In legal terms, a personal injury is an injury to the mind, body, or emotions that happen as a direct result of another person’s or business’s actions. It usually involves some sort of negligence by the offending party. A person who has suffered a personal injury has the right to be financially compensated and made whole if he has been the victim of another person’s negligence.
10 Types of Personal Injury Claims
While personal injuries can happen anytime someone is negligent, there are some common types of personal injury accidents, including:
- Motor vehicle accidents. Car crashes can happen in many different ways, but they often occur when a driver is distracted, drunk, or drowsy. If you are a pedestrian, a bicyclist, another driver, or a passenger, then you are at risk of suffering an injury. Motor vehicle accidents are among the most common types of personal injury lawsuits. Often, the driver of the vehicle who caused the crash and the driver’s insurance company are defendants.
- 18-Wheeler accidents. Truck accidents are a lot more common than you think, and when they happen the results can be catastrophic. Truck crashes may result if a driver stays on the road without taking the minimum rest periods as required by law or if a driver is driving too fast for the road conditions, for example. Commercial vehicle lawsuits usually include the professional driver, the trucking company, and the insurance company as defendants.
- Motorcycle accidents. Motorcycle crashes between a car and a motorcycle often occur because of a car driver’s carelessness or inattentiveness. Lawsuits can result from incidents that take place on the road or off of the road.
- Boating accidents. A boat driver, like a car or truck driver, is liable for any negligent actions that result in an accident. A boat crash could occur, for example, if someone drives his boat into yours while speeding in a no wake zone or if a boat runs into a swimmer.
- Aviation and railroad accidents. These types of accidents are quite catastrophic in nature and often result in the loss of life. A railroad accident could occur, for example, if a train hits you at a rail crossing because it is going faster than the speed limit in the area. A plane crash may occur if a plane blew a tire and skidded off the runway upon landing because maintenance procedures were not followed.
- Product liability accidents. Product liability claims arise from people being injured by dangerous or defective products, which can include household goods, automobile parts, prescription drugs, and other products. Some examples of product liability injuries include a child being cut by a toy with sharp edges or a car crash occurring because the car’s accelerator got stuck due to a manufacturer’s defect. Sometimes these lawsuits turn into class action cases when the same product hurts many people.
- Premises liability accidents. These are accidents that usually happen as a result of negligence by a property owner or a business owner. This kind of incident could happen, for example, if you break your ankle on your neighbor’s uneven concrete walkway or if a business’s janitor fails to put up the wet floor sign while he is mopping and you fall and get hurt.
- Workplace accidents. Work injuries can occur in any industry, but some jobs are more dangerous than others. Workers employed in construction, oilfield, refinery, and industrial settings often have a high risk of injury.
- Medical malpractice. These types of claims result from negligence on the part of a medical professional or hospital. Medical malpractice includes, but is not limited to, surgical mistakes, misdiagnoses, failure to diagnose, and medication errors. Typical defendants in a medical malpractice claim may include a doctor, nurse, medical group, clinic, hospital, and their respective insurance companies.
- Wrongful death. In Texas, the relatives of fatal accident victims may have the right to bring wrongful death cases. A wrongful death case can stem from any of the accident types described above.
If you have been hurt or your loved one has been killed in any of these types of accidents, then it is important to protect your rights and to take the necessary steps to pursue a personal injury case to protect your fair recovery of damages. Please contact us today to schedule a free consultation and to learn more about your potential recovery.