Personal Injury Lawyer
When you’re injured due to another person’s negligence or malicious intent, it can be a personal injury case. Following a personal injury case, you might be entitled to compensation for factors like:
- Medical expenses, including prescriptions, surgeries, modifications to your home, and more
- Lost wages, job rehabilitation, or disability benefits
- Pain and suffering
- Out-of-pocket expenses, including travel expenses
- Emotional distress, including the development of PTSD
- Overall reduced quality of life and much more
Personal injury cases also come in many shapes and forms. However, we’ll explore five of the most common personal injury cases.
- Automobile Accidents
There’s a strong car culture in the United States, with many citizens owning at least one car. As such, driving is a part of everyday life. Unfortunately, although cars today are outfitted with more safety features, they can’t account for human errors like drunk driving, aggressive driving, or distracted driving. As a result, millions of collisions happen every year. Some are minor, but many results in massive damage to a person’s car and health.
- Premise Liability, Such As Slips and Falls
An environment like a business is responsible for adhering to specific safety standards. Unfortunately, many people can slip and fall due to a wet floor, resulting in serious injuries. A business failing to have proper signage can be found liable to provide the victim with compensation.
- Product Liability
Defective products are also a major concern, even with stricter testing and regulations. Product liability can cover various goods and services. A famous example is the McDonald’s hot coffee scandal. Although sometimes mocked as an example of people suing for nothing, this case highlighted that the victim, Stella Liebeck, suffered third-degree burns due to abnormally hot coffee not being safe. Liebeck needed skin grafting but received $160,000 in compensatory damages and $640,000 in punitive damages.
- Dog Bites
Many people have dogs as pets or simply admire them from afar. However, while many see dogs as cute, there’s no denying that they can cause harm under the right circumstances. A pet owner is responsible for preventing their dog from harming another person and can be held liable. A single dog bite may not cause long-lasting damages, but the victim can still be entitled to press charges. Furthermore, a dog can “maul” a victim, resulting in serious injuries.
- Wrongful Death
Unfortunately, a personal injury case sometimes results in more than temporary medical needs or permanent scars. A personal injury case can also kill a victim immediately or later. For example, a victim can die instantly from a car crash or can spend the next couple of months in the hospital in agony before dying. While nothing can bring a loved one back, a victim’s family does have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim.
Five major personal injury cases occur, but many more examples exist. Therefore, when choosing a personal injury lawyer, you want someone with plenty of experience. Our friends at Hurwitz, Whitcher & Molloy, LLP understand how important experience is.
