Injury & Liability
Who owes a duty, what breaches it, and how injury claims are proved, valued, and resolved.
-
Injury & Liability
Negligence: Duty, Breach, Causation, and Damages
Negligence requires duty, breach, actual and proximate cause, and damages. Every element must be proved, and each is defined by the law of the state where the injury happened.
-
Injury & Liability
Comparative and Contributory Fault: How States Divide Blame
An injured person's own carelessness reduces or destroys recovery depending on which of three systems the state uses. The percentage that bars a claim is the single most important local rule.
-
Injury & Liability
Premises Liability: Invitees, Licensees, and Trespassers
Premises liability traditionally sorts entrants into invitees, licensees, and trespassers, each owed a different duty. A substantial minority of states now applies one reasonableness standard instead.
-
Injury & Liability
Dog Bite Liability: Strict Liability Compared With One-Bite Rules
Dog bite liability splits two ways. Strict liability statutes make the owner responsible regardless of knowledge; common-law scienter rules require proof the owner knew of the animal's dangerous tendency.
-
Injury & Liability
Proving Notice in a Slip-and-Fall Claim
A slip-and-fall claimant must show the occupier created the hazard, actually knew of it, or should have discovered it. Some states relieve that burden through the mode-of-operation rule.
-
Injury & Liability
Medical Malpractice: Standard of Care and Affidavits of Merit
A malpractice claim requires expert proof of the professional standard of care, and most states also demand a certificate or affidavit of merit filed with or shortly after the complaint.
-
Injury & Liability
Wrongful Death and Survival Actions: Who Sues for What
Wrongful death and survival actions are separate statutory claims. One compensates family members for their losses, the other continues the claim the decedent held at death.
-
Injury & Liability
Damages: Economic, Non-Economic, and Statutory Caps
Injury damages divide into economic loss, non-economic loss, and in some states punitive awards. Many legislatures cap non-economic damages, and several caps have been struck down.
-
Injury & Liability
Dram Shop and Social Host Liability for Alcohol Service
Dram shop statutes make licensed sellers liable for serving visibly intoxicated or underage patrons. Social host liability is narrower and in many states limited to service to minors.
-
Injury & Liability
Products Liability: Design, Manufacturing, and Warning Defects
Products liability recognizes manufacturing, design, and warning defects. States differ over whether design defect is judged by consumer expectations, risk-utility, or a reasonable alternative design.
-
Injury & Liability
State Tort Claims Acts: Notice Deadlines and Immunity Limits
Claims against public bodies are governed by tort claims acts that require early written notice, preserve broad immunities, and often cap recovery well below ordinary tort limits.
-
Injury & Liability
Injury Settlements: Medical Liens, Subrogation, and Structured Payments
A settlement is rarely paid to the claimant alone. Medicare, Medicaid, health plans, hospitals, and lawyers assert rights against it, and structures can spread what remains over time.
