Los Angeles Injury Lawyer Blog

When there is a civil lawsuit filed in court, the party who filed the claim (plaintiff) against the alleged wrongdoer (defendant) must meet certain elements before they can win their lawsuit. For negligence lawsuits, the plaintiff has to show that the defendant had a “duty” to them in a certain situation. For example, unless there is a Good Samaritan law (which California lacks), a bystander on the street does not have the “duty” to help someone who has just been hit by a car. Unless the bystander was the one who pushed the plaintiff in front of the car, the plaintiff will likely not win anything if he sues the bystander for not helping him.

Many professionals have a duty to their clients. Doctors, for example, have a duty to their patients, whether it is disclosing potential side effects of their treatments, or for a certain procedure that they are performing. There are limits on the duty that a doctor has in these cases. A doctor would likely have little to no duty to someone whom he had never met before, much less performed a medical procedure on. However, these circumstances all vary with each case. A person may have duty to another even though they did not directly cause the injury. A primary example of this would be a premises liability lawsuit. If you own a house but failed to maintain your front porch, and your guest trips and falls, then you may be liable in a lawsuit.

There are additional elements in a civil lawsuit, including causation, damages and standard of care. If you want to file a personal injury lawsuit and don’t know where to turn, you need to call Greenberg & Rudman LLP today. Our attorneys have had over 50 years of combined experience and can help you in your case. Pick up the phone and call us now at 1-800-252-9776 (1-800-ALAWPRO) for your free and confidential consultation. Or, you can visit our website www.alawpro.com for more information our attorneys and on the different types of civil lawsuits there are.