If you are accusing someone of being at fault for your personal injury accident, you are essentially insinuating that they have breached their duty of care. Without further introduction, please read on to discover what it means to breach your duty of care and how a seasoned Parsippany, New Jersey personal injury lawyer at the Macri Law Firm can help apply this element to your claim.
What does it mean to have a duty of care in an accident?
By its legal definition, a duty of care is someone’s lawful obligation to act with a certain level of vigilance, caution, and prudence to avoid causing harm to others. A person’s burden to exercise reasonable care may vary depending on the role they serve. For example, a driver may be expected to operate their motor vehicle safely, while a property owner may be anticipated to keep their personal premises in a safe condition.
That said, the law does not necessarily establish a standard duty of care, unless it is in the context of medicine and medical professionals. Generally speaking, a person should simply act in a manner a reasonable person would in their same position or situation. And so, the New Jersey civil court may determine whether an appointed defendant has failed to meet their duty of care on a case-by-case basis.
Therefore, in your personal injury claim proceedings, you may have the burden of proof in establishing the defendant’s breach of care. In turn, you must demonstrate how this breach directly prompted your accident event and subsequent bodily injuries. Lastly, you must closely link your injuries to the economic and non-economic damages you have suffered since. Only in this way may you have a chance at recovering the financial compensation you require to heal.
Can I still sue if I had a duty of care in my accident event?
It is possible that you held a duty of care in the role you played in your personal injury accident event. For example, if you were a driver, you may have failed to meet your duty of care to drive below the enforced speed limit. But at the same time, the other involved driver may have had a breach of care if they were operating their motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Using this example, if you attempt to pursue an auto accident claim, the New Jersey civil court may assign a certain percentage of fault to you and the appointed defendant based on the extent of your breach of care. Here, the court may find your speeding 20 percent to blame and the other driver’s intoxicated driving 80 percent. In this case, you may still be eligible to recover 80 percent of your claimed damages.
In short, per New Jersey civil law, you have an opportunity to sue so long as you are not assigned more than 50 percent of the responsibility. If you need help with executing this, do not be afraid to reach out to a competent Parsippany, New Jersey personal injury lawyer. Our team at the Macri Law Firm is more than capable and eager to assist you with your upcoming legal proceedings.