Need help in self representation in arbitration.

Personal injury law covers civil claims where one person seeks monetary compensation from another whose negligent or wrongful conduct caused them physical, emotional, or financial harm. Common case types include automobile accidents, slip-and-fall on commercial property, dog bites, defective consumer products, medical malpractice (handled by a specialized sub-bar), wrongful death, and workplace injuries outside the workers compensation system.

To recover damages, a plaintiff must usually prove four elements:

1. Duty — the defendant owed the plaintiff a legal duty of care (drivers must drive carefully, store owners must keep their premises safe, etc.).
2. Breach — the defendant violated that duty.
3. Causation — the breach actually and proximately caused the plaintiff's injury.
4. Damages — the plaintiff suffered measurable harm.

Recoverable damages typically include medical bills (past and future), lost wages, loss of earning capacity, property damage, and non-economic harm such as pain and suffering, loss of consortium, and emotional distress. Punitive damages are available only when the defendant's conduct was malicious, fraudulent, or grossly reckless.

Most US states follow a comparative negligence rule: if you were partially at fault, your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. A small number of states still use the older contributory negligence rule, under which any fault on the plaintiff's part is a complete bar to recovery (Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington D.C.).

Every state imposes a statute of limitations — a hard deadline to file suit. For most personal-injury claims this is 1 to 3 years from the date of injury. Missing the deadline by even one day is normally fatal to the case. Special rules apply when the injured party is a minor, when the injury was not immediately discoverable, or when the defendant is a government entity (which usually requires a much shorter notice-of-claim window, often 90 to 180 days).

Personal-injury attorneys overwhelmingly work on a contingency-fee basis: no fee unless the case settles or wins at trial. The standard contingency percentage is 33% (sometimes lower if the case settles before suit is filed, higher if it goes to trial or appeal).