Personal Injury Explained | Legal Advice

Personal injury is a branch of tort law that concerns suing for damages when a person is wrongly injured or has property damage.

According to legal definitions and research, personal injuries include malicious injuries, accidents, car accidents, and faulty products. These types of injuries can happen in the workplace, the home, the location of a traffic accident, the beach, or a home workshop. In addition, the physical injury can be psychological or physical.

Let’s discuss personal injuries today, so you know what to do if you fall victim to one in a public place, one someone else’s property, in an accident, at work, etc.

Defining Characteristics of Actionable Personal Injuries

To qualify for legal action, the injury must satisfy two criteria. According to the American Bar, each tort must deal with these two issues: liability and damages. Defendants must bear liability for an injury, and there must be real-world damages. If you can prove both of these tenets in court, the wheels of justice will award you compensation.

Types of Personal Injury Cases

The types of potential personal injury cases can vary tremendously, but all successful torts must meet the two basic issues. Some of the most common types of personal injury cases include the following:

Automobile Accidents. Automobile accidents are a special category of personal injury case that provides a good example. You have a negligence claim against another driver who failed to take reasonable precautions while driving. If you are injured or suffer property damage, that satisfies the damage requirement. The system differs in no-fault states or states with both fault and no-fault insurance options.

Personal Injuries Caused by Other Accidents. Injuries caused by negligence also qualify for possible legal action. When a person or company demonstrates carelessness and results in a serious injury or property damage, you have a case. These include slip-and-fall accidents, medical malpractice, and work injuries. The negligence doesn’t have to be something done in person. For example, leaving hazardous conditions on your property constitutes negligence.

Intentional Acts. If your intentional actions cause harm to another person, you can be held liable. Examples include assault and battery, and malicious mischief.

Defective Products. Car components, electronic gadgets, medical devices, and pharmaceutical preparations can deliver unexpected results. As a result, these products are judged defective when they cause harm or property damage, and they qualify for personal injury lawsuits.

Defamation and Libel. Damaging a person’s reputation qualifies as psychological damage. The damage can be in the form of libel, written defamation, and slander, verbal defamation.

Legal Avenues to Explore

The laws can often become complex in certain cases. Sometimes, the plaintiff’s insurance company will offer to settle a case, but you need to consult legal counsel like the Laborde Earles personal injury lawyers. They can help you negotiate a fair settlement or take the matter to court. Unfortunately, when it comes to personal injury claims and compensation, one size does not fit all. For this reason, getting an attorney that understands your case in depth is the wisest thing to do.

The states have different personal injury laws and guidelines, so they vary from state to state. According to a post at hg.org, the remedies and defenses revolve around wrongful conduct. The vast majority of cases involve negligence of some sort - such as failure to take action as a reasonable person would. Passive negligence can involve ignoring the condition of your property. The negligence doctrine requires responsible actions that protect others from dangers.

Examples of negligence include allowing a patch of ice to remain untreated on your sidewalk for days after it accumulates or vicious animals to remain loose on your property despite a history of biting. Physician carelessness also constitutes negligence, and drunk driving automatically qualifies as negligent behavior.

Bottom Line

Any financial losses automatically qualify for property damage, lost wages from lost work, medical bills, rehabilitation, prescription drugs to treat injuries. In addition, you might also receive compensation for pain and suffering, loss of companionship, or projected wages that you might earn over the time of recovery.