Assumption Of Risk In Personal Injury Cases | Eisenberg Law

Assumption Of Risk Or Comparative Negligence And What It Means In Personal Injury Cases

Assumption of Risk is a common defense strategy used by defendants to try and minimize their liability for a plaintiff's injuries. It's not something that is relevant to every personal injury case but when it does come up, there is a greater chance of the plaintiff losing out on compensation for the injuries suffered.
Tort Law And Negligence
Assumption of risk in personal injury cases has its basis in tort law. Torts are "wrongs" that a person has suffered due to another's negligence or intentional actions. They are a leading cause of personal injury lawsuits. When a person has been injured (the plaintiff) in this manner, they are able to sue the other party (the defendant) to recover damages for the injuries suffered.
Legal Defense In Tort Cases
Legal defenses in tort cases are considered a valid or acceptable excuse. When defendants use legal defenses in tort and personal injury cases, they are admitting that they did something to cause injury to the plaintiff but that the plaintiff should not be eligible to recover damages or the damages should be less.
In personal injury cases, the plaintiff must show that the defendant caused harm to them. The defendant may offer up a legal defense against the claim, but he/she must prove that the defense is applicable to the case.

How Assumption Of Risk Comes Into Play As A Personal Injury Defense

When using this defense in a personal injury case, the defendant argues that the plaintiff is at least partially to blame for the injuries he/she suffered based on his/her actions or inactions. Therefore, because the plaintiff knew or should have known that his/her actions were potentially injurious, the plaintiff should not be able to recover damages for those injuries or at least not the entire amount of damages.
One common example is people who participate in extreme sports. If an injury occurs during the playing of the sport and the plaintiff decides to sue the host site or facility where the sport was taking place, the defendant could argue that the plaintiff knew that they were undertaking a risky activity and should not be allowed to collect damages as a result.
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This post was originally published at https://www.eisenberglaw.org/assumption-risk-personal-injury-cases-eisenberg-law.