One of the broader fields of law is that of personal injury cases. Every year, there are around 400,000 personal injury claims filed in the United States. Only about 4% of these claims make it to trial as most are settled outside of court.
Proving a personal injury claim isn’t easy, but it can be done. Knowing the facts about personal injury cases and what the laws are in your state can help, and hiring a personal injury lawyer can help secure your damages.
Let’s take a look at the five most common types of personal injury cases and what it takes to prove them.
Medical Malpractice
Every patient goes in for treatment expecting a reasonable level of care, but in some instances, that doesn’t happen. Medical malpractice happens as the result of negligence or willful mistreatment of a patient by a medical care provider.
Medical malpractice can involve a doctor having ignored an obviously chronic health condition, prescribing medications that they knew had the potential to harm the patient, having broken a rule, or acted in some other inappropriate fashion.
Auto Accident Injuries
Automobile accident injuries are extremely common, as in 2018 alone, over 6.7 million motor vehicle accidents occurred within the US. A negligent or purposefully reckless driver can cause you temporary or permanent disability, resulting in loss of income and insanely expensive medical bills.
Unfortunately, the at-fault driver will often try to put up a fight, and getting their insurer to pay out claims can be difficult. This is why it is a good idea to have a personal injury lawyer fighting for you.
Premises Liability
Whether you were injured on the job, in a store, or in someone else’s house, premises liability can help ensure your rights to compensation. Slip and fall accidents are just one type of accident that constitute a premises liability case, and a personal injury attorney will be able to help with this.
If an environment is not being reasonably kept safe and clear of hazards, the property owner could be found liable for any accidents that result in personal injury. The hard part is proving that the environment was unsafe and that you weren’t at fault for your injuries – hence why hiring a lawyer is so important.
Product Liability
When a manufacturer or seller puts out a product that causes the buyer injury due to a manufacturing defect or design imperfection, this is cause for a product liability claim. They aren’t quite as common as the other cases listed above, but their payouts are usually quite large.
Remember the Roundup Weed Killer debacle? Monsanto was accused of knowing this product had the potential to cause cancer but sold it anyway, resulting in a lot of people getting sick. Monsanto was successfully sued and ended up having to pay over $300 million to their victims.
Wrongful Death
About 31 million people in America are injured each year to the point that medical attention is required. About 2 million of them are serious enough to need hospitalization, and about 162,000 of those injuries are fatal. Car accidents, construction accidents, and medical malpractice are some of the leading causes of wrongful death.
Regardless of what caused your personal injury, you could have grounds to file a claim. Hiring a personal injury lawyer gives you a better shot at a more substantial and fair payout, as insurance companies will take you more seriously. You can get the damages you deserve for the injuries you did not ask for.