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Rhode Island Personal Injury Overview
Personal injury law involves civil claims in which an individual is injured through the negligence, recklessness or intentional misconduct of another person, a company, or property owner. A personal injury lawsuit may arise from physical or emotional injuries. Personal injury law compensates individuals injured as a result of another’s negligence or intentional misconduct. Personal injury laws vary from state to state. If you believe you have a personal injury claim, you should contact a personal injury lawyer in Rhode Island to evaluate your claim.
Rhode Island follows a pure comparative negligence system. With this system, a judge or jury assigns a percentage of fault to each responsible party and then apportions the damage award accordingly. Using this system, an injured person may recover his or her damages even if the injured person was 99% at fault in causing the injury, with those damages reduced by his or her portion of the fault. For example, in a car accident between Dave and Debbie where Debbie was found to be 99% responsible, and the jury found that Debbie suffered $10,000 in damages, that award would be reduced by Debbie’s 99% fault in causing the injury. In the end, Dave would only have to pay 1% of Debbie’s damages, or $100 in this case.
Click here to read about contributory vs. comparative negligence.
A statute of limitations is a type of law that restricts the period of time that a person may initiate legal proceedings. Time limits can vary depending on the type of case and the state where the particular cause of action occurred. To learn more about statutes of limitations, read our Statute of Limitations page. To see a state by state comparison chart for the personal injury statute of limitations for each state, read our Statute of Limitations for Personal Injury Actions page.
Rhode Island Statutes of Limitations
In Rhode Island, the courts follow the common law doctrine of joint and several liability, where each defendant is jointly and severally liable for the entire amount of the financial judgment. Any defendant named in the judgment is liable to the plaintiff for the entire amount, regardless of his or her share of the fault.
Click here for more about Joint and Several Liability.
One of the best ways to research personal injury lawyers in Rhode Island is to contact courts in RI and ask them for information about the personal injury attorneys who utilize their legal facilities when they bring personal injury cases to court. We have compiled a list below of some courts in Rhode Island to get you started:
Supreme Court
Rhode Island Supreme Court
Licht Judicial Complex
250 Benefit Street, 7th Floor
Providence, RI 02903
401-222-3272
Superior Courts
Providence Superior Court
Licht Judicial Complex
250 Benefit Street
Providence, RI 02903
401-222-3250
Kent County Superior Court
Leighton Judicial Complex
222 Quaker Lane
Warwick, RI 02886
401-822-1311
Washington County Superior Court
McGrath Judicial Complex
4800 Tower Hill Road
Wakefield, RI 02879
401-782-4121
Newport County Superior Court
Florence K. Murray Judicial Complex
45 Washington Square
Newport, RI 02840
401-841-8330
District Courts
Rhode Island District Court
45 Washington Square
Newport, RI 02840-2913
401-841-8350
Rhode Island District Court
222 Quaker Lane
Warwick, RI 02886-0107
401-822-1771
Rhode Island District Court
4800 Tower Hill Road
Wakefield, RI 02879-2239
401-782-4131
Rhode Island District Court
One Dorrance Plaza
Providence, RI 02903-2719
401-458-5400
