What is a Personal Injury Claim?
If a person involved or injured in an injury stemming from the negligent or intentional actions of another person, he is eligible for filing a lawsuit in the court. This lawsuit is known as personal injury claim. The injured can even ask for the assistance of professional personal injury solicitor to increase his chances of claiming for his damages. Personal injury can be of many types:
- Medical malpractice
- Motor vehicle accident
- Slip and fall accidents
- Construction defects
- Dog bites
Statute of Limitations
Statute of limitation is the time limit set for a victim of personal injury case for filing his case in the court. In Rhode Island, the state of limitation time is set to THREE YEARS. If the injured is not able to file his case within three years, his appeal would be regarded as time-barred and no actions would be taken.
Motor Vehicle Insurance Policies
Rhode Island is ‘fault’ insurance state when it comes to motor vehicle accidents. In Rhode Islands, the injured person normally has three ways to file a lawsuit in the civil court. These options are as follows:
- File a lawsuit in the court
- File a claim with his own insurance company
- File a claim with the insurance company of at-fault driver
Comparative Fault Rules
When filing a personal injury claim it is possible that the defendant might try to prove you at fault. This is where the ‘comparative fault’ rule comes to play. Under the ‘comparative fault’ rule of Rhode Island, the compensation amount of the injured person gets reduced due to his own share of fault in the accident. Example:
Imagine that you are going over speed and you cross a green light barrier. Another driver runs the signal and hits you from sideways causing the injury. At the court, it was found that while the driver was 90 percent was at fault, you also shared 10 percent of the fault. Hence, the compensation amount that had to be $ 10,000 gets reduced to $ 9,000.
Real Life Example
In a real personal injury case, a waitress suffered a back injury while working at Outback Steak House. After a series of hearings, courtroom battles, the attorneys claimed a settlement worth $75,000. The original information could be found at rhode island personal injury website
Damage Caps in Personal Injury case
Damages in personal injury cases are capped in most of the state. These caps are to limit the amount of compensation a person can receive. However, Rhode Island does not cap damages in personal injury cases with medical malpractice. In wrongful deaths, plaintiffs may not recover punitive damages.
Nonetheless, if you have suffered a personal injury due to the actions of another party, such as an injury from a slip and fall incident or a car accident, you should consult with a Rhode Island personal injury attorney to discuss how to recover any losses you may have incurred.
