If a person has been injured as a result of someone else's actions, before any damages are awarded, they must provide liability. How does someone establish liability?

A: First, you must establish legal duty. All lawyers learn in law school that there are three components to a tort case: Duty, Breach and Causation. Unless the person owes a legal duty to you, they cannot be held responsible for any harm they cause you. For example, doctors owe a legal duty to their patients to comply with the standard of care and they can be liable for failing to do so. 18 wheeler operators have a legal duty to drive their trucks in a safe manner and to obey the traffic laws and they can be responsible for injuries they cause if they fail to do so.

An injured party must prove that their injury was proximately caused by another person or organization's negligence. Negligence simply means failing to do what a reasonable and prudent person or entity would have done under the same or similar circumstances. Sometimes this requires expert testimony, such as in medical malpractice cases. Expert witnesses would be required to establish what a reasonable and prudent doctor would have done under the same or similar circumstances. This is often referred to as the "standard of care". In other cases, such as a truck wreck, expert testimony may not be required if the negligence is clear, such as would a reasonable and prudent 18 wheeler operator have abided by the posted speed limit.

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