Posted in: | Jun 21,2023
A personal injury lawsuit is a civil legal action taken on behalf of an injured person to recover financial compensation from the person or entity responsible for their injury. Personal injury cases encompass a wide range of legal claims that arise when an individual suffers harm or injury due to the negligence, intentional actions, or strict liability of another party. In any personal injury case, the victim (plaintiff) must prove that the at-fault party (defendant) owed them a duty of care, violated that duty, and directly caused their injuries and resulting damages. This post describes some of the most common types of personal injury cases.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Auto accidents are the most common type of personal injury case. Motor vehicle accident cases include car crashes, semi-truck crashes, motorcycle accidents, bus accidents, road construction accidents, and pedestrian accidents. These collisions often result from driver negligence, such as distracted driving, drunk driving, speeding, or otherwise failing to take reasonable care behind the wheel. If you are the injured victim in a car accident in Indiana, you have the right to sue the at-fault driver for damages via their auto insurance.
Cases involving a semi-truck or other commercial vehicle are typically more complex and involve multiple defendants, federal regulations, and commercial insurance policies.
Medical Malpractice
Medical errors are among the leading causes of accidental death nationwide. Medical malpractice cases can arise from a misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, failure to treat a condition, prescription error, surgical error, anesthesia error, birth injury, or other medical mistake that causes a patient to suffer injury or illness. Doctors and other medical professionals are held to a high standard of care for their respective professions, and a lawyer will need to prove that they violated that standard. These cases tend to be complex and involve the testimony of expert medical witnesses.
Product Liability
Consumers have a reasonable right to expect the products they buy to be safe to use. Unfortunately, unsafe products go to market all the time. If a dangerous product results in severe injury or death, the injured party has the right to sue. Product liability cases can involve dangerous medications, hazardous household and personal care products, defective consumer goods, automotive parts, medical devices, and more. Unsafe products may cause injury due to a flaw in their design, a defect in their construction, or a failure to warn consumers about safe and proper use adequately.
Workplace Accidents
Injuries sustained on the job, such as construction accidents, industrial accidents, or exposure to hazardous substances, can lead to personal injury lawsuits in some cases. In many jurisdictions, workers’ compensation laws provide benefits to employees injured on the job, regardless of fault. However, there are situations where employees may be exempt from workers’ compensation and can pursue a personal injury case instead. For example, if an employer intentionally causes harm or fails to carry workers’ compensation insurance, the injured employee may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit.
Premises Liability
Property owners have to keep their premises safe for lawful visitors, customers, and tenants. Failure to do so can result in a premises liability lawsuit. In personal injury law, premises liability encompasses a variety of different types of injuries. These may include a slip and fall, a dog bite, negligent security, burn or electrocution, toxic exposure, or other hazard on someone else’s property. These can take place at a private residence or a place of business.
Nursing Home Negligence
Nursing home abuse or neglect can warrant a personal injury case when an elderly resident of a nursing home suffers harm or injury due to the negligence, abuse, or misconduct of the nursing home staff, administrators, or other responsible parties.
Common cases include physical harm due to physical assaults, improper use of restraints, rough handling, or any form of physical mistreatment by the nursing home staff or other residents. Neglecting basic needs like food, hydration, personal hygiene, medication administration, or failure to address medical conditions, leading to injuries or worsening health conditions, also often results in a personal injury claim.
Wrongful Death
In the worst cases, an injury can result in the death of a loved one. Surviving family members of the deceased have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the at-fault party for damages related to losing their loved one. While other personal injury cases seek to recover compensation for the losses and suffering of the injured person, a wrongful death case aims to compensate the victim’s parents, children, or spouse for the loss of their support, companionship, and related funeral and burial costs.
All types of personal injury cases can involve devastating, life-changing injuries like head trauma, broken bones, and spinal cord damage. A personal injury lawsuit cannot reverse this harm, but it can help ensure you and your family have the resources you need to rebuild your lives and move forward with a little more security.
Contact us today to get a better understanding of the limitations on a personal injury case and how damages are calculated in personal injury cases.
