Personal injury cases are some of the most common types of legal situations that people find themselves involved with. Millions of these cases happen on a daily basis, but not all of them are reported or end in compensation. Why is this? Well, simply put, not a lot of people realize that they might qualify for a personal injury case.
This might be a product of people feeling unaware of their legal situation or a lack of knowledge of personal injury cases. This is understandable, as not everything qualifies for a claim, but it is good to know in case you ever run into this problem.
While one of the main goals of a personal injury case is to get the help you need financially if your injuries have hampered your life in any way, they are also intended to provide justice. The point of the law is to give people the rights they deserve, and personal injury cases are no different.
The emotional support you need in these times is very integral to your well being too. Knowing if you may or may not qualify for a personal injury case should be one of your main focuses if you believe you deserve compensation, and if you need assistance. Using this information is a good start to understanding your legal situation:
Car Accident
Common qualifying personal injury cases are usually car accidents. This is easy to recognize situations where responsibility for damages can result in an injury of varying degree to someone. The difficulty with car accidents is that they can result in multiple responsible parties, so it is hard to determine who is on the line for any compensation.
The importance of legal help in a car accident case means finding a lawyer that is experienced in car accidents and has the intention of helping for more than just compensating you. While the injuries can result in damages that leave you out of work, requiring some form of income, they also should be worried about you as a person.
Car accidents can result in some serious trauma if they are severe, and they can be difficult to navigate under times of stress. Worrying about your health, your money, your family, and how this impacts your life long term is a responsibility that lawyers take on to provide peace of mind for their clients.
Workplace Injuries
Under most companies, there are strict safety policies in place to prevent accidents like slips and falls. Although there is a lot of precaution taken in workplaces to keep employees safe, sometimes employers may cut costs or improperly enforce their own safety standards. This results in injuries that occur at work, which makes the employer responsible for giving you compensation.
Often, under some form of a workers’ compensation insurance policy, but it is not always provided as companies do not want to admit guilt. These cases are very common as well and lead to significant settlements for those injured.
Accidents at work or on job sites can cause long term, serious injuries, which impact your life for years after the initial event is over. Lingering pain can impact how much work you can do. This lack of ability to get work done can mean a reduction in time at work, loss of wages, and maybe even termination of the contract.
Getting the support you need in this type of case will allow you to feel like you are not alone, and that you are going to get the help you need so that this workplace injury does not derail your life.
Defective Products
Manufacturer issues or known issues of a product that results in injury also qualify as a personal injury case. These claims rely on some good that was purchased and had a significant defect. This defect causes harm in the form of electrical shocks, cuts, or injuries sustained during the operation. The liability can fall on a number of parties.
Manufacturers may have unintentionally produced something of low quality, or they were aware but ignored it. Your settlement for this will take into account who should be to blame for the injuries sustained and what could have been done to stop it.
Defective products are common, but not many pursue compensation because they are unaware that this is a personal injury case. Likewise, the idea of taking a claim to a big company is an intimidating thought, but just like in any personal injury case, lawyers are ready and willing to support your claim.
Medical Malpractice
Much like a defective product, medical malpractice is the negligence of a doctor or medical provider part that results in damages to you. This negligence can be life-altering in that the outcome of something like a botched surgery impacts your quality of life. Identifying these factors through evidence is part of the job of lawyers who take on these claims.
An improper practice that ends in damages or injuries is certainly something that qualifies you for a personal injury claim, and making this claim is serious business as you want to be sure that the medical care you were provided was significant enough that it injured you.
Even with that in mind, you can still receive improper care that is not medical malpractice. Receiving a prescription that did not work would not classify as malpractice, but being provided a medication you were allergic to, or as per the previous example, surgery or operation that left you damaged can be malpractice.
It depends on the standards of care you were provided, and how much of it was done with low safety standards or done improperly. That information will determine if you are within reason to claim malpractice as a personal injury.
Not every incident of personal injury is something that can qualify for a claim, but these are certainly within those boundaries of the law. Lawyers who are experts in personal injury do most of the heavy lifting, but they are only as useful as you are willing to be in these cases. Reporting them early, understanding your injuries, figuring out who may be responsible are all duties that you share with any legal guidance you may receive, but they will fight on your behalf to get the settlement you deserve.
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Interesting related article: “What is a lawyer?“