There are about 3 million non-fatal injuries every year in the U.S.
While a few of these are intentional, the vast majority are accidental. You could be injured on the job, in a motor vehicle, or even while undergoing a medical procedure. You could even slip and fall when out shopping at your favorite convenience store.
In most accidental injuries, there’s usually a third party that’s to blame. This entitles victims to compensation for their injuries and other damages.
Whether you’ve been injured in an accident or you’re researching personal injury cases, read on and we will tell you about the different types of personal injury claims.
1. Motor Vehicle Accident Claims
About 6 million car accidents occur annually in America. It’s easy to see why motor vehicle accident claims make up the majority of personal injury cases.
Although you might be lucky enough to walk out of a road crash without any injuries, others sustain various injuries, commonly cuts and scrapes, whiplash, chest and back injuries, and head injuries. Many car accidents also result in fatalities.
Those who have been injured may pursue a car accident injury claim if another party is at fault.
In most states, drivers are required to hold liability insurance. It’s these insurance companies that are responsible for compensating the claimants. However, in cases where a driver was underinsured or wasn’t legally required to have insurance, the claimant can file a personal injury lawsuit against them to recover damages.
2. Workplace Injury Claims
In dangerous workplaces such as oil fields, mines, and construction sites, on-the-job accidents are expected. But that’s not to say traditional offices are completely safe for workers. Slips, trips, and falls are fairly common in these workplaces.
When you’ve been injured at work, your employer could be at fault.
Perhaps you slipped on a wet floor that’s required to be dry during work hours. In this case, your employer can be found to be negligent. They’re required by law to maintain a reasonably safe and healthy workplace environment.
Thankfully, employers have workers’ compensation insurance. This enables injured workers to pursue injury claims and get compensated for their medical expenses and other costs.
Just as is the case with uninsured or underinsurance motorists, workers have a right to file lawsuits against employers who don’t have adequate workman’s comp insurance.
3. Medical Malpractice Injury Claims
We go to healthcare facilities to get the care we need. We trust our healthcare practitioners to make the best medical decisions for us. And often, we get treatment and go back home satisfied.
Unfortunately, there are instances where medical providers make professional mistakes, such as misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, and wrong site surgery, that lead to injury or even death.
A medical malpractice injury claim allows people who have been injured at the hands of their doctors to pursue compensation. Depending on the nature of the case, victims can also sue the healthcare facilities in which they were injured.
This type of personal injury case can be incredibly difficult to pursue. Most victims don’t have the professional knowledge to even know that they have been injured or harmed in the first place. It’s prudent to have a personal injury attorney specializing in medical malpractice claims to help you get the compensation you deserve.
4. Wrongful Death Claims
You might be wondering what happens to those who succumb to their personal injuries after an accident. Since they’re no longer with us to pursue compensation, is the matter brushed under the rug?
No. Wrongful death claims exist for this reason. The loved ones of someone who has died in an accident can pursue a wrongful death claim against the at-fault party and win compensation.
The family can seek compensation for medical expenses incurred to treat the injuries of the deceased when they were still alive after the accident. If they were employed, the loss of their lifetime earnings can be factored into the claim. Compensation for their pain, anguish, and suffering before death can also be sought.
As you can already tell, wrongful death claims aren’t a walk in the park; no claim is, to be fair, but when it involves a deceased person, the claim quickly gets complex. There’s the matter of who can file the claim, and in the wake of losing a loved one, the family may be too emotionally drained to start dealing with the claim.
Experienced wrongful death lawyers like those at alphaaccidentlawyers.com can come in and make the work easier for you.
5. Product Liability Claims
Product injury claims arise from people who have been injured when using a defective product.
You could be driving down the highway and for no apparent reason, your steering fails and an accident occurs. If, upon investigation, it’s established that the steering failed because of a manufacturing mistake, you can pursue a product liability claim against the car’s authorized dealer and/or manufacturer.
That’s just one example of how a consumer product can cause an injury. There are hundreds of other examples, but the key to winning this claim is proving that the product malfunctioned because of a manufacturing mistake, especially if there isn’t a known defect or issue with the product.
6. Animal Attack Injury Claim
Animal attacks can cause disfigurement, nerve damage, scarring, puncture wounds, or infections. Depending on the nature of the attack, you may pursue compensation for your injuries.
Animal bite laws vary from state to state, but in most cases, the owner of the animal that attacked you has to pay unless you intentionally provoked the animal, or you were trespassing.
Dog attacks are the most common, but wild animal attacks also happen, especially in theme parks. Proving liability in wild animal attack cases can be a nightmare, so be sure to consult an experienced attorney on the way forward.
Get Familiar With Personal Injury Claims
Pursuing personal injury claims is a situation no one wants to be in. If you’re the victim, you’re already dealing with pain and trauma, and the last thing you want is to chase compensation from insurance companies that are never happy to pay up.
Getting familiar with these claims equips you with the information you need to know what to do should the worst happen.
