Wrongful Acts Causing Injury

          I had the opportunity recently to speak with a woman who was like many of you, a person who had been injured and did not know how things worked from there. She had been damaged and could articulate those damages pretty well. She had been injured, she was in pain, and she had the normal range of issues in that she had to adjust her conduct in her home, work and social situations. She had medical bills, co-pays, uninsured items and concern about her future.

          As we discussed her situation, I brought her back to the accident itself and asked her to explain it to me again. After she finished I asked her what she thought the target of her claim had done wrong. Her answer was that she did not know if he had done anything wrong. I explained that it is understandable that the injured person does not know if the target of their claim did anything wrong. This firm and others like us often have to enlist the assistance of experts in many different fields to assist us in determining if someone's conduct was wrongful in some manner. But, in this instance there did not appear much hope of finding anything having been done negligently by the target. I then discussed with her the possibility that the tool that the target was using at the time of the injury might have been defective. Again, we often retain experts to assist us in determining that. But, here again it did not seem likely to me that the tool was defective and I told her that.

          The potential client's reaction was that the target's insurance carrier should still pay her because of all of her damages. This is where she separated herself from many of you who already understand that our judicial system is not designed to be like welfare; it is not simply having suffered damages that create a cause of action. For a person to be liable for your damages due to their negligence they have to have done something wrong and that wrongful action must be found to have caused your injury. The elements of a wrongful act (or omission) and causation are central to any successful negligence claim.

          If you have been injured and you want to discuss a claim with a lawyer, you should be prepared to discuss both of these elements with your lawyer. Your lawyer will need to understand the facts sufficiently to make a determination not only regarding your injuries and damages but also the facts relevant to the allegedly wrongful act (or omission) and causation.         

Timothy G. Kerrigan is a director at Hamblett & Kerrigan, P.A. His present practice focuses on complex legal situations both in the litigation and in the ADR context. He is available as a litigator, client advocate or as an ADR neutral. Mr. Kerrigan is certified by the State Office of Mediation and Arbitration both as a mediator and as an arbitrator. You can reach Attorney Kerrigan by e-mail at tkerrigan@nashualaw.com.

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