Personal Injury Lawyer
Personal injury is an overarching term used to describe a broad field of law. As a personal injury lawyer injury victims trust can explain, clients who have reason to believe that their injury or condition was caused by negligent actions of another person or entity. The goal of a personal injury lawsuit is to pursue and obtain compensatory damages to help lessen the financial impact of the injury and ease the process of recovery. Personal injuries consist of subcategories that describe the type of injury or incident that happened.
These some of the most common personal injury claims are:
Auto Accidents
In the event of an auto accident where an injured person was not at fault, they may be eligible to pursue compensation for injuries and expenses related to their injuries. A personal injury plaintiff must be able to produce medical records that document their injuries, insurance documents and reports, and police reports that outline the details of what happened.
Truck Accidents
While still caused by a motor vehicle, truck accidents are different because of the size and weight of the vehicle in question—i.e. semi-trucks. These kind of accidents are different because when a truck hits a smaller vehicle, passengers in the smaller vehicles are very likely to suffer from serious injuries or death.
There are numerous ways semi-trucks can cause wrongful deaths, including:
- Driver error and negligence (including failing to signal, driving fatigued and jackknifing)
- Aggressive driving
- Driving during adverse conditions
- Driving with an overweight load
- Mechanical defects
- Truck company negligence
- Driving while intoxicated on drugs or alcohol
Medical Malpractice
When injuries were sustained while receiving treatment from a doctor or medical professional, the personal injury case pertains to medical malpractice. In order for a medical malpractice case to be viable, it must be proved that the provider broke rules or violated medically accepted care standards. In other words the care provider must have acted negligently or demonstrated actions that were inappropriate during treatment of a patient.
Product Liability
When a defective or unsafe product leads to a person being injured, the personal injury claim pertains to product liability. Products that are inherently dangerous and adequately warn their users of their dangerous nature and typically excluded from product liability.
Slip and Fall
Those who are injured after slipping, tripping, and subsequently falling while they are on either private or public property may pursue damages for injuries that were suffered. Factors that influence the viability of this category of personal injury claim include the general safety of the environment and how well the property made occupants and visitors aware of potential hazards.
Wrongful Death
When someone demonstrates negligent actions which lead to the death of another person, the personal injury claim is classified as a wrongful death. For example, if someone dies after being hit by a falling object from a construction site and adequate measures were neglected to prevent them from entering that area, the death could be wrongful and their family may be entitled to compensation.
Compensatory Damages
The primary goal of most personal injury lawsuits is to pursue and collect damages to help lessen the financial impact of expenses associated with the injury and aid in the process of regaining a sense of normalcy.
The compensatory damages may be “economic” or “noneconomic.” Economic damages are physical, more tangible damages that can be quantified, and their value does not change depending on the jury that is evaluating them.
Thanks to Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC for their expertise on the subject of personal injury related law.
