What Types of Cases Do Personal Injury Lawyers Handle?

When you’ve been injured in an accident, you may be left with unwanted medical bills, lost wages, and emotional trauma, making it difficult to live the life you once knew. However, there is hope. If the recklessness of another person caused your accident, you have the right to fight for the financial compensation you are owed. 

A wide variety of injury cases fall under personal injury law, so it’s important to understand where exactly your case fits. Below, we’ve highlighted a few of the most common issues that personal injury lawyers tackle. 

Car Accidents

Motor vehicle accidents are among the top injury cases covered by personal injury lawyers. Along with car collisions, they can also include accidents such as bicycle, bus, motorcycle, garbage truck, and pedestrian cases. According to Statista.com, on average, there are over 6 million car accidents in the US every year, with 42,915 of those resulting in death in 2021, so it’s no wonder that car accident cases are so prominent amongst personal injury law firms. 

Gathering evidence after the occurrence of an accident is a vitally important part of any car injury case, which is why hiring an experienced attorney will help ensure you build the strongest case possible. Evidence can be lost over time, so the quicker you contact a lawyer, the better. 

Likewise, insurance companies will often try every excuse in the book not to pay victims the compensation their damages deserve. Having a legal expert by your side to negotiate with insurers can guarantee that your case gets the attention it deserves.

Premises Liability

Premises liability law refers to the fact that property owners, by law, have a duty of care to ensure the safety of people who enter their premises. This means safeguarding that anyone entering their home, business, or land will not get hurt because of unsafe or dangerous conditions. The amount of duty a property owner owes a person depends upon the type of guest entering their premises. For instance, a trespasser will have fewer legal rights than a customer or invitee. 

Several types of cases belong to premises liability law, including:

• Slip and Falls
• Swimming Pool Accidents
• Dog Bite Incidents
• Poisonings
• Negligent Security
• Faulty Wiring
• Hazardous Materials/Chemicals

Premises liability suits can be tricky to prove, as victims must provide enough evidence to demonstrate that the property owner failed to provide reasonable and safe care for the visitors on their property. 

So, rather than proving someone did an action that resulted in harm, premises liability suits often rely on establishing that someone did not take action resulting in harm which can be a murkier concept to demonstrate for someone unfamiliar with the law. Hiring a personal injury attorney is the safest way to protect your case and ensure you receive compensation for your injuries.  

Medical Malpractice

Patients who are injured due to their doctor, nurse, or hospital’s negligence are entitled to file a medical malpractice suit. Medical professionals are expected to provide their patients with a standard of care, so when a breach of their duty results in a patient’s injury, they are susceptible to the penalty of the law. 

Medical malpractice can involve any number of things that result in patient injury, including surgical errors, improper medication administration, failure to sanitize the facility, misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, anesthesia mistakes, and more. 

Compared to other aspects of personal injury law, medical malpractice suits tend to be the most complex of all cases. Because cases are subject to the scrutiny of fellow medical professionals, industry standards, and lawyers who are extremely well-versed in medical malpractice law, hiring a lawyer who specializes in this area is imperative. Cases can be highly technical, and proving that a patient’s injury was directly due to a medical professional’s mistake can be challenging.

Workers’ Compensation

Workplace injuries are commonplace, so most employers are insured by workers’ compensation, which benefits employees if they experience a work-related injury or illness. When an employee is injured on the job, they can receive workers’ compensation benefits to help replace lost work wages and cover medical expenses.

However, negotiating with insurance agencies can prove difficult and time-consuming. Many negotiations will go back and forth, with insurers arguing against compensating the victim for the amount their case is worth, so it’s often best to seek legal advice.

Product Liability

When a product fails due to a manufacturing defect, marketing error, or standards violation, injuries can ensue. Consumer protection laws are designed so that faulty products aren’t on the marketplace, causing undue harm.  

When a defective product does cause personal injury, a victim has the right to sue. An experienced personal injury lawyer can hold negligent manufacturers accountable for their errors, compensate you for your damages, and ensure the product doesn’t harm countless others again.

Sexual Assault and Assault

Frequently, victims of sexual assault or assault are unable to find justice through the criminal court system, which is why they turn to the civil justice system for retribution. Holding an abuser and all those complacent in their actions accountable takes the utmost strength and courage, so finding a knowledgeable attorney who will give your case the compassion and justice it deserves is essential.

Victims of assault and sexual assault can seek compensation for emotional, physical, and punitive damages. And though the legal system can be intimidating and complex, finding justice within the civil courts is still possible.

Nursing Home Abuse

Anytime we make the difficult decision of placing a loved one in a nursing home care facility, we also put our trust in the staff members to take care of our family members with the utmost regard. So when that trust is violated, and our loved one suffers any form of abuse— be it negligence, financial exploitation, neglect, sexual, physical, or emotional abuse— you deserve to punish those who place them in harm’s way. 

Nursing home abuse can occur for many reasons, be it understaffing issues, poor training, or negligent administrative practices. That’s why it’s imperative to hold those responsible accountable when abuse happens. Hiring a nursing home abuse lawyer will ensure you and your loved one receive compensation for any damages you incur and will also prevent future abuse from occurring to countless other victims.

Conclusion

Personal injury law encompasses a wide array of cases. Regardless of the situation, suffering through an accident or injury can be debilitating and traumatic, but oftentimes, if it is due to another person’s negligent actions, you can seek financial compensation for your losses. 

If you’ve been the victim of any kind of accident, you may be entitled to compensation. A personal injury attorney will evaluate your case and determine how best to proceed in order to give you the best chance at reimbursement. If you choose to seek legal counsel, it’s essential to find an experienced, well-established attorney specializing in your type of case.