Personal injury claims can be broken down into three broad categories, or types, of personal injury claims. These categories include:
- Intentional Torts.
- Negligence
- Strict Liability.
Intentional Torts
Intentional torts are private wrongs conducted against a victim that result in an injury to the victim where the person who commits the wrong has a particular state of mind while committing the intentional tort. There are a number of intentional torts, some of which include:
- Assault – a threat to injure another, or an attempted battery.
- Battery – hitting a victim to cause an injury.
- Defamation – saying something that is false about another with the intention of causing harm.
- False imprisonment – preventing someone from freely leaving a place.
- Fraud – lying or cheating someone out of money or something of value.
- Intentional infliction of emotional distress – deliberately causing another emotional distress.
- Trespass to land – using property without permission from the property owner.
Negligence
Another type of personal injury claim is one based on the negligence of another. A negligence claim requires four elements:
- The party that caused the injury owed a duty of care to the victim,
- The party that caused the injury breached that duty of care,
- The breach of that duty of care was the cause in fact (meaning but for the party’s actions the victim would not have been hurt) and proximate cause (meaning there is a link between the party’s actions and the victim’s injuries) of the victim’s injuries, and
- Damages have by the victim from the negligence of the party that cause the injury.
Strict Liability
Strict liability holds a person or company liable for any personal injuries caused by its conduct or the products it sells whether or not it acted negligently to cause the harm. The seller, distributor or manufacturer of a dangerous product, for example, could be held strictly liable for any harm consumers suffer as a result of the products that they have sold, regardless of their actions. Strict liability can apply to cases involving:
- Products liability and manufacturing defects in products.
- Animal bites.
Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Claims
In order to make a personal injury claim, the victim must assert their claim against the party that injured them within a certain amount of time after suffering the injury. This limited window of opportunity in which to bring a personal injury action is referred to as a statute of limitations, and for personal injury claims, the statute of limitations is one year under Tennessee law.
Contact a Nashville Attorney for Help
When you have suffered an injury at the hands of another, you need to seek financial compensation for the harm that you have suffered, any medical expenses associated with the injuries you have sustained, and for any lost wages you have incurred. A skilled Nashville personal injury attorney can help you develop a personal injury case and can help you seek the recovery that you deserve.