What Is an Example of a Personal Injury?

When people hear the words “personal injury”, they usually think about car accident lawyers. Usually, a car accident case involves a driver, passenger, motorcyclist, bicyclist, or pedestrian who was hurt or killed in an accident by someone who was driving a car or truck. Although car accidents are a big chunk of personal injury lawsuits, there are other types of personal injury claims too.

Personal Injury Claims

Before talking about different kinds of personal injury claims, what is a personal injury claim? A personal injury claim falls under a type of law called “tort” law. The word “tort” is a Latin word that means “wrong” or “injustice”. Tort law is a field that tries to get justice for people who have been wronged by another person and have suffered an injury because of the other person’s negligence or carelessness.

A key part of any personal injury claim is negligence. The person who was injured must prove that the person (or company) that is responsible was negligent in some way. This means that the person had a duty to do something, such as act a certain way or fix something that could pose a danger to people but he or she failed at that duty. This can look like a lot of things. For example, a driver who is looking at their phone when they cause an accident, or a grocery store who knew about a puddle in the store but did nothing to stop someone from slipping on the wet spot.

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Types of Personal Injury Claims Besides Car Accidents

• Slip-and-falls
  • These usually happen in places of business, like a grocery store or gas station. They can also happen at someone’s house, or even on a public sidewalk. Remember, negligence is a big part of these lawsuits. Tripping or falling on your own does not mean you have a slip-and-fall case. There has to be a dangerous condition, like a water puddle or a pothole, that the owner of the land knew about, or should have known about, but failed to fix.
• Dog Bites or other Animal Attacks
  • In most cases, the owner of an animal is responsible for bites or other injuries caused by the animal. Proving negligence is required in these cases. If the animal was not on a leash, or had a history of aggression, it is helpful in these cases.
• Work related accidents
  • These claims usually involve unsafe working conditions, or accidents caused by employees who were not trained properly. Sometimes it is because of equipment that has not been regularly checked and maintained for safety. These claims usually pop up from jobs that involve heavy machines, such as working in a warehouse.
• Medical malpractice
  • This is a personal injury claim against a healthcare provider. These cases can range anywhere from failing to diagnose a serious condition, to improper treatment. It can even be a healthcare provider using an unsafe medical procedure, or if a medical procedure is done in an unsafe manner. If you believe you received poor medical care from a healthcare provider, it is a good idea to reach out to the attorneys at Van Law Firm and find out if you may have a medical malpractice claim because they are very serious.
• Product Liability
  • Product liability involves any defective product that causes injury. This can range from kids’ toys to office equipment, medical devices and even to medications such as Zantac. It could also be a vehicle equipment failure. A vehicle equipment failure can be any part of a car or truck that malfunctions and causes an injury. Usually, it is a tire, seatbelt, or airbag malfunction, but any part of a car or truck that malfunctions and causes injury can result in a personal injury claim.

If you’ve been injured by any of these types of personal injury claims, reach out to the knowledgeable attorneys at Van Law Firm. We have years of experience fighting for people who have been injured in one way or another.