Some people love playing practical jokes with friends, colleagues, or strangers. Sometimes those practical jokes cause injuries or property damage. You can pursue personal injury compensation if you are a practical joke's victim. Below are some things you may need to prove to validate your claim.

You Were Not a Willing Participant

Assumption of risk is a legal principle that personal injury defendants can use to escape liability for their actions. A defendant can use the defense if they can prove they knew the risks involved with an event but willingly participated in it.

Consider a case where a colleague convinces you into dressing up as zombies and surprising another coworker. Your co-prankster provides the zombie attire, which trips you up and leaves you with a nasty fall injury during the prank. You might not get compensation for your trip and fall injury if your co-prankster proves that you willingly participated in the prank.

The Prank Causes You Substantial Harm

You must prove actual damages to get compensation for all personal injury claims, including prank injury claims. Actual damages are those that a third party, such as the court, can measure. Examples of injuries that involve actual damages

• An injury that requires medical attention
• An injury that forces you to miss work
• An injury that causes you loss of money (for example, a breach of contract)
• An injury that leaves you humiliated

For example, you might not get compensation if a colleague glues a kick-me note on your shirt, but no one kicks you. However, you deserve compensation if a colleague spills something on your office floor, sending you to the emergency room for a slip and fall injury.

The Prank Is Your Injury's Actual or Proximate Cause

You can only collect damages for injuries directly stemming from the defendant's actions. In legal terms, the defendant's actions should be your injury's actual or proximate cause as the law defines them.

Actual cause means the defendant's actions are the actual cause of your injury. For example, when someone replaces your cold water with hot water that burns you, the person's action is the actual cause of your burn injuries.

Proximate cause means the defendant's actions are the legal cause of your damages. You don't need to prove that the defendant's action was the immediate cause of your injury. Just prove that the defendant should have foreseen the consequences of their actions.

You can get the damage compensation you deserve for your prank injuries. Consult a personal injury firm such as Law Offices of Donald E. Green, P.C. to help you pursue the damages.