When a person is injured in the United States because of another party’s negligent, reckless or malicious behavior, the injured person may be entitled to compensation. In the event of a tragic and untimely death, a personal injury victim’s immediate family members may be entitled to compensation. Many people recommend that personal injury victims and their families should discuss their injury or illness with a reputable personal injury lawyer before they talk to other parties’ insurance companies, lawyers and other representatives. Having a lawyer on your side from the get go means that it may be possible for them to start protecting your rights from the get go.
The following are some common reasons people seek compensation through personal injury claims:
Motor Vehicle Accident
A motor vehicle accident is any accident that involves one or more motor vehicle, including cars, trucks (both large commercial trucks as well as small privately owned trucks) motorcycles, buses, and other motorized vehicles that travel on the country’s roads and highways. A common cause of motor vehicle accidents is vehicle operators who do so while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, including over the counter and prescription medications. Other common causes include distracted driving, reckless driving, and malfunctioning equipment.
Plane, Train, and Boat Accidents
While not as common as the kinds of motor vehicle accidents described above, people get injured by many different kinds of vehicles used for transportation and recreation.
Product Injury
When a consumer is injured by a faulty or malfunctioning product, one or more of the parties who contributed to making this available to the public, may be liable for injuries the product caused. It is common that designers, engineers, manufacturers, distributors, and/or in some cases, sellers of faulty products, will bear some or all of the guilt in a product injury claim.
Premise Liability
When someone is injured while on someone else’s public or privately owned property, they may be liable if the injury was caused by the property owner’s, or in some cases a tenant-manager’s, neglect for the maintenance and upkeep of a property. Examples of when a property owner might be liable for a person’s injuries is if there were:
- Potholes and uneven walkways
- Broken or insufficient lighting
- Broken or insufficient security measures
- Failure to clean up and mark spill areas
- Failure to clear snow from walkways, driveways, and roofs
- Failure to properly fix and maintain elevators and automatic gates
- Failure to have sufficient safety measures and features on their premises such as, a locked gate surrounding a pool or an adequate number of pool staff, including lifeguards.
Medical Malpractice
When a physician or other healthcare provider’s negligence results in a patient becoming injured or ill, the physician or healthcare provider may be liable for medical malpractice. Medical malpractice can be the result of many different forms of negligence including:
- Surgical errors
- Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose
- Failure to treat
- Birth injuries
- Medical product liability
Workers Compensation
When someone is injured while on the job or becomes ill because of conditions at their place of work, they may be entitled to compensation if their employer’s negligence is found to be the cause of their injury or illness. These kinds of claims can be valid for almost any workplace, even at workplaces such as schools, offices, and stores, where dangerous and risky activities do not typically take place.
Slip and Fall
Slip and fall, or trip and fall, accidents typically involve a person walking. If their foot slips out from under them and it causes them to fall, it is called a slip and fall accident. If the person’s foot trips over something and causes the person to lose their balance and fall, it is considered a trip and fall accident. Slip/trip and fall accidents are common reasons why people file premise liability and workers compensation claims.
Wrongful Death
If someone dies because of any of the above scenarios or because of a kind of negligent, reckless or malicious behavior not mentioned here, their surviving family members may be entitled to compensation for their loss and expenses related to their loved one’s injuries or illness prior to their untimely death.
Even though two different people may be injured in the same manner and wind up with similar injuries, the chances of their ensuing situations being exactly alike are slim. A person’s age, physical health and overall well being, their strength, stamina, and other factors all play a part when someone gets injured or becomes ill. An example of this is when a healthy female in her mid-twenties who works out on a regular basis is in a simple fender bender and comes away with a mild concussion, some bruises and scrapes; if the female had been in her mid-seventies and her health was already physically compromised by her age and other common health problems for people her age such as, osteoporosis and was on blood thinning medications, she may come away from the exact same accident with a more serious concussion or brain trauma, broken bones and lacerations that need stitches.
If someone’s injury or illness was caused by someone else’s negligence, it does not matter what their health was like prior to this unfortunate event; they should not have to pay for someone else’s mistake. Even if one person’s injuries are more severe because of their prior health, they should not have to have their financial well-being compromised because of someone else’s neglect.