Injury Lawyer and Intentional Acts vs. Negligence

How does an injury lawyer know how to determine whether an act was intentional or just negligence? It takes knowledge and experience with the law to decide how to proceed on each case. Every situation and every client requires that an attorney sit down and figure out what type of case to pursue. The difference between intentional and negligent acts is not always easy to spot and the settlements and compensation varies.

Similarities

When a personal injury lawyer takes on a case to deal with either intentional or negligent acts, he or she is acting on behalf of a client that has been personally affected by another event, product, or person. The attorney can seek out compensation based on the damages that a person experienced. It does not matter whether or not the act is determined to be intentional or just negligent for a person to receive some form of compensation.

Both cases require that an attorney prove that an incident negatively affected the client. Then, he must also prove that another person was responsible for the damage. Some cases take place in front of a judge while others are held in front of a jury. From there, if the attorney has proven his point, it will be determined how much compensation the client is entitled to.

Differences

There are differences between intentional and negligent acts when it comes to compensation. Many times, if an injury lawyer can prove that an act was intentional, meaning that a person or company made it a point to cause damage or harm, the compensation is more lucrative. It does require that the attorney actually prove that this was not just an accident or an unintentional situation. This is not always easy.

The injury lawyer needs to prove what was in the mind of the offender when he or she committed the act. It is possible to just ask someone about intentions, but the answer is not always forthcoming. On the other side, if there is anything said or written down, this can make the case easier to prove.

Intentional acts under the law include things like assault and battery, fraud, and false imprisonment. These situations demonstrate that one person negatively affected another on purpose. While it is possible to pick up an insurance policy to cover you if a case is brought up against you, any type of insurance does not cover intentional acts. If this were the case, criminals would be able to purchase a policy and not worry about the consequences of their actions.

Because sometimes there is a fine line between intentional damage and negligence, it is important to retain the services of an injury lawyer that understands those differences. He also needs to understand that each one requires a different approach to the case.