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Personal injury law has its origins in ancient and biblical texts.
At the turn of the 20th century, personal injury and legal systems began to come together more frequently, although compensation for physical injuries still relied upon severity without including non-economic damages.
Personal injury law permits people to seek compensation for physical, psychological and reputational harm caused by someone else’s negligence. While laws or legal systems have existed since ancient times, modern personal injury law really began taking off only during the late 1970s.
At present, many laws are based on “common law rules.” These refer to regulations made up by judges rather than being passed as bills or statutes by congress or other bodies. Personal injury lawyers rely heavily on this system of jurisprudence in pursuing and winning cases for their clients.
Ancient understanding of personal injury was more diffuse than it is today, though laws such as Hammurabi’s Code from Babylon (dated between 1792-1750 BC ) helped establish what we now consider personal injury law. For example, one such law required those who harmed others to pay back in kind by paying back to victims in kind if their harm caused damage.
In the 1600s, England’s common law made its way over to America and began shaping the law here. One principle introduced under English common law was “res ipsa loquitur”, or the “thing itself speaks,” which dictates that any incident that was not due to natural causes must be blamed on someone or something.
Before the 1800s, personal injury cases were fairly infrequent and focused almost exclusively on physical injuries. Attorneys could only charge so much for their services; non-economic damages like pain and suffering weren’t even taken into consideration when awarding compensation to claimants.
Jacoby and Meyers of California decided in the 1880s to make a change. Their goal was to establish an affordable yet professional law firm for Americans from all backgrounds. Jacoby and Meyers began aggressively advertising themselves – handing out business cards, opening storefronts around the nation, placing ads in newspapers and billboards- violating American Bar Association ethics rules which eventually led to court cases reaching all the way up to the Supreme Court.
This landmark case, commonly referred to as the Paisley Snail Case, revolutionized how personal injury attorneys viewed their clients and what types of cases they could bring forward. At that time, lawyers were widely criticized for filing frivolous suits that cost taxpayers and consumers millions; furthermore, many insurance companies and lawmakers suspected personal injury attorneys of taking advantage of innocent victims by demanding excessive settlement amounts from insurers and lawmakers.
On August 26, 1928, May Donoghue and Stevenson first came into dispute during a cafe visit in Paisley, Scotland with her friend. Her friend purchased a bottle of Stevenson-made ginger beer stored in an opaque glass bottle sealed with metal caps – when poured into a tumbler however, decomposing snail remains came spilling out, prompting Donoghue to experience shock as well as severe gastroenteritis symptoms.
Prior to Donoghue vs Stevenson, negligence laws were limited by contractual relationships; courts were reluctant to create non-consensual obligations for individuals. But in Donoghue vs Stevenson, the House of Lords held that manufacturers owed consumers a duty of care even without an existing contract between them.
This case also demonstrated how the principle of res ipsa loquitur could be applied in certain instances to determine liability. If an incident took place wherein its outcome could not have been predicted, those responsible must compensate victims. This forms the basis for many modern negligence claims.
Donoghue vs.Stevenson enabled personal injury attorneys to gain more clients and expand their practice areas, leading to increased competition between law firms, leading to higher fees for successful personal injury claims. Furthermore, this case established that attorneys were permitted to advertise their services more widely, contrary to what was enforced before by the American Bar Association who enforced strict restrictions on how attorneys could advertise their rates and reduce frivolous lawsuits filed and safeguard the rights of injured people.
Ancient Babylon’s Code of Hammurabi included “eye for an eye” rules stipulating that anyone inflicting harm must be punished, but over time this evolved into personal injury law with victims receiving compensation for their losses. England’s common law began evolving into today’s personal injury legislation as this concept, known as Res Ipsa Loquitur or “the thing itself speaks,” took hold.
Accidents that don’t naturally happen must be caused by someone and injuries sustained should be compensated accordingly. Res Ipsa Loquitur was first implemented by England’s courts during the 1600s before eventually making its way across to Maryland laws as part of Res Ipsa Loquitur legislation, even still today!
A court can infer negligence and causation on the part of defendants based on circumstantial evidence that shows their control of whatever caused an accident, as long as this type of condition usually doesn’t happen without negligent behavior being involved. Furthermore, plaintiffs must demonstrate there are no other reasonable explanations for what occurred in order to establish negligence and causation in court.
IF an injured party can successfully establish all elements of res ipsa loquitur, they will have met their burden and should receive compensation for their injuries. A defendant could attempt to disprove this argument by providing evidence showing it wasn’t caused by negligence but by Act of God.
For example, if a patient suffers a spinal cord injury after having undergone epidural steroid injection at a hospital, their surgeon might argue that medical negligence did not cause it as the procedure is known to have complications. But their lawyer could use an expert witness who could demonstrate that the procedure wasn’t performed correctly and caused adverse outcomes due to negligence on his/her part.
One of the greatest breakthroughs in personal injury law has been comparative negligence, which allows victims of negligence cases to receive greater compensation than would otherwise be available under traditional rules such as contributory negligence which bar any recovery for anyone deemed responsible.
An effective way of conceptualizing comparative negligence is to envision playing soccer with your kids at your home. If you kick too hard near a window and it breaks, if not careful you could be held liable for its repair or replacement – however other players who were not playing along are likely also part of any incident’s responsibility if an accident did occur.
Comparative negligence can also help create a fair allocation of blame between multiple defendants in an negligence suit involving multiple plaintiffs. For example, if a judge finds one defendant 75% at fault and one 25%, then each party involved can agree upon splitting that percentage responsibility and providing appropriate payments to their respective injured clients accordingly.
Comparative negligence can be used effectively during settlement negotiations. A competent attorney will argue that even though a plaintiff was partially to blame for their accident, they still deserve financial compensation to cover medical bills and damages sustained as a result of it.
Comparative negligence laws have provided many victims of accidents with the compensation necessary for medical expenses, lost wages and physical pain and suffering. But for these laws to work effectively in individual cases, victims need to understand how they apply in their case and work with an experienced personal injury lawyer to protect their rights and make sure their rights are secure.
Contact TonaLaw today and learn how comparative negligence law may apply in your situation. Our team of dedicated lawyers stands ready to fight for justice on your behalf – don’t delay in reaching out, take advantage of our free consultations – we look forward to speaking with you!