Every year, state courts in the United States receive and decide on over 100 million cases. Many of these legal matters are personal injury cases. Such disputes occur when a person suffers harm due to someone else’s doing.
In a personal injury case, the term “plaintiff” means the person filing the lawsuit. They’re the party claiming to have suffered from harm caused by the defendant.
A plaintiff may recover damages for their losses. These include medical or hospital costs, lost wages, and property damage, to name a few.
Personal injuries come in many forms, and we’ve discussed the most common ones below. Read on to learn more about them and what to do if you ever get involved in one as a victim.
Car Accident Cases
According to experts, over 6.4 million car incidents occur in the U.S. yearly. That’s one collision every five seconds! Even more concerning is that 98% of these crashes are due to human error.
No wonder most personal injury lawsuits are due to car crashes.
So if you or a loved one has been a car crash victim, consider hiring an attorney. That’s especially vital if you strongly believe the other driver was negligent. However, be careful during the selection; choose a lawyer representing victims, not defendants. You can also seek the help of rideshare accident lawyers, if you have been involved in a rideshare accident.
Truck Accident Cases
The U.S. is home to nearly 40 million registered trucks. They’re crucial to transportation but get involved in thousands of crashes annually. Indeed, truck incidents on U.S. roads injure 130,000 and kill 4,000 people yearly.
Truck accidents usually occur due to the sheer size of these vehicles. Their massiveness also makes them much more difficult to stop or make right turns. Their size and load also contribute to their propensity to roll over.
Hire a truck accident lawyer if you or someone you care about is a victim of a truck-related incident. The best attorneys can help determine all the at-fault parties. Their legal services can also help you receive a higher personal injury settlement.
Medical Error or Malpractice Cases
An estimated 210,000 to 440,000 deaths in the U.S. yearly are due to medical mistakes. That makes such incidents one of the leading causes of fatalities in the country.
Not all medical errors or malpractice cases result in death. However, they can still leave patients with severe injuries. They can also contribute to new health conditions or worsen existing ones.
A perfect example of a medical error is when a physician makes a wrong diagnosis. Another is prescribing incorrect medications due to an incorrect diagnosis. Erroneous surgeries or leaving surgical tools inside a patient are other examples.
If any of the above happens to you or a loved one, hire a personal injury lawyer. Just ensure you work with one specializing in medical errors or malpractice. They can help gather evidence pinpointing the faults of the medical practitioner.
Animal-Caused Injury Cases
Approximately 90.5 million U.S. households have pets. The most common are dogs, with 69 million families owning one, while another 45 million have cats. Other common companion animals are fish, birds, reptiles, and horses.
Many companion animals are intelligent, affectionate, and highly trainable. However, they can still harm humans, especially if they feel threatened. Dogs and cats, for instance, can cause bite or scratch injuries.
Such incidents are typical grounds for personal injury lawsuits. After all, pet owners are liable for their companion animals’ actions and behaviors. Therefore, they’re responsible for the harm their pets may cause others.
Slip, Trip, and Fall Accident Cases
Over 8 million hospital emergency room visits occur annually due to falls. Depending on the height from which the falls occur, they can cause fractures. These injuries are the most severe consequences of falls, occurring in as many as 5% of fall patients.
Some of those incidents result from other people’s negligence. Thus, they can be grounds for personal injury cases.
One example is when a person slips, trips, and falls due to a wet floor in a commercial building. In this case, the building owner can be at fault because they failed to keep their premises safe.
Another example is if someone walking down the stairs slips and falls due to a defective step or rail. The negligent parties may include the building owner, stair installer, or stair manufacturer.
A lawyer specializing in slip, trip, and fall incidents can help determine who’s at fault. Hire one to get the legal services and support you need to obtain a fair settlement amount.
Product Liability Cases
Product liability cases arise from defective designs, failure to warn, and hidden defects. When such products cause harm to users, their manufacturers can be liable.
An example of a defective design is if a product fails to work as it should and instead injures the user. Some examples of such defects are exploding batteries, burning electronics, and failed safeguards.
Failure to warn is when a manufacturer fails to provide adequate safety warnings. It can be a form of negligence, as the lack of information can lead to the user getting injured.
Hidden defects can be product liabilities if they contain toxic materials.
An example is a toxic food item that causes diseases in humans and animals. Its toxicity may be due to the manufacturing plant being dirty or contaminated.
Toxic chemicals in products, like asbestos, lead, and mercury, are also hidden defects. The injuries and illnesses they cause can occur many years from their first use.
Hire a Lawyer for These Personal Injury Cases
From car crashes to unsafe products, these are all personal injury cases. They occur due to someone else’s fault, causing harm and even death to others. Thus, the law allows victims to pursue the at-fault parties for compensation.
So if you or a loved one gets injured or suffers losses because of another party, hire a personal injury lawyer. With their expert advice, they can help you get fair compensation for all the damages you sustain.
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