Abbott, Schappe & Francis, LLC

Personal Injury:

Suffering a personal injury can be devastating to a victim. It means medical bills and lost work. More importantly, it may mean a loss of the little joys of life. Some of the saddest cases we see are those where a grandparent can no longer give a grandchild a bath because of a back injury suffered in a car collision – or a father that can no longer play catch with a son because of a shoulder injury. Although the law calls them personal injuries, they are really injuries that are suffered by the entire family.

Most personal injury cases have two main parts: liability and damages. The liability part of a case basically consists of proving someone else was at fault in the injury. Most personal injury lawsuits involve negligence. Negligence is a legal term that means that a person did not use the ordinary amount of care that a person should use. A corporation that allows a spill to remain on a floor for several hours before a person slips and injures him or her self has failed to use the ordinary care that a person should use. In the context of driving, state law requires that a person use the “highest degree of care” when operating a motor vehicle, as opposed to an ordinary degree of care.

Sometimes, a law or regulation provides proof that a person has been negligent. For instance, if a builder fails to comply with building codes and a building falls down injuring people, the builder is negligent because the degree of care he or she failed to use was supplied by the building code.

Not all personal injury cases involve negligence. While the criminal justice system would prosecute a person who shot or stabbed a victim, that same person could also be sued in the civil justice system for battery. Battery is an intentional tort because the person intended for the victim to be injured.

The second part of the case – damages – is frequently one of the most contested parts of a case. A person bringing a lawsuit has to prove to the Court the amount that he or she has suffered. There are generally three types of damages.

The first is called compensatory damages. These are things that are capable of easy mathematical calculation, like medical bills or lost wages.

The second is called non-compensatory damages. These are things where a money value cannot be easily applied. They were discussed earlier – things like loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, pain and suffering. In a wrongful death case, they may include the loss of companionship, comfort, guidance, instruction and support from a loved one who was killed by another.

The third type of damages is called punitive damages. These are damages that do not compensate a plaintiff for something lost, but punish a defendant for his actions. When a defendant in a lawsuit has shown an evil motive or has shown a reckless disregard and conscious indifference to the rights and safety of others, a court may award punitive damages. Missouri law places a limit on how much can be awarded in punitive damages.

Personal injury lawsuits are difficult to pursue these days. Large corporations and insurance companies – with the help of their allies in the corporate media – over-exaggerate and over-report any high jury awards but fail to say anything about the thousands of other cases. They make plaintiffs out to be the villain.

Abbott, Schappe & Francis, LLC takes a different approach. In our view, those that stand up for their rights are not villains, but heroes. Heroes who ensure that our society operates with a degree of safety and security for all – not just for corporate bosses sitting in seats of inscrutable power.

If you have been injured or if a loved one of yours has been injured, please call us. We stand ready to pick up your banner and carry it through the legal system.