A personal injury case in New Mexico seeks to hold a party liable, or legally and financially responsible, for the injuries of another person. These cases typically rely on the legal theory of negligence, which means someone failed to act with proper care. Proving negligence or fault is necessary for a personal injury case to result in financial compensation for a victim.
Understanding Negligence in a Personal Injury Case
In New Mexico, everyone is responsible for acting in a reasonable and prudent manner to prevent injury to others. Acts or omissions that fall outside of this responsibility are recognized as negligence and can give someone who is injured as a result grounds to file a personal injury claim.
Negligence can refer to any careless or wanton act that disregards the safety of others. An individual does not have to have wanted to harm the victim to be found liable for injuries caused by negligence. It is enough to show that the defendant or accused party did not exercise the right amount of care, and that this led to the victim’s injury. This is the difference between a criminal case and a personal injury claim in New Mexico.
Four Elements of Negligence
Proving negligence is generally required for a successful personal injury case. Negligence means that someone did not act correctly, and that another person was injured as a result. It grants the victim the right to seek financial compensation from the negligent party to be made whole again.
Showing that a defendant is at fault and should therefore have to pay takes evidence of the four elements of negligence:
- Duty of care: the defendant was responsible for acting in a manner that would reasonably prevent harm.
- Breach of duty: the defendant committed an act or omission that fell short of the duty of care.
- Causation: the defendant’s breach of duty caused or substantially contributed to the victim’s injuries.
- Damages: the victim suffered real harm as an outcome of the negligence, such as physical injuries or property damage.
Negligence looks different depending on the type of case. For example, in a car accident in Albuquerque, negligence can refer to driver errors such as speeding or reckless driving. In a slip and fall case, negligence could be a property owner failing to maintain safe premises. The evidence required to prove negligence will vary based on the circumstances.
What Is the Burden of Proof?
The burden of proof refers to the standard of evidence that must be met for a jury to rule in the plaintiff’s favor during a court case. The burden of proof rests with the plaintiff in a personal injury case, meaning the injured party who filed the claim is responsible for providing supporting evidence.
The burden of proof in a personal injury case is a “preponderance of the evidence,” meaning enough to show that the claim is more likely to be true than not true, or true with a certainty of at least 51 percent. This is less than the burden of “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” which applies in criminal cases.
The difference in burden of proof is what differentiates a civil case from a criminal one. Proving fault in a New Mexico personal injury case does not require establishing that the defendant was guilty of a crime or intended to cause harm.
Evidence to Collect for Your New Mexico Personal Injury Case
Proving fault requires evidence or documentation that supports the claim being made. The strength of the evidence can make or break a personal injury case. The four elements of negligence must be supported and proven with clear and compelling documentation.
Personal injury cases are often backed by evidence of fault, such as:
- Medical records. Documentation proving the existence of an injury, the severity and extent of the injury, the medical treatments that will be needed, any long-term disability or disfigurement, and a connection between the injury and the accident.
- Incident reports. Reports drawn up by authority figures immediately after an accident, such as a police car accident report, an employer’s report of a workplace injury, a dog bite injury report or a report for a property-related accident. These reports can contain important details and facts about the event.
- Photos and videos. Visual evidence can clearly show which party was negligent or in the wrong at the time of an accident. Pictures should be taken at the accident scene before anything is cleaned up or cleared away. Video footage from surveillance, security or traffic cameras should also be reviewed.
- Witness statements. Detailed statements from eyewitnesses can provide key insights into what happened and who is at fault. Witnesses may have unique information from their vantage points that can help investigators reconstruct the accident.
- Expert testimony. Complex cases may benefit from hired experts, such as medical experts, accountants, technicians, engineers and accident reconstruction experts. Expert witnesses can clarify complicated issues or subjects to help make liability clear.
The success of a personal injury case in New Mexico hinges on the plaintiff’s ability to provide clear and convincing evidence. Other available types of evidence may include cell phone records, documents from employers, black box data, maintenance logs, product recalls and proof of losses suffered.
What if Multiple Parties Share Fault?
If a personal injury case involves more than one at-fault party, each defendant may be assigned a percentage of fault. Under New Mexico’s joint and several liability law, each party will be held responsible for his or her proportion of fault. If the victim is also assigned a percentage of fault, his or her financial recovery will be reduced by a matching amount under New Mexico’s pure comparative fault law.
How a New Mexico Personal Injury Attorney Can Help
Even if you know that someone else is responsible for the accident that injured you in New Mexico, you need strong evidence that proves fault to recover financial compensation. An experienced personal injury lawyer in Albuquerque will have the resources to collect evidence and present it in a compelling way on your behalf. Hiring the right attorney can strengthen your case and increase your odds of successfully proving fault. Your lawyer can navigate the laws that apply to your claim and fight to prove liability while you focus on healing. To learn more about how a lawyer can help you, contact us today for a free initial case review.