As discussed, causation is one of the elements that must be proved in an automobile accident case here in Palm Beach County (or in Broward County or in Miami-Dade County). The accident lawyer at Drucker Law offices advises that all elements must be proved in an car accident case as well as any other injury case. The other two primary elements of a claim are liability (usually negligence) and damages (medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering).
I’ll give a short example to explain. Mary is in an accident. She claims to have hurt her knee in the crash. Mary incurrs medical bills. Mary misses some work. Mary claims pain and suffering. Mary testifies in court that she did not have pain the day before the accident, that the pain in her knee began after the accident and that she incurred these bills because of the accident.
What would a causation defense look like?
The defense may point to the pictures of the car that were in the accident merely showing scratches on the car. The argument would be: how could this minor accident cause an injury to Mary’s knee or cause any injury at all?
Further, the defense may point out that Mary did not go to the hospital, did not show up to a doctor for 4 weeks after the accident, and that when she showed up at the doctor she first only complained of neck pain and the knee pain did not show in the medical records for another four weeks. The argument would be: if she hurt her knee in the accident, wouldn’t she have gone to the hospital and/or gone to see a doctor right away? Further, if she hurt her knee in the accident, wouldn’t it be reflected in the medical records?
Next, the defense may point out that Mary had been to her family doctor a year before the accident and had complained about pain in that same knee. The argument would be: How do they know that Mary’s knee injury is related to her car accident and was not just a natural progression of her knee injury from a year prior?
There could be other defenses in the case, like that Mary was fully at fault or partly at fault; that is liability defenses. Liability of course is the first element of an injury case. The defense could argue that there was no injury to the knee; the doctor for the defense could take the position that there is no injury; that is, the defense could argue there are no damages. This of course is the second element of the case, which of course is damages.
In summary, one of the major defenses in an injury cases deals with causation. While I did not cover all causation issues, I do believe I have covered the major ones and I hope this has been helpful.
Every case is different and must be judged on its merits. It is a good start to get a complementary consultation regarding an injury case in case this happens to you. The advice contained in this blog is intended to be for general purposes and not as to a specific situation, so please call a licensed Florida attorney, like the law offices of Gary J. Drucker, to figure out if and how Florida law applies to your case.
If you or a loved one has been in an accident and are in need of a legal consultation, please contact the injury attorney at Drucker Law Offices at 561-483-9199 for a consultation in the Boca Raton office. Free consultations are offered for injury cases in the Coral Springs office (which also handles all of Broward County and Parkland, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Weston and so forth) and that number is 954-755-2120. Lastly, consultations are offered in the Miami office (Aventura, Coral Gables, Kendall and so forth) at 305-981-1561.
