Personal injury law allows for injured people to recover compensation after they are harmed by someone else’s negligence.
There are many situations which may give rise to valid personal injury claims. It’s vital to remember that injuries don’t automatically lead to legal liability.
Let’s examine some of the more common types of personal injury cases.
1. Auto Accidents
Automobile accident cases are perhaps the most common type of personal injury case. They occur frequently, especially in cities with a lot of traffic, so it wouldn’t exactly be a rare thing for someone to need a car accident lawyer.
Automobile accidents include:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents (automobiles striking bicycles)
- Pedestrian accidents (automobiles striking pedestrians)
Auto accidents can range from small collisions leading to whiplash to large collisions which cause fatalities or catastrophic injuries.
Injured parties might qualify to file personal injury claims to recover compensation for injuries, property damage and more when accidents are caused by others’ carelessness.
Your personal injury lawyer can help you maximize your settlement regardless of the insurance company you’re working with. But keep in mind different insurance companies can negotiate in different ways. For example, a car accident settlement for Mercury Insurance might look different than a settlement with GEICO.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration claims that over six million auto accidents happen in America every year.
Central to auto accident cases is the concept of negligence. Negligence in terms of auto accidents is failing to exercise reasonable care while driving in order to prevent harm from occurring. Examples of negligence while driving include:
- Distracted driving
- Drunk driving
- Speeding
- Careless driving
- Violating the rules of the road
When drivers injure others via negligence, the injury victims can recover compensation from the negligent drivers, or, more often, from the negligent drivers’ insurance companies.
2. Slip and Fall Accidents
Slip and fall accidents fall under the umbrella of premise liability law. They often happen because of dangerous conditions such as:
- Slippery or wet floors: Leaks, recently mopped floors or spilled liquids can lead to slippery surfaces which increase fall risks.
- Damaged or uneven surfaces: Loose floorboards, torn carpeting, potholes or cracked sidewalks can lead to trip and fall accidents.
- Bad lighting: Poor lighting in parking lots, hallways or stairwells can hide hazards, making it hard for people to see where they’re walking.
- Cluttered walkways: Obstacles found in walkways like debris, merchandise or boxes can constitute tripping hazards.
- Inadequate guardrails or handrails: A lack of adequate guardrails on elevated surfaces or handrails on stairs can increase fall risks and injury severity.
Accidents like these can happen on numerous properties, like private homes, parking lots, sidewalks, restaurants and stores.
3. Dog Bites
In 36 of the 50 states in the United States have adopted strict liability regarding dog bites. This means that if somebody else’s dog bites you, you can hold the dog’s owner liable for your injuries even if the dog bite wasn’t due to the dog owner’s negligence.
Some other states have strict liability with additional factors that need to be met. For example, in Georgia Tennessee and West Virginia, strict liability only applies to off-leash dogs. In North Carolina, strict liability only applies to off-leash dogs at night.
4. Product Liability
Product liability cases are one of the most common case types personal injury lawyers take on. They happen when consumers get hurt by defective products. Types of defects include:
- Design defects: This is when products are dangerous even when manufactured and used properly. They are defective by design.
- Manufacturing defects: This is when products are dangerous because something went wrong while they were being manufactured.
- Marketing defects: This is when products contain insufficient warnings or instructions, creating a danger.
Common types of product defects include:
- Defective drugs
- Defective medical devices
- Defective automobile parts
Manufacturers of defective products are usually held strictly liable for defects, meaning they’re liable for injuries caused by their products even when their conduct hasn’t been negligent.
5. Workplace Accidents
Workplace accidents are a common reason why personal injury cases are filed. Thousands of workers in many industries get hurt while working every year. These accidents can be minor, like trips and falls, or possibly fatal, like events involving broken machinery or severe falls.
Employees are at a risk of being injured when safety procedures are disregarded or inadequate.
While workers’ compensation usually covers workplace injuries, personal injury lawsuits may be filed when workplace injuries are the result of negligence or product defects.
Workplace accidents are more common in industries involving physical activity, like manual labor, agriculture, mining and construction. Workplace injuries can also happen in offices, though, especially when factors like improper ergonomics, lack of appropriate safety and health policies, or improper handling of objects apply.
Employers have a duty under the law to provide healthy, safe work environments. When their failure to do this harms employees, personal injury claims might be filed.
