Rhode Island Personal Injury Law Overview

Personal injury law is a very broad area of law that covers a wide variety of accidents and incidents that can lead to physical, emotional, and financial injury. Some of the most common types of personal injury cases are vehicle accidents, premises liability incidents, medical malpractice, and defective products. Because personal injury law varies from state to state, if you live in Rhode Island and feel you may have a valid personal injury claim, please contact an experienced Rhode Island personal injury attorney today.

Damages

The term "damages" refers to the money that is awarded to you following your accident and injury. In Rhode Island, you may collect for:

• Past and future medical bills
• Lost wages
• Loss of earning capacity
• Property damage
• Permanent disability
• Emotional distress
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Pain and suffering

Punitive damages may be awarded in some cases, too. These are damages intended to punish the defendant for his negligence or wrongdoing. In Rhode Island, if a defendant acted with malice, wantonness, or willfulness, punitive damages may be awarded to the victim.

Pure comparative negligence

In Rhode Island, law allows for pure comparative negligence, which means you can collect compensation even if you were largely to blame for your injuries. Your compensation will be reduced by the percentage you are deemed responsible. If you were 25% responsible for your injuries, then your compensation will be reduced by 25%. Even if you were 99%, you can still collect 1% of the damages.

Joint and several liability

Many lawsuits have multiple defendants. In Rhode Island joint and several liability states that each party is only responsible for paying his share of the blame, but if one party cannot pay his amount, the plaintiff can collect the entire amount from any of the defendants.

Rhode Island has a longer statute of limitations for personal injury cases than most other states. In Rhode Island you have three years to file, but there are different rules for calculating this date that an experienced personal injury attorney can explain to you.

If you live in Rhode Island and would like to learn more about personal injury law, please contact an experienced Rhode Island personal injury attorney today.