Personal injury law covers a broad spectrum of issues when one has been physically or emotionally injured, and/or personal property has been damaged. In legal circles, personal injury law is also known as “tort” law, the French word for “wrong.” Personal injury or “tort” law is the body of law that allows one to be compensated in the event that someone’s carelessness, recklessness or intentional misconduct injures or damages you or your personal belongings.

Automobile accidents are classic examples of the types events covered by tort law. If someone hits the back of your car while you are stopped at a red light, that person commits a tort, and is referred to as the “tortfeasor” (French for “wrongdoer”). In America that person is generally referred to as the “defendant” once a lawsuit is filed, and the person harmed is called a “plaintiff” or “claimant.”

State law usually governs personal injury lawsuits, but federal law may apply in certain circumstances. For example, an injury suffered on federal property may be covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act, or liability for injuries suffered in an airplane crash may be governed by international treaties. A claim for personal injury must be accompanied by an injury that can be compensated. In other words, one must prove an injury in order to seek monetary damages. For example, if you were to slip and fall due to someone else’s fault or negligence, you could not recover damages if you were not injured in some way. The law of personal injury is concerned with determining who may be responsible (who is “liable,” or has “liability”) for causing injury and how much the responsible party should be required to pay for any damages resulting from the injury.

The most significant issue to most people involved in a personal injury claim is the issue of damages. Obtaining fair and just compensation for injuries you have sustained is the primary concern at Psetas, Moore & Tetlow, P.A.. By using our experience and the extensive resources available to us on your behalf, we focus on achieving the highest possible monetary recovery for you.

When a judge or jury finds a defendant liable for wrongful conduct in a personal injury case, the issue then becomes what types of damages are due to the plaintiff, and in what amount. As you know, if you suffer a personal injury you’ll likely require medical attention and may need rehabilitation, all of which costs substantial sums of money. You may lose income (and/or have to use up “sick time”) because of the injury, and you may continue to lose income while treatment and recovery takes place. You may have sustained property damage to your car and other property. Since you can’t drive your vehicle while it is being repaired, you may have to rent one, and car repairs and rentals cost money. You may also lose the ability to perform various activities of normal daily living, for a while or permanently, and endure significant pain and suffering.

The law permits you to seek recovery after an accident to “make you whole again.” The central concept is that you should be compensated in a manner that, as best as the law can arrange, places you back in the same position as you were before the accident. In most personal injury actions the plaintiff must have been injured in some way to be entitled to damages. For example, in negligence cases, we must prove that you suffered injury (some type of physical, emotional or monetary harm) for the defendant to be required to pay compensation to you. However, with some intentional torts (such as battery, assault or trespass) we may only have to show that the defendant engaged in the unauthorized conduct, without proving that you suffered actual physical harm, in order to recover damages (though damages in these situations are often nominal absent serious injury).

Three basic kinds of damages are awarded in personal injury cases: compensatory damages, punitive damages and nominal damages.