New York City personal injury law

•    There must be a legal duty between the defendant (the one doing the wrong) and the plaintiff (the person injured).
•    There must be a breach of that duty.
•    Damage must have resulted because of that breach.

If all three elements take place, a personal injury, or tort, has occurred.  Whenever someone else harms you or something that belongs to you, they become liable to answer to the tort laws governing the situation. Liability can be caused by intentional acts, or torts, or by negligence. An intentional act is one designed to cause harm or injury. The person committing the act wants to harm you.

A negligent act happens when someone fails to take appropriate action and you are harmed as a result of that failure. For instance, if a careless driver runs into your car, that is a negligence tort.  The defendant did not want to injure you but failed to take the appropriate action to prevent injury.  The defendant had a duty not to injure you or your property, because our laws and society create that duty. The duty was breached by the negligent actions of the defendant, and damage to your person or property resulted.

Personal injury law also covers "strict liability". Strict liability means there is responsibility whether or not negligence was involved. This is usually applied to situations which are in themselves abnormally or inherently dangerous. This concept also occurs in the area of product liability. Manufacturers are charged with the responsibility of assuring that their product is safe when used as directed. If someone is injured by a product, under the terms of strict liability they do not have to prove intent or negligence, only that the product was defective through no fault of their own, and that harm was done.

Once a personal injury has occurred, the defendant has a liability to make good the damage done. "Damages" is the term for whatever is owed to you to compensate you for your loss. Damages can be agreed upon by you and the injuring party, through insurance settlements or other means. Unfortunately, the damages offered to you may not fully compensate you for your loss. This is especially true if you have suffered physical injury and have not been able to work.  Personal injury law is the mechanism for determining who is liable and what the responsible person should have to pay for the damage caused.