How is the amount of damages suffered in a personal injury determined?
To bear responsibility for injury to others, your negligent action (or failure to act in certain situations) must be the proximate cause of the injury without any intervening causes interrupting the natural sequence of events. Once the first three elements of a tort (duty, breach, and causation) have been established, it is then a matter of determining the amount of damages suffered so that an injured party can be compensated for the damages sustained as a result of the tortfeasor’s act or omission (a “tortfeasor” is the person who breached his/her duty which caused damages). Some common “damages” that a person may suffer include: (1) medical expenses – such as doctors fees and hospitalization costs (2) rehabilitation therapy – the cost of obtaining services provided by others who assist a person to return to the same or similar physical condition s/he was in prior to the negligent act or omission. This could include training for a new occupation if the injury prevents the injured part
