Common Types of Personal Injury Cases – What You Should Know
Some 29.4 million American people seek medical attention at emergency rooms for unintentional injuries every year. Whether you’ve experienced auto accidents, workplace injuries, or even medical malpractice, you may look for fair compensation for your personal injury. After all, even if it was unintentional, that injury interrupts your life, and someone was negligent.
Even though you may seek damages, it is not always easy to navigate the legal system. Without legal knowledge, you don’t even know what you don’t know. Even if the case seems like it should be easy, seek a personal injury lawyer to represent you in your case. This article will discuss some of the most common types of personal injury cases you’ll face in your life.
What Is a Personal Injury Case?
A personal injury case involves one person who experiences an injury. However, depending on the situation and the parties involved, it could involve multiple negligent or purposeful people in causing or facilitating your injury. Even when you know who the at-fault person or company is, it’s not always easy to prove it, which is why you may settle your personal injury lawsuits out of court. It’s possible to take the case to trial, but you have little control over what happens when your case goes to court. With your attorney’s support, you may participate in arbitration or mediation to determine if you can find an amicable settlement for your personal injury case.
Personal injury cases range widely in type and severity. They can include everything from auto accidents to medical malpractice. Personal injury cases may not involve as much money as you’d prefer, depending on the conditions and severity of your injury. It could also involve millions of dollars in damages and even a larger group of affected people, particularly if a manufacturer or other company is involved.
If you’re considering a personal injury claim, consult with an attorney to determine if you have a case and the next steps. With the statute of limitations, you only have a limited time to pursue your case, which may vary depending on where you’re located, the type of personal injury, and any mitigating circumstances.
Common Types of Personal Injury Cases
Like thousands of other personal injury claims, a judge may hear your case, or you may decide to settle your personal injury case. You may receive thousands or even millions of dollars in either scenario, but you first must file your case. The one sure thing about personal injury claims is that you won’t ever receive any compensation if you never file a claim.
That’s also why you should seek a consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney with specialized options to get the level of support you need. Here are just a few of the standard personal injury cases that you’ll likely be familiar with in your life.
Auto Accident Injury – Personal Injury Cases
More than 6.7 million American motorists have vehicle accidents in the US every year. So, auto accidents represent the most common personal injury cases, with driver negligence involving drunk driving, reckless driving, or speeding. Even with witnesses, you may need to prove the negligence of the other driver, as well as any other factors involved in your personal injury claim. A personal injury lawyer can offer a wealth of experience in auto accidents, which can be invaluable whether you settle or go to court with your case. With the many factors involved in these cases, you need all the help you can get to gather evidence, interview witnesses, collect medical evidence, and build relationships with the insurance agent and other parties involved.
Here are some common factors that involve auto accidents:
- Distractions: Some 15% of all injury cases and 10% of fatalities are linked to distractions with texting, eating, or changing the playlist. Just taking your eyes off the road for a moment can lead to severe injuries and even death in truck accidents.
- Fatigue: It is estimated that 37% of Americans have fallen asleep behind the wheel due to falling asleep at the wheel, which leads to accidents, deaths, and injuries which can be avoided by having tips and tricks to avoid driver fatigue.
- Speeding: Driving too fast is unsafe even when the roads are clear and dry, but the issue becomes exacerbated when combined with other causes of traffic accidents as well as severe weather. You may speed because you’re trying to meet a deadline or stay on schedule, but the result can be dangerous.
- Substance Abuse: Some 30% of truck drivers use amphetamines, while 20% use marijuana, and 3% use cocaine. Substance abuse is so crucial because drivers need to stay awake. The combination of drugs and lack of sleep leads to risky behaviors, including unsafe lane changes and faster driving.
When you’re in an auto accident, it’s not always easy to know your next step. That’s why it’s so essential to hire a personal injury lawyer to represent your best interests.
Slip and Fall Accidents – Personal Injury Cases
More than 3 million Americans are treated for slip-and-fall accidents every year in the emergency departments of hospitals. Many of those accidents involve people 65+ years of age, with negligence that involves culpable individuals or companies. If your personal injury was someone’s fault, seek a consultation with a personal injury lawyer and legal ramifications. Seek fair compensation, particularly since the injury may affect you for the rest of your life. Safety faults like broken railings or even wet floors could be an underlying or direct cause of your personal injury case.
Medical Malpractice – Personal Injury Cases
Medical malpractice is counterintuitive to what we’d like to believe about doctors and hospitals because the Hippocratic Oath promises they will “do no harm.” However, with this type of medical malpractice, prove that something the doctor or medical facility did during your medical treatment directly resulted in your injury.
You and your personal injury attorney will need to prove what the doctor did wrong, that it was intentional, and that their actions caused your injury with long-term or even permanent effects:
- Duty: The doctor is responsible for providing high quality care to every patient. So, you would need to prove that they failed in that duty of care because of something they did or did not do during the course of treatment.
- Breach: You and your attorney must prove that the surgeon did not supply the proper medical skills or care that you should expect. In other words, you’ll need to prove that the doctor was negligent, careless, or irresponsible in how they provided care.
- Causation: You’ll need to prove that the doctor caused your injury or the undesired result. To prove it, another doctor typically gives their expert opinion. Based on documents, other cases, or witness staments/testimony, you may be able to prove a pattern of behavior.
- Damages: You’ll need to prove that you experienced an emotional or physical injury from the surgeon’s care. The financial loss is typically easy to demonstrate, based on paystubs and other financial documents, but you can also support other kinds of damages as well.
More than 60,000 Americans are affected by malpractice incidents every year, with situations that may forever change your life. The malpractice situation can involve emotional, physical, and financial repercussions that are not easily overcome.
Common types of medical malpractice include:
- Anesthesia errors
- Childbirth injuries
- Delayed diagnosis
- Failure to Treat
- Medication errors
- Misdiagnosis
- Surgical errors
If your doctor or medical facility involves a faulty medical device or instrument, you may pursue legal action against the manufacturer of the medical instrument instead of the doctor. With malpractice by a doctor, you must prove that the doctor is to blame for not doing his job well.
Workplace Injuries – Personal Injury Cases
Workplace injuries are common and often avoidable, with injuries taking place every seven seconds. While you may handle those injuries via workers’ compensation claims or other resolutions, you may consult with a personal injury attorney and pursue a case if you feel you’re are not fairly treated and compensated. Likewise, if your company has unfairly treated you or if they did not consider your safety, you may seek recourse. Here are just a few of the benefits you might be eligible to receive.
- Medical benefits
- Permanent partial disability benefits
- Permanent total disability benefits
- Temporary partial disability benefits
- Wage reimbursement benefits
- Vocational rehabilitation benefits
Depending on the complexities, it may be more difficult to prove your case. That’s where the ability and experience of a personal injury lawyer come in handy. In addition, an attorney is in the best position to offer recommendations on the benefits you should file for and how your eligibility benefits and disability compensation might affect your case. If you are looking for a work injury lawyer in the Los Angeles area, you can connect with professionals from Greenberg and Ruby Injury Attorneys to help secure maximum compensation for injuries, damages and losses.
If you’ve been involved in a severe accident at work, it’s natural for you to seek proper safety fixes. In addition, you may want to make sure that the same or similar safety considerations don’t affect others in the future. Your company handles the health and safety of you and your fellow workers. If you’re injured at the workplace, that injury could permanently affect your health, quality of life, and future work.
When you have an accident or injury on the job, report your injury to your HR and supervisor. Of course, your primary consideration is also to seek medical intervention. Even if you don’t initially plan to pursue a personal injury case, gather all your medical records, a list of witnesses who were present when your accident took place, as well as any evidence of any outstanding safety concerns.
Gather details and reports from your supervisor and other sources to further support your case if needed. When you speak with a personal injury attorney, they may also ask for additional documents related to your accident and workplace experience.
If you need help with gathering all the documents and evidence in your workplace situation, you can ask friends and colleagues at work if they will help you. In addition, your personal injury attorney may gather at least some of the evidence in your case, or they may hire someone who can investigate and collect the documents you’ll need.
Wrongful Death – Personal Injury Cases
Wrongful death involves personal injury, resulting in the death of a loved one. If you feel that negligence or some fault caused the death of someone you love, you may file a personal injury claim. While these claims may be more common than you realize, they are also some of the most challenging scenarios since you’re already dealing with your loss.
Consider seeking the support and insight from a personal injury attorney to guide and help your wrongful death claim. More than 38,000 Americans die in vehicle crashes every year, which may be a wrongful death scenario.
When the death of a loved one is involved, you’re not only looking to recover the costs of medical bills and funeral expenses, but you need to consider other factors when you calculate the compensation you’re looking for. A personal injury lawyer helps you determine whether your case is viable and how to calculate the damages you’re looking for in the case because of negligence or lack of proper care.
Product Liability – Personal Injury Cases
Product liability claims involve the liability of a seller or product manufacturer. In these cases, a defect or flaw from the manufacturer may have caused your personal injury. These cases are not as common, but they are also challenging to prove. You may face a full team of high-powered lawyers defending the manufacturer from the product liability claim.
For these cases, it’s essential to seek advice and support from a personal injury attorney. There’s a great deal at stake in this case, but the product liability may involve many more people affected by the manufacturer’s defect. It’s not an easy matter to manage thousands of affected individuals, and you need help from an experienced attorney who knows how to go ahead in these types of cases.
- Personal injury claims brought legal action against Monsanto related to Roundup Weed Killer with cancer claims, which resulted in settlements of nearly $300 million for those individuals who were affected.
- More than 20,000 mesothelioma lawsuits involved Johnson & Johnson related to the Toxic Talc Baby Powder, which involved $325 million in payments to defendants.
Assault – Personal Injury Cases
Personal injury cases can involve an assault. Regardless of whether the assault involved a criminal investigation and charges, you can still file a personal injury claim. However, with this case, you’re going beyond what the criminal court can do to seek justice by seeking compensation for the damages and injury related to the accident.
More than six million Americans are assaulted every day. So, if you’ve been the victim of assault, don’t let anyone intimidate you into not filing a suit. Get suitable representation, someone who will stand by you from start to finish, working on getting the best possible outcome for your case.
What Are the Benefits of a Personal Injury Lawyer?
Here are a few of the benefits you’ll experience with a skilled personal injury lawyer.
A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You with Employee Relations
Your personal injury claim may involve complications, mainly if it involves a workplace accident. Do you know who pays for the damages? You should also know what your employment status may be. What about the insurance company?
Should you consider accepting worker’s compensation? Many of these factors come into play when you’ve been in an accident. You may not know the answer to any of these questions, but an attorney can help you cope with the employee-relations situation.
A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Offer an Affordable Service
When selecting a public injury lawyer, you need comprehensive representation that is affordable. You also need the assurance that your attorney will do anything in their power to get you fair compensation for your personal injury claim. That combination may seem difficult to achieve, but it is possible to get the consulting services you need at a reasonable price.
A Personal Injury Lawyer Has Experience You Need
The best public injury lawyer has years, even decades, of experience in handling cases just like yours. They will represent you in a way in your best interest. They can also start on your case right at the start and follow you through the entire process to ensure the best possible outcome.
A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You with Negotiation
A public injury lawyer can negotiate on your behalf with the insurance company, legal team, and other figures in the industry or with individuals who are responsible. With an attorney advocating on your behalf, the negotiation process can be more seamless, even faster, and easier.
It’s much less likely that your case will move forward if you represent yourself, not only because you won’t know the proper procedures, but also because the negotiation power is not the same. An attorney can bring the insurance company or other negligent parties to the negotiating table.
A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You with Evaluation
The best public injury lawyer will evaluate the evidence related to the accident scene and any medical details related to your injuries. They also find witnesses, take photos, and follow the line of inquiry to determine the facts in the case. An attorney doesn’t have to wait until your injuries are healed or resolved to examine the details of your case.
Why Would You Need a Personal Injury Lawyer?
It would be nice to imagine that a personal injury attorney would be excessive and unnecessary. Your claim could go off without a hitch, and you may have nothing to worry about. There’s just no guarantee with legal cases. It’s always better to seek legal advice and not need it than to need it and not have it.
It’s never easy to prove negligence. But when you are searching for the right experienced attorney, you need to find a legal team who can show they’re dedicated to your case, with a track record of compensation cases. This attorney should also know the state laws, so they can help you recoup some or all of your personal injury costs that are possible in your state. It’s never okay to allow a negligent or at-fault person or company to walk away from their responsibility. They need to pay for their negligent acts.
A personal injury lawyer offers advice on the evidence in the case, including medical records, witness statements, valuations on loss, and witness statements. In addition, depending on your personal injury case, you may need to take photographs, capture videos, and collect other documentation related to the injury and the environment where the accident occurred.
Next Step: Schedule a Consult with a Personal Injury Attorney
If you’ve had an accident at work, in the hospital, or even in an auto accident, contact your personal injury lawyer to find out what your next step should be. Don’t accept a settlement or try to figure out the proper legal recourse for yourself. Instead, an attorney can negotiate with the insurance agents on your behalf, offer insight into whether your personal injury case is viable, and represent you in court.
Legal counsel from a personal injury attorney can offer a range of benefits as you deal with the ramifications of your workers’ compensation case. Don’t take on the whole personal injury claims process by yourself. Get a team of attorneys who have proven they are fighting for the rights of the injured. You need representation from an attorney with more than 150 years of experience with personal injury claims. Reach out to the experts who can put your needs first. You’ll need to decide whether they are the right option for your needs now and in the future.
