A lot of people have heard “beyond a reasonable doubt” when it comes to jury trials. Well, that is the burden of proof in a criminal case. A personal injury case is a civil case. In the civil realm, the plaintiff carries the burden of proving by the greater weight of the evidence that the defendant was negligent and that the defendant’s negligence caused the accident and the injuries to the plaintiff. This is typically referred to as the “preponderance of the evidence.” Basically, it means 50.01%.