New Mexico Personal Injury Law Overview

Personal injury law is a broad area of law that encompasses the incidents that result in personal injury or death as a result of someone else's negligence or wrongdoing. Some of the most common types of personal injury cases in New Mexico are medical malpractice, defective products, premises liability and motor vehicle accidents.

Negligence

In personal injury cases, in order to prove fault you must prove negligence. New Mexico law follows the doctrine of "pure comparative negligence," which means you are allowed to receive compensation for your injuries even if you are partly to blame for them. Pure comparative negligence allows you to receive compensation even if you were 99% to blame for your injuries.

Compensation

In New Mexico, you may collect compensation for:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Future lost wages
• Permanent disability
• Pain and suffering
• Permanent disfigurement
• Emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Property damage
• Other expenses directly caused by your injury

Punitive damages are those damages awarded with the intent of punishing the defendant. Punitive damages are not intended to compensate for your loss. In New Mexico, in order to receive punitive damages, the plaintiff must prove the defendant's conduct was wanton, willful, reckless, malicious, oppressive, or fraudulent.

Liability

New Mexico follows the doctrine of "several liability," which means that if multiple parties are responsible for your injuries, then they will each have their share to pay. In one party fails to pay, the plaintiff cannot collect more money from the other parties.

Statute of limitations

All states have time limits, called statutes of limitations, in which to file a personal injury claim. In New Mexico, the statute of limitations is three years for most personal injury cases.

If you live in New Mexico and feel you may have a personal injury claim on your hands, please contact an experienced New Mexico attorney in your area today.