Basics of Personal Injury Explained by the Crowson Law Group

A recent train accident in Alaska resulted in twenty-three persons suffering minor injuries as a result of the accident. The train crash resulted from a derailment of the train; the derailment occurred at the top of a mountain near the Canada-Alaska border. While the accident resulted in minor injuries only, a common question that emerges is what happens to the injured? What available options do they have at their disposal from a legal perspective? To assist with these questions and to discuss the basics of legal relief for train accident victims is an attorney and spokesman for the Crowson Law Group.

The attorney stated that, “the provision of personal injury law allows an injured person to go to civil court to seek and to get legal remedy or damages for all losses resulting from the accident. The purpose of personal injury law is to allow the injured person to be compensated financially after he or she has suffered harm as a result of someone else’s carelessness or negligent conduct. With respect to accidents, personal injury rules apply where someone acts in a negligent way and as a result of that negligence a person is injured or harmed.”

The spokesman further stated that personal injury laws are derived from old common law rules. Common law is said to refer to laws made by judges as compared to laws passed in bills or statues or legislatures. The common-law rules work in such a way as when a judge hears a case, he or she makes a decision which becomes precedent for all other courts in the state that are lower than the court in which the judge made the decision. The lower courts are then bound by the higher court judge’s decision and must apply the decision the judge made. Therefore, these binding precedents creates a body of “common law”. As a result, common law differs from one state to the next.

The spokesman stated that there are standard steps that most personal injury cases follow despite the fact that no two cases are exactly alike. The steps are:

1. The defendant does something to injure the plaintiff – this can be almost any bad act on the part of the defendant. With respect of trains, the accident itself is the bad act which caused the injury.
2. The plaintiff shows or proves that the defendant breached a legal duty – the legal duty depends on the type of accident which caused the injury. In the case of train conductors, they have the duty to operate the train with a specific level of care that any other reasonable person would show on the railway.
3. Settlement talks – if it is clear to all that the defendant indeed was in breach of his or her legal duty, then the defendant or his or her insurance company representing him or her may wish to settle outside of court. Settlement is an offer of monetary compensation to the injured person.

If you are involved in a train accident in Alaska seek out train accident attorneys to represent your interests in your personal injury case.

About the company:

The Crowson Law Group is a law firm of renowned professionals who handle train accident related personal injury matters as well as other areas of personal injury law.

The press release looks at the basics on personal injury law with regard to train accidents. Comments are given by the Crowson Law Group.

Crowson Law Group
637 A St.
Anchorage, Ak, 99501

This release was published on openPR.