A personal injury case is a legal dispute that occurs when an individual suffers harm from an accident where someone else is responsible.
Thousands of people seek emergency treatment for unintentional injury – the cause can be other people’s wrongdoing, negligence, or misconduct. Depending on the severity and complexity of the injuries, the affected person can seek compensation for their personal injury damages.
Personal injury claims can be as big as millions of dollars and also as small as a few hundred dollars.
Here is a list of the most common types of personal injury claims.
Keep reading!
Injury Claims for Medical Negligence
Medical negligence and malpractice refer to the errors and negligence caused by a professional healthcare provider, causing severe injury to the patient. Medical malpractice also includes keeping information from the patient.
It is a patient’s basic right to get a clear understanding of their illness. The doctors are legally obliged to take the patient’s consent before proceeding with a medical procedure. The absence of a proper standard of care also falls into the category of medical negligence.
Uncommon post-surgery complications, such as bruising, swelling, and scarring, can lead to serious injury and damage, making the patient eligible to file a personal injury claim. Other examples of medical malpractice include the following:
- Operating on the wrong patient
- Premature hospital discharge
- Unnecessary medications
- Prescribing the wrong medicine/ dosage
If the patient dies, a legally designated person – usually kin of the patient, is allowed to seek legal help from a personal injury lawyer.
Injury Claims for Car Accidents
Automobile accidents are at the top of the most common types of personal injury cases. Motor vehicle accidents include auto, motorcycle, trucking, Uber, and pedestrian accidents.
Usually, motor vehicle accidents depend on different factors, including the speed at which the automobiles were traveling, the crash type, the health age of involved people, etc. Override, and underride collisions are also part of this.
Motor vehicle accidents can cause extensive injuries – sometimes – deaths.
Injury Claims for Wrongful Death
Wrongful death for personal injury claim refers to an individual passing away and making their kin legally subjected to seek compensation. Usually, a wrongful death is caused by medical negligence or due to another party’s negligence.
- Members who can recover legal compensation include the following:
- The spouse, parents, and spouse of the deceased person.
- Any blood and adopted relation who was dependent on the deceased for financial and other support.
- Children of the deceased person can also recover compensation.
Wrongful death compensation includes lost wages, benefits, medical costs, funeral expenses, and punitive awards. Again, the plaintiff will have to prove sufficient evidence that the death is wrongful and that a party’s negligence causes the circumstances.
Injury Claims for Product Liability
A product liability case is one of the more unique types of personal injury cases. An individual can claim personal injury if they have received/ bought a defective consumer item. This aspect falls into the category of negligence when the affected individual suffers serious injury from the consumer item.
It is important to mention here that the injured person doesn’t necessarily have to be the one purchasing the item. The plaintiff has to prove that the consumer item contains one of the following defects:
- Defect in manufacturing
- Defects in the item’s design
- Insufficient/ absence of warnings about the potential dangers of the consumer item
Once you have proven the fault, you can win a legal claim against the production company. You can also legally sue other stakeholders that have been part of the product chain – given that they have proven the defect in the product.
Product liability injury claims include a faulty design leading to a risk of injury and the failure to use standard materials to ensure the safe manufacturing of the product.
This personal injury claim also includes product marketing as well when there is no appropriate warning given about the potential risks regarding the use and exposure of the product.
Injury Claims for Workplace Accidents
Worker’s compensation is part of personal injury claims. A potential benefit of worker’s compensation is that the plaintiff doesn’t necessarily have to prove that the employer has been at fault. On the other hand, the potential downside is that the plaintiff cannot receive due compensation for their pain and suffering. Even if the accident did not occur in the workplace, you’ll still need a lawyer to take care of damage claims, especially if you have an income protection cover.
Some of the common workplace accident injury claims include slip-and-fall-related injuries. Employers must ensure that their work premises are safe for their employees and clients.
If an employer ignores the safety of their employees and makes them work in dangerous conditions, they can land in serious legal trouble. Animal bites are also part of the legal injury claims that a plaintiff can make.
Other types of personal injury cases include burn injuries, head injuries, whiplash, spinal cord injuries, civil battery, child injury cases, food poisoning, boating accidents, and aviation accidents.
How to File a Personal Injury Claim?
If you find yourself a victim of any of the following cases, you will want to get in touch with the best injury law firm and file a claim. Initially, you will want to seek medical treatment as it is the most crucial thing to do after you have been injured.
Suppose you have gotten into an accident; you might not feel the symptoms first and feel like there is no need to visit the doctor. Seeking instant medical help can work in your favor in terms of getting compensation for your injuries.
After seeking medical treatment, you will want to contact a personal injury attorney; the professional will help you recover your medical expenses. You will also want to discuss your claim and go over the details of the statute of limitations.
Law is more complicated than it appears – while setting up your personal injury claim, you will be collecting as much information as possible, including medical reports, invoices, and the extent of your injuries. You will also want to keep a record of your lost wages.
You can also negotiate a settlement and seek compensation before or after filing the lawsuit. It is important to mention here that most personal injury cases are settled without taking things to a trial where a jury decides how much compensation you can receive.
