To be successful in personal injury cases such as slip-and-fall cases, auto accident cases, trucking cases, motorcycle cases, wrongful death cases, survival cases, work related injury cases, and many other types of injury cases the plaintiff (injured party) must meet the following three criteria: (1) Causation (show but-for the defendant’s action you would not be injured or show that the defendants actions are the cause of the plaintiffs injuries, negligence elements); (2) Damages (the plaintiff must show that they have actual injuries usually proved through medical and billing records or through financial records that show lost wages or other financial losses; and (3) Deep Pockets (you need to have a defendant worth suing, a defendant with the financial means [insurance policy or personal assets] that will cover your damages.
If the defendant is judgment proof or does not have deep pockets then the most the plaintiff will get is a judgement against the defendant that is good for 10 years. In many cases it’s not worth the expense of litigation to get a judgment that will likely never be paid.