolved.
Slips, Falls, and Other Premises Liability Claims
Slip and fall cases fall under the area of law known as "premises liability." Premises liability law involves the legal responsibilities of property owners and occupiers to prevent injuries to persons on their property. One of the most common causes of such injuries is a trip or slip and fall, such as on an icy sidewalk, a loose or uneven stair tread, or a piece of debris or spilled liquid on the floor.
De Renzo Durrett can evaluate the strength of your premises liability claim and help you recover damages for lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering.
Proving Owners' Liability in Premises Liability Cases
In proving a premises liability case, an injured person must show that the standard of reasonableness required by an owner has not been met. To satisfy the reasonableness standard owed to visitors to ones property (other than someone who is tresspassing), an owner or other person responsible for maintaining the property has a continuing duty to inspect the property to identify dangerous conditions and either repair them or post warnings as appropriate. Perhaps the most difficult element an injured person must prove is the owner’s knowledge of the condition causing his or her injury. The injured person must prove that the owner knew or should have known the condition in order for liability to attach, which is often quite often difficult to establish.
Defenses to Liability in Premises Liability Cases
One of the commonly applied theories to limit an injured person’s recovery is comparative fault. A visitor has a duty, in most cases, to exercise reasonable care for his or her own safety, and when that degree of care is not exercised, then an injured person's recovery may be limited or reduced by an amount attributable to his or her own negligence.
In the cases where a person's injuries are the result of slipping on an icy sidewalk in front of a business or on a grape, lettuce leaf, or other food item that has fallen on a grocery store floor, the property owner may or may not be liable for the person’s injuries. Although property owners have a duty to exercise reasonable care to maintain the premises in such a way to prevent injuries to lawful visitors, if a condition of the premises is noticed by a customer or other visitor or should be readily apparent, the property owner may avoid liability because the injured person also has a duty to protect himself or herself against the injury.
The property owner may also avoid liability by establishing that the debris had so recently fallen on the floor or that the ice had so recently accumulated that the responsible persons had no reasonable opportunity to correct the condition and avoid the hazard before the plaintiff fell. In other words, the plaintiff in a slip and fall case, whether it occurs in a grocery store or elsewhere, must show that the owner had a reasonable period of time in which to discover the dangerous condition and in which to remedy it. The determination of what constitutes a reasonable time will vary from case to case.
Conclusion
Even common accidents such as slips and falls can present complex legal issues and complicated questions of both fact and law. Accordingly, if you have been injured in a premises-related accident, an experienced and knowledgeable personal injury attorney, like those at De Renzo Durrett, is in an excellent position to advise you on your rights and work with you to pursue a favorable outcome. We understand. We can help. Everything will be fine.
De Renzo Durrett, PLLC
239 S. Fifth St.
Suite 600
Louisville, KY 40202
ph: (502) 587-FINE (3463)
fax: (888) 400-6919
alt: (502) 650-1076
informat
