In order to succeed in negligence case, the plaintiff should establish that 1) the defendant strayed away from the standard of behavior expected of a reasonable person and that the injury could have been prevented and 2) the deviation resulted in the claimant’s injury. There are numerous methods to demonstrate that these actually occurred, including analyzing expert witness testimony and circumstantial evidence and submitting federal and state statutes as proof. A seasoned Oconee County, GA knows what it takes to win a negligence case.
Punishment comes from criminal proceedings, and not civil cases. Defendants in civil lawsuits for personal injury do not get prison terms or stiff fines as punishment. These are criminal sentences and personal injury lawsuits are civil disputes. But juries and courts can award what the law calls punitive damages when the defendant’s intentional acts have caused the injury you. These awards are rather rare.
Intentional wrongs can also be the basis of personal injury claims, though they are rarer. If a person hits you, for example, even if it is a practical joke, you might be able to win a case for battery. If a store employee wrongly detains you for shoplifting, you may be able to win a case for false imprisonment. While perpetrators of some of the intentional torts—assault and battery, for example—may be held criminally liable for their actions, a tort case is a civil proceeding in court brought by an individual or entity and is completely independent of any criminal charges brought by the government.
Comments on this entry are closed.