Personal injury law has existed since ancient and biblical times. Today’s form can trace its history back to this ancient source.

During the Industrial Revolution, work-related accidents became much more prevalent; workers in mines and factories experienced serious injuries on an almost daily basis, prompting workers’ compensation laws and Donoghue vs Stevenson as a landmark case which established res ipsa loquitur principles.

Hammurabi’s Code

Hammurabi was the King of Babylon from 1792 BCE until 1773 BCE and his set of written laws is considered one of the earliest ever known to humanity. This set included 282 laws which formed part of an agreement among citizens living within his kingdom.

The Code was an amazing body of laws covering family law, property rights and personal injury that were far ahead of its time in terms of gender equality, incest prevention and even slavery prohibition. Perhaps most interesting of all was a clause which set an ancient minimum wage rate.

Under ancient Roman law, those who caused harm must compensate their victims based on severity and social status; this principle still forms a cornerstone of modern legal systems such as personal injury law.

Res Ipsa Loquitur

The “res ipsa loquitur doctrine”, also known as the “thing speaks for itself”, is one of the primary tools available to personal injury attorneys. This principle allows plaintiffs to use circumstantial evidence against defendants who they allege were negligent, making res ipsa loquitur one of their go-to methods for showing fault.

For this to work, the accident must have been caused solely by negligence of some kind – something in their exclusive control or that was managed for them at the time of accident occurrence. For this to work effectively, however, they must have involved something owned exclusively by them or someone working under them at the time of injury occurrence.

This method can be especially helpful in cases of medical malpractice, like when an object remains inside a patient after surgery and it becomes difficult to ascertain who was at fault.

The Industrial Revolution

During the Industrial Revolution, workers were being injured at an alarmingly rapid rate. While labor unions and muckraker journalism helped alleviate some of these injuries, personal injury lawyers were at the forefront of combatting injustice and advocating for improved safety standards.

Two crucial court decisions during this era established the basis for modern personal injury law: Palsgraf v Long Island Railroad Company established the concept of proximate cause while Donoghue v Stevenson involved a girl who became sick after drinking ginger beer from a bottle containing dead snails; both cases established manufacturer liability.

Additionally, this period witnessed the introduction of worker’s compensation laws that set out a general rule that an employer could be held liable for their employee’s careless acts at work.

The Age of Automobiles

Though many personal injury lawyers will claim to have invented personal injury law, its core concepts date back millennia. What we now consider personal injury law provides protection and equity to individuals suffering physical or psychological harm due to the negligent acts or behavior of another individual, business, or organization.

These laws also established the principle of proximate cause, meaning if an event occurred and directly caused injury to another, then a claim could be brought against those responsible. Later on this principle would extend to include vicarious liability issues when employers are held liable for their employees’ negligent acts.

The Second Industrial Revolution

Law has existed in some form since humankind first appeared, yet modern personal injury law is a relatively recent development. While the concept of negligence and injury have existed for millennia, legal representation for injured parties didn’t become widespread until the 1970s.

The Second Industrial Revolution (which occurred from the late 1800s to early 1900s) saw nationally integrated economies, increased international competition, and significant shifts in how people lived and worked. It saw steel mills, chemical factories, expanding railroad lines, worker unions emerging, as well as advancements in production technology emerge during its span.

At this time, certain landmark legal cases contributed to the evolution of personal injury law as we know it today. One such landmark case, known as the Paisley Snail Case or “snail in the bottle”, established that product manufacturers have an obligation to ensure their products don’t cause harm to consumers in an easily avoidable way.