Common Types of Personal Injury Cases

 

The usual assumption is that personal injury cases are limited to car accidents and maybe slip and fall cases, as a personal injury lawyer. This is understandable since those get the most amount of press and advertising. The reality, though, is that there are numerous different kinds of claims that fall under the umbrella of personal injury. Here are the big ones.

Car accidents. Yes, car accidents make up a large portion of personal injury cases, and for good reason: everyone is statistically destined to be in an accident at some point in their life, and car accidents invariably cause some amount of personal injury and/or damage to property. Just about any accident involving a motor vehicle will fall under this category including accidents with trucks or when cars strike pedestrians.

Medical malpractice. Doctors, like other professionals, are held to a higher standard in the work that they perform than someone in a job that does not require a high level of skill. When doctors make a mistake, the consequences can literally result in death or serious injury. This is why when a doctor does make a mistake, there is a claim for medical malpractice on behalf of the person who was injured due to their negligence.

Slip and fall cases: Those shiny floors at the grocery store can also represent a real hazard especially to those who are infirm or not particularly steady on their feet.  This becomes even more pronounced when there is something slippery on the floor such as water or vegetable oil and the unlucky shopper who steps in it will go crashing down. Slip and fall cases happen outside of the commercial arena, as well, including slips and falls on ice that hasn’t been properly treated, or sidewalks that were not shoveled well enough.

Assault and battery, aka Intentional Torts: These cases involve situations where the injury was committed on purpose. They don’t just encompass the usual fight with punches, however. Intentional torts cover the gamut from imprisoning someone against their will, false arrest, fraud, or trespass.

Dog bites: Obviously, you can’t sue the dog who bit you, but you can sue their owner for failing to control their dog and for your financial damages as a result of your injuries. Depending upon how egregious the damages are, those damages can add up.

Defamation: This category is comprised of libel and slander, which are very popular in this day and age of social media and all things viral. Defamation is when someone makes statements about someone else that are untrue and cause damage to the reputation of the target. Libel is any untruth that is in writing or physical form from articles to signs. Slander is the spoken version, for example, when someone goes on a news show and tells a lie about someone else thus defaming them.

It is fitting that all of these types of cases fall under the personal injury umbrella because, in reality, all of these cases involve some “personal” injury to the person, things, or reputation of the person at issue.