Personal Injury Lawyer
Columbus, Ohio
We represented a young man who was severely burned in a propane gas explosion at his residence shortly after having a new propane tank professionally installed. The man's family lawyer referred him to Robert W. Kerpsack Co., L.P.A. We consulted a nationally-renowned gas explosion expert, and attempted to reach a settlement with the professional installer's insurance company. We filed a personal injury lawsuit after the insurance company blamed the man's injuries on the previous homeowners for failing to cap a gas service line when they removed a gas-fired clothes dryer from the basement of the residence. Vigorous "finger-pointing" defenses were bankrolled by the insurance companies for the professional installer and the previous homeowners. The case was prepared for trial, and a reasonable settlement was reached on the morning of the first day of trial.
Personal injury law, also described as tort law, is a system of laws that allow individuals to recover damages in civil courts for injuries-physical, financial, and emotional-they have suffered as a result of malice or neglect.
These tort, or personal injury laws, require three conditions be met in each case:
- A legal duty between the injured party and the party responsible for the injury
- A breach of that legal duty
- Damage as a result of that breach of legal duty
The resulting torts can then be categorized as intentional acts, or negligence, depending on the specifics of the case.
An intentional act is something that someone does to willingly cause injury or other harm. For example, if someone were to damage your property or harm you physically, out of anger, that would constitute an intentional act.
A negligent act is one that causes damage unintentionally. For example, if someone were to damage your property or cause injury by driving carelessly, that would constitute a negligent act.
To further complicate issues, in some cases, there is a concept called strict liability, which applies in situations that are unusually or inherently dangerous, as well as in cases of product liability and, in Ohio, dog bite cases. Under strict liability guidelines, the injured party does not have to prove that the responsible party was negligent.
When you are injured as a result of another party's neglect, that party is responsible for compensating you for damages you've incurred. Damages, in this case, can be used to describe any losses you've suffered. Depending on your specific case, damages might include any of the following:
- Physical injury damages, to compensate victims for injury up to and including death
- Monetary loss damages, to compensate the victim for such things as medical bills, stock market losses, property damage, and lost wages
- Emotional damages are designed as compensation for extreme emotional trauma
- Punitive damages, awarded in rare cases in which the defendant is shown to be acting maliciously, are designed not to compensate the victim, but to punish the defendant
If you or someone you love has suffered personal injury due to someone else's negligence or malicious acts, your first step is to seek any medical attention, and to bring the situation to the attention of the proper authorities.
Once everyone is out of immediate danger, consider contacting a personal injury attorney to determine whether you have a case against the party at fault, and if so, how to proceed.
At Robert W. Kerpsack Co., L.P.A., we limit our practice to plaintiffs' personal injury law. Email or Call us today to arrange your free, personal consultation.
