If someone is killed or injured due to another’s wrongdoing, a civil lawsuit can provide financial compensation to the victim or their family. Filing a lawsuit within the civil justice system may be the only way a harmed victim is able to achieve some form of justice, directly holding accountable an entity that caused them harm. And if someone is seriously injured, compensation from those responsible means victims do not have to rely on taxpayer-funded government programs to survive.
In addition, civil lawsuits deter unsafe practices by supplying financial incentives for companies to operate safely; provide a forum where evidence of misconduct can be forced out into the open as well as the disclosure of internal information vital to protecting the public’s health and safety; and allow for the evolution of written precedents, which develop individual rights and restrain abuses. When disputes are resolved outside the civil justice system - without trial and without a public record - wrongdoers can prolong misconduct and suppress information about dangerous practices. In other words, the civil justice system protects us all, whether or not we ever go to court.
