Most Common Types of Personal Injury Cases

Personal injuries are currently the 4th leading cause of death in America. Even when these injuries don’t result in a fatality, they can lead to a lifetime of losses.

Under the law, when someone else commits a tort, or a wrongful act that isn’t necessarily a crime, that leads to an injury and losses on your part, you have legal recourse. Typically, you can file a personal injury lawsuit. This legal claim will help you secure compensation for your losses.Here's a list of the most common types of personal injury cases, each representing a unique scenario where individuals can seek financial compensation for their injuries:

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• Auto Accidents: These are the most frequent personal injury claims, arising from car, truck, motorcycle, and pedestrian accidents.
• Medical Malpractice: When healthcare professionals cause harm due to negligence or failure to provide adequate care, the injured party may file a medical malpractice claim.
• Workplace Injuries: Injuries occurring in the workplace, often covered under workers' compensation laws, but sometimes leading to additional personal injury claims.
• Product Liability: When defective or dangerous products cause injury, the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer can be held liable.
• Slip and Fall Accidents: Property owners may be liable for injuries sustained due to hazardous conditions on their premises.
• Dog Bites: Victims of dog bites or animal attacks may seek compensation from the pet owner.
• Assault and Battery: Unlike other personal injury cases, these involve intentional harm and can lead to both criminal charges and civil claims.
• Wrongful Death: If an injury results in death, the deceased's family members can file a wrongful death claim to seek compensation for their loss.

Considering there are many types of scenarios where a tort can lead to an injury, there are also several types of personal injury cases heard in courtrooms around the country every day. Below, we’ll go over 8 of the most common types of personal injury claims and how they facilitate financial justice for injured individuals.

1. Motor Vehicle Accidents

Among all the personal injury examples, motor vehicle accidents are the most common. Under the law, everyone who travels on public roads has a legal duty to provide for the safety and care of everyone else on the road. This duty of care applies to individuals driving cars, riding on motorcycles, traversing on bicycles, driving commercial trucks, or walking on foot. Since there are many different types of motor vehicle accidents, we’ll go over some of the most common ones below.

Car Accident

Nearly every car accident is the result of someone’s negligence or carelessness. In most cases, one of the drivers will be considered at fault for the accident as a result of their poor driving skills, failure to follow safety measures, or another error. In some cases, though, the accident might be someone else’s fault. For instance, a defective part could have caused your car to malfunction. In this case, the part manufacturer might be at fault.

Typically, determining who was at fault for a crash involves a lengthy investigation into the crash. The police will attempt to make an initial determination of fault at the scene of the accident, and they’ll mention that in the police report.

Truck Accidents

Another common type of motor vehicle accident that often leads to lawsuits is truck accidents. Truck accidents often result in significant losses considering the sheer size and weight of the average truck. Many truck accidents also happen on highways or freeways where speeds are high. In general, the faster the speeds of the cars when the accidents happen, the more serious the injuries will be.

Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrian accidents happen when a motor vehicle, truck, or motorcycle hits a person who is walking on foot. Pedestrian accidents most often happen when the person is attempting to go across the road, but they can also occur if the vehicle veers into a sidewalk or shoulder lane where someone is walking. In general, pedestrians shouldn’t attempt to cross the road unless there is a marked crosswalk, a traffic signal saying it’s safe to cross, or they are sure that no vehicles are coming in either direction. When pedestrian accidents occur, the pedestrian often sustains significant injuries since they have very little protection against a heavier, faster vehicle.

Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycle accidents are another one of the most common types of personal injury cases. Motorcycle collisions are often extremely serious for the biker because an impact almost always throws them off of their bike and onto the road. While safety gear can reduce the severity of injuries, there’s still a great chance that biker who gets into an accident will face some pretty serious consequences.

Uber/Lyft Accidents

Uber and Lyft are rideshare apps that allow individuals to hire freelance drivers. If you get into an accident in an Uber or Lyft car, then the at fault driver will usually be responsible for the crash. If your rideshare driver caused the accident, then you’ll first need to use their insurance policy for coverage. If the driver doesn't have the right coverage, then you might have to pursue other options, like compensation from Uber or Lyft.

Delivery Driver Accidents

Delivery drivers could be working as freelancers or employees, and this distinction is important if they are the ones who are responsible for your accident. If the person is operating as a freelancer, then they’ll be held responsible for the crash. If they’re an employee on the clock, then their employer may be liable.

Bicycle Accidents

Bicycle accidents can lead to very serious injuries since the biker is typically struck by a faster, heavier vehicle. Bicycle laws also vary from state to state, so it’s important to research the law if you plan on going out riding. You need to know whether you should ride on the sidewalk, a designated bike lane, or in the traffic lanes.

2. Workplace Injuries

Another type of situation that could result in a personal injury claim is workplace accidents. Under the law, employers have a legal duty to provide for the care and safety of their employees. They must maintain a safe workspace, provide any legally required safety gear, and properly train employees about hazards before tasking them with a risky job. Even when they do their best to maintain safety, workplace accidents still happen. That’s why the law requires most employers to take out workers’ compensation policies to help cover losses after an accident. In most cases, your workplace injury will be covered under this insurance policy, so you won’t be able to file a claim. You will be able to seek out a personal lawsuit in some situations, though, like if your employer didn’t have the right coverage or intentionally created the unsafe condition that caused the accident.

3. Medical Malpractice

Unfortunately, medical malpractice remains one of the leading causes of death in America. The law requires all doctors to provide for the safety and care of any patients they have a doctor-patient relationship with. Malpractice occurs when the doctor makes an error like a misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, medication error, delayed diagnosis, or another type of mistake that another doctor with similar experience wouldn’t reasonably make under the same circumstances.

4. Wrongful Death

Tragically, some acts of negligence result in fatalities. Wrongful death claims can help the surviving loved ones of the victim recover from the costs of the incident. Damages in these circumstances could include things like burial costs, funeral expenses, a loss of financial support, and pain and suffering.

5. Product Liability

Product liability claims arise when a product manufacturer creates an unsafe product that ultimately harms a customer. The customer can seek out compensation so long as they were using the product as it was intended.

6. Premises Liability

Under the law, property owners have a responsibility to ensure that their property is reasonably safe for guests. If the owner fails to uphold their duty of care, then the injured party can file a claim for compensation.

Slip and Fall Incidents

The most common type of premises liability case is a slip and fall claim. A slip and fall can lead to substantial injuries, especially if the fall is from a height. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, you may be able to file a claim if someone's negligence caused the accident or unsafe condition.

Construction Site Accidents

Construction accidents happen so often that specific laws are in place to regulate how employers must treat and secure their employees. If you get into a construction accident that leads to substantial injuries, then it’s best to consult with an attorney about your options. Your employer will likely start a workers’ compensation claim in your name, but this type of compensation won’t include non-economic damages like pain and suffering. Consider discussing your situation with an attorney to determine if you have other options for recovery.

7. Animal Bites

Under the law, most animal bites are covered under personal injury laws. In general, pet owners are legally liable for their pet’s behavior, so if they bite someone, the owner is considered responsible. Among all the personal injury categories, animal bites are the most controversial. Most pet owners will attempt to argue that the injured person provoked the dog or caused the situation.

8. Burn Injury

Burn injuries can result in significant injuries and medical expenses. If you got hurt in a burn accident, then you must first determine if someone else had a legal duty to provide for your care. If so, then you could have the basis to file a claim.

Why Legal Representation Matters in Personal Injury Cases

When you have a valid legal claim for compensation, you might falsely believe that your case will be straightforward and simple. Unfortunately, that’s rarely the case, as the other party will have a major incentive to refute your claims, minimize your losses, and avoid accountability.

Legal representation matters because your lawyer can make or break your case. Without any help, you’ll have to do all the official filing, documentation, negotiation, and more on your own. With the help of an attorney, you’ll be able to take advantage of your attorney’s experience and expertise. Your overall compensation award could be increased if your lawyer informs you about other damages you could be eligible for. Your case could be faster when your lawyer compiles a strong, fact-filled claim before you file it.

Ultimately, you only have one chance to file a claim and fight for your losses. If you aren’t prepared for your hearing or you fall flat on negotiating, then you could wind up losing your case or be stuck with a settlement that’s far less than what you really deserve.

Have You Recently Experienced a Personal Injury Accident?

Have you recently experienced a personal injury accident? Do you believe you could have legal recourse? The best way to determine your path forward is to discuss your situation with a personal injury accident attorney.

Here at Kermani LLP, our team has been assisting injured clients in leveraging the law since 2011. That said, we can help you go over the details of your accident, injury, and losses to learn more about your options.

Schedule a call now to get in touch with one of our best attorneys about what happened.

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