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Accidents can happen and wreck your life within the blink of an eye. Victims of accidents will sustain many types of losses that will hurt their quality of life in the long term. 

Thankfully, Personal Injury Law exists. It allows victims to acquire compensation for their losses if the accident was caused by someone else’s Negligence.

Hiring a lawyer is important when seeking compensation after an injury because insurance companies often try to lowball victims. Insurance companies try their best to either reduce or reject the victim’s compensation. The victim can claim compensation for the following:

● Medical expenses

● Property repair costs

● Lost wages

● Loss of ability to earn

● Pain and suffering

● Loss of companionship

● Loss of reputation

● Funeral costs in the event of death

Personal Injury Law is a pretty wide subject that is quite complex. You need to learn a lot about personal injury law to keep yourself prepared in times of crisis.

This blog post helps you take the first step in learning about personal injury law. It discusses the different types of negligence in personal injury law. Read on.

The Four Types of Negligence

There are 4 main types of negligence in personal injury law, which are:

● Gross Negligence

● Vicarious Negligence

● Comparative Negligence

● Contributory Negligence

Gross Negligence

Gross negligence is the most serious form of negligence. This type of negligence refers to the actions of the defendant, which are careless/reckless and consciously disregard the safety and well-being of others. Punitive damages are usually awarded when the defendant is found grossly negligent.

For example, a surgeon works on a patient when they are drunk.

Vicarious Negligence

Vicarious negligence allows the victim to hold the employer accountable for the employee’s actions.For example, a trucking company can be held liable for a truck accident caused by the driver.

Comparative Negligence

Comparative negligence is a negligence rule that is being followed in most states in the US. According to this rule, the amount of compensation awarded to the plaintiff will be reduced based on their percentage of responsibility for the accident.

If the victim is 20% responsible for the accident, then 20% will be cut from the compensation they will get. 

Comparative negligence is of two types:

● Pure comparative negligence

● Modified comparative negligence

Contributory Negligence

Contributory negligence is a strict rule that is being followed in only five states in the US at the moment. According to this rule, the victim cannot file a claim even if they are 1% responsible for the accident.

Example: You were hit by a drunk driver when jaywalking. In this scenario, you are partially responsible for the accident, so you will not be able to file a claim. 

Hire a Lawyer

Knowing the different types of negligence rules can help you only to some extent. Even if you read 100 legal blogs, you will be no match for experienced lawyers. You will need a lawyer if you intend to win your case.

An experienced lawyer can help your case in many ways. Over all the other benefits, the best benefit of hiring a lawyer is the protection you get. They will protect you from the cheap strategies of the insurance companies.

Insurance companies often try to lowball victims since they are for-profit organizations and work for their best interests. They don’t look out for your best interests, as they claim in the ads.

So hiring a lawyer is the best way to ensure you get full compensation for your losses.

Final Thoughts

Hope this blog post helped you understand the different types of negligence and the importance of a lawyer. If you have been a victim of an accident, just call a lawyer and let them handle it.

The post The Different Types of Negligence Rules You Should Know About appeared first on Wingman Magazine - The 'Dark Web' of Personal Development.