Each year, more than 100 million cases are filed in the US, requiring people to go to court, and that’s just at the state level. There are many reasons people pursue lawsuits, but most of them boil down to the protection of their interests and the seeking of a monetary award. When a case goes to court, it’s generally for one of the following reasons.
1. Breach of Contract
Two parties make an agreement in writing to provide some form of give-and-take. A service provider will meet a specific scope of services before they can receive payment while the payor must pay once the terms of that agreement are met.
If either party fails to live up to their end of the contract, one must sue to protect their ongoing legal interests. Similar to the breach of contract is the breach of warranty.
If a company fails to live up to its end of the written agreement, the warranty holder must sue to receive corrective action. The lawsuit act protects the wronged party.
2. Family Matters
Family matters can run the gamut from wills and trusts to custody and divorce. If you need a change made to the trustee on an account or if you’d like to set or modify a custody agreement, there’s no other way to do it than through the legal system. If parties cannot agree to terms or negotiations, then a court date becomes necessary.
3. Attain Damages
There are two types of monetary damages that one can seek. Actual damages deal with things like medical bills, the cost to repair a car or property, and lost wages as a result of missing work for a specific period of time. Punitive damages are that which can be paid due to the longer-lasting effects of an attack or negligent event.
Actual damages are easy to calculate. Punitive damages can be a source of ongoing legal conflict that a lawsuit can help establish if neither party chooses to stay out of court.
4. Unfair Treatment
If you are party to a marginalized group of some kind and experience prejudice or discrimination, then you can sue for unfair treatment. Slander (spoken lies) and libel (written) also fall under this category along with infringement of certain rights that are established. If you’re dealing with pregnancy discrimination, you can search for the best pregnancy discrimination attorney to help and represent you in the court.
5. Property Disputes
Property is another oft-litigated matter. This particularly focuses on infringement upon or damages to one’s property by another party. Outcomes can come in the form of monetary judgments or directives to abide by certain behaviors and policies.
6. Malpractice or Negligence
Finally, medical malpractice or another form of negligence, which leads to actual and punitive damages is a reason to sue. In either case, it’s likely that a judge or jury will give some consideration to punitive damages. Particularly with medical malpractice, there is immediate injury and long-lasting effects of concern.
Go to Court to Protect Your Interests and Attain What Is Yours
The number one reason to go to court is present in each of the reasons we’ve mentioned here. That is, you engage in a lawsuit to protect your monetary, health, and property interests, as well as your dignity. For more legal information and news, check out some of our additional posts!
