Creating a working strategy for your personal injury case is crucial to receiving a favorable outcome that provides reasonable compensation to you. However, working out the best way to present your case and provide sufficient proof can be challenging, primarily because you will need to meet various legal requirements. Nevertheless, working with an experienced personal injury lawyer is an excellent way to start your legal journey. Their role is pivotal in your matter, as they provide researched and verified input. At Orange County Personal Injury Attorney, you will receive excellent legal services to help you handle the burden of proof placed on you. Moreover, our team is ready to support you in compiling credible evidential sources to support your case.
Defining Burden of Proof
Once a plaintiff alleges a respondent’s wrongdoings, the court requires them to prove the specifics of their claims before a judge makes a final determination. This is done in light of following legal procedures that require each outcome to be justified.
Thus, the burden of proof is the extent to which an alleging party must provide proof before the respondent is held liable for the victim’s current position. It is noteworthy that the burden may shift from the plaintiff to the respondent as the case continues based on various factors discussed further below.
The Importance of the Burden of Proof in Court Cases
Courts serve as the ultimate option for dispute resolution, as the presiding judge holds discretion in determining how the case outcome will be. Nevertheless, judges are also guided by various legal rules to promote equality and standard procedure in determining any case. These rules are essential because they provide an element of predictability and reliance to the public, making courts a trusted avenue to resolve issues.
Among these rules is the requirement for parties to take up their burden of proof, depending on the case subject matter. Usually, the burden of proof in civil cases lies on the plaintiff, as they are the ones alleging the wrong-doings of the respondent in the matter. This differs from the standard procedure applied to criminal cases, whereby the state prosecutor carries the burden of proof against the accused person.
You should note that personal injury cases lie within the civil case category, as they involve committing a tort (a civil wrong), so understanding the scope of the burden of proof is crucial when preparing for a case. As a plaintiff seeking compensation for personal injuries, you will need to provide convincing arguments through your lawyer, often identified from the case presentation.
Classifications of Burden of Proof in Civil Cases
Although the underlying principle in imposing the burden of proof to parties is proving that the respondent was indeed involved in the alleged wrongdoings, the burdens vary. Thus, your attorney will guide you on the different responsibilities you will take on as a plaintiff and when the circumstances can change to have the respondent take up the burden.
Normally, civil cases involve two forms of the burden of proof. They are:
- Presenting clear and convincing evidence
- A preponderance of evidence
Understanding the usability of both types is essential, as you may need to conduct more research in one situation compared to another.
-
Presenting Clear and Convincing Evidence
Firstly, your case may require you to provide concise and convincing evidence from verified sources recognized as admissible evidence. Therefore, a plaintiff should meet the high standard by conducting thorough research and ensuring that the details presented in court will shift the case outcome in their favor.
Once your attorney determines that you will be required to provide convincing evidence, they must check that the details point to a very high likelihood of what you claim has happened. For example, if you were involved in a car accident and claim that the respondent is liable for the collision, your evidence should be highly convincing.
If the accident resulted from drunk driving, your personal injury attorney should source evidence that the driver’s blood alcohol concentration levels were beyond the legal limit. Presenting the information would mean that the respondent was too drunk to drive, and is, therefore, liable to pay damages.
The clarity of your evidence should not leave room for rebuttal, even where the defense attorney may try to discredit your case. In the DUI accident, presenting police records on the respondent’s BAC readings is undisputable, provided the police sources are identified and verified. This way, you have better chances of proving your claims in a convincing way.
Although presenting clear and convincing evidence produces an almost straightforward case outcome in your favor, sourcing quality evidence is not always easy. For example, if you have personal injuries during your employment period but without suffering a direct accident, you may have to address various challenges.
For example, if you developed chronic back pain that developed throughout your employment period, it is difficult to establish the exact trigger for your injury. This is made even more difficult if your work description did not involve strenuous physical activities, as determining the exact cause for the injury is difficult. Even if you obtain a doctor’s report, it may only mention a time bracket within which the back injury may have developed.
Therefore, the burden of proof to provide clear evidence is not always practical. As a result, common practice shows that parties will mostly be required to adhere to this burden of proof when seeking punitive damages against the respondent.
Punitive damages require the party held liable for a wrong to pay the additional victim costs, simply as punishment for failing to uphold their duty of care. Thus, the orders do not directly relate to specific damage to the victim but rather the overall effect on their lives from the liable party’s wrongdoings.
The following are various tort cases where clear and convincing evidence is required before a respondent pays compensation:
Shutting Off Life Support Machines
Human life is valued and regarded highly under the law despite provisions to turn off life support machines for patients in brain-dead medical conditions. However, the party requesting the court to grant the removal of life support order will need to present clear and convincing evidence that the patient’s condition is beyond any medical intervention.
The requirement serves to ensure that no human life is given up too easily while the patient has a decent chance to recover and continue with their life. Thus, the party presenting a motion to court should prepare to back their claims with clear medical evidence to support their request.
The burden of proof will require them to answer the question; what makes you give up on the patient’s chances of recovery? In doing so, they will need to consolidate a certified medical professional’s reports, tests, and records on the patient’s treatment.
Further, all the presented information should result in the patient’s non-response to treatment or eventual death. The presiding judge will only consent to give appropriate orders after they are convinced of the hopelessness in the situation, meaning that the patient can never wake up.
Cases Involving Fraud
Parties accused of fraud will be answerable for using pretenses to acquire money or benefits wrongfully. Although most fraud cases are tried in criminal cases, the aggrieved party may also sue the accused person in a civil case to recover for the losses suffered.
Clear and convincing evidence is essential to provide because the case outcome requires the respondent to compensate you with an amount equivalent to the amount they swindled from you. Imposing the order without a clear indication of their involvement would be unfair and detrimental, leading to the impediment of justice.
Among the most important evidential sources to present in court are the specific actions that the respondent undertook in defrauding you. For example, if they sent you an email posing as a legitimate entity requesting your banking details, you need to present communication records to prove it. You can consult your attorney and request assistance in acquiring the information to uphold the high standard required.
Requesting for a Restraining Order
The law also values people’s safety in different circumstances, leading to the availability of restraining orders for persons who feel threatened by an offender’s wrongdoing. A party may request for a restraining order to keep away a stalker, especially if they have figured out a way to access your home, workplace, or schedule.
Restraining orders may also be issued in domestic violence cases after a victim has already violated the law by endangering you and other loved ones. For example, you can apply for a restraining order against an abusive spouse to protect yourself and your children or any other persons living with you.
Notably, a restraining order reduces the liberty rights of the person it is issued against. This is because the respondent should not be within a specified radius of your location, regardless of where you are, including in public spaces. Consequently, the presiding judge must receive assurance that the restraining order is rightfully issued, and is not just a malicious request to separate the parties.
The requirement for clear and convincing evidence is also made with children in mind, especially in domestic cases. Denying a child the right to see one of their parents often without a solid basis can be detrimental to healthy development. Thus, you will need to prepare convincing evidence of the danger or discomfort caused by the respondent before the court approves your request.
Entering Into a Conservatorship Arrangement
Lastly, the high standards in the burden of proof regarding clear and convincing evidence are often applicable in conservatorship cases. Typically, they involve the court appointing a responsible adult known as the conservator to watch over another person, usually also an adult, known as the conservatee. The care extends to the conservator managing the conservatee’s financial access, despite the money belonging to the conservatee.
Conservatorship orders are issued when the conservatee is unable to watch over themselves for various reasons. For example, they may have suffered a serious injury that damaged their cognitive ability, meaning that they cannot make rational decisions for themselves. Alternatively, a person dealing with mental health problems may also benefit more under a conservatorship.
The need for clear evidence is crucial, as the conservator will be taking over the conservatee’s finances and way of life. Thus, granting court orders without verifying the conservatee’s incapacity may land them in an exploitation ploy, leading to additional negative experiences.
-
Preponderance of Evidence
Secondly, civil cases may require the plaintiff to undertake a burden of proof based on the preponderance of the evidence. Based on rational analysis, the statement entails information that is more probable than not to have occurred.
Usually, the court will require that the probability of a fact having occurred be at least more than 50% before considering it as true. You can persuade the court to take your account as truthful by having additional details to corroborate your primary claim.
For example, if you suffered a personal injury when working in a construction zone, you may claim that the respondent was careless in storing work tools. Having two witnesses to support your claims and provide additional information on the exact position of the tools that hurt you will also be beneficial.
Since the civil procedure rules prevent witnesses from interacting before testifying, the credibility of their testimonies will be considered over the respondent’s denial, so you are likely to shift the case in your favor by a preponderance of the evidence.
You should note that this type of burden of proof is of lower quality than the first but is more widely applicable. This is because parties may not always have access to high-quality evidential sources, nor will both parties always be sure of case facts as they truly occurred.
Consequently, the court will have to decide the case based on various assumptions and preponderance of evidence to avoid dragging out the matter. Nevertheless, evidence verification is always necessary to ensure that parties do not dodge the rules of evidence applicable in all cases.
However, you should note that the respondent is more likely to introduce new perspectives and narratives to discredit your evidence. They do this because they understand that you rely on persuasion to show that what you claim more likely happened than not.
Subsequently, you want to remain firm on your claims despite the respondent’s attorney raising different questions, especially during cross-examination. Your criminal defense attorney will also guide you to remain calm and stick to your story even when cross-examination questions are designed to throw you off.
Overall, the most important factor in confirming is that your case is highly persuasive than the respondent’s counterarguments. If so, you are better positioned to win the case and receive rightful compensation. Your presentations are also validated because you will have adhered to the court’s standard on admissible evidence. Therefore, the respondent cannot raise an issue with your approach.
Instances Where the Burden of Proof Shifts to the Defendant
Although the general rule dictates that ‘he who alleges must prove,’ the reverse may happen where the respondent takes up the burden of proof. The shift often occurs as the case progresses, meaning that you, as the plaintiff, have already presented a prima facie case against the respondent.
A prima facie case means that the plaintiff has presented a reasonably believable case capable of resulting in a court order unless the respondent can present a viable defense. It is one of the requirements in civil cases, as your claims would otherwise be unsubstantiated.
Due to this, the respondent must go over your claims and prepare a defense, shifting the burden of proof on them to dispel your accusations. Although most defenses are based on your initial claims, you should remain alert for the respondent’s tactics when raising defenses.
This is because they may aim to discredit you and shift the blame on you. They may target the approach to ensure that you are held contributorily negligent so that they do not have to compensate the full amount to you.
Contact a Orange County Personal Injury Attorney Near Me
When you are set to take on the liable party for your accident in civil court, you will need to ensure you meet the set requirements for the burden of proof. This involves conducting thorough research and compiling compelling evidence. Taking on the workload alone may be quite challenging, understandably so. Thus, working with a personal injury attorney is advisable, as they are highly skilled and experienced in the field. Their input may play a pivotal role in granting you a favorable case outcome, meaning that you will be entitled to rightful compensation. At Orange County Personal Injury Attorney, our goal is to ensure that all accident victims receive compensation for the personal injuries sustained after an accident. We have partnered with hundreds of personal injury victims seeking compensation in Orange County, California, and helped them obtain positive case outcomes. If you or a loved one requires more information on the burden of proof in civil cases, call us today at 714-876-1959.