Personal injury law provides protection to someone who has been injured as a result of another individual’s or party’s negligence.
You could file for a personal injury claim if you have been badly hurt as an after-effect of another party’s carelessness or intentional actions.
There are several areas of personal injury law that lawyers could focus on; thus, this could make it hard for those who are trying to seek the appropriate lawyer to defend them for a particular type of case. A personal injury lawyer, for example, may not be the best choice to represent a person in a divorce or homicide case.
Personal Injury Law: Who Is Protected By It?
Personal injury is a branch of law that protects people from the damage caused by the malpractice, negligence, or intentional wrongdoing of another person or party. This may include the following:
- A passenger and/or the driver in a vehicle who is sideswiped as a result of another driver who did not obey a stop sign.
- A child who was injured as a consequence of an improperly designed car seat
- A person whose property (vehicle or house) is damaged as a result of another person’s automobile.
Procedures In Filing Claims
A person who has been injured must meet several minimum requirements in order to file a personal injury claim. These include the following:
- Plaintiffs must bring a personal injury claim within the statute of limitations in their state.
- The claim should be legitimate and amenable to resolution via the legal system. That is, the complaint should be reasonable, and the claimant should prove the following:
- He or she has suffered an injury. This might be either physical or psychological harm.
- That somebody else (the defendant) inflicted the injury and is responsible for it (to a greater or lesser extent, depending on your state’s liability laws). This can occur as a result of the defendant’s negligence or as a result of an accidental or intentional act.
Some Examples of the Different Types of Injuries
The majority of people, when they would hear about personal, they often think of fractured bones, soft-tissue damage, and lacerations. However, there are several sorts of personal injury which may not always involve physical injury. Physical, financial, intentional, and reputational damage are all types of injury. One or more of these areas may be included in a personal injury lawsuit.
Physical Injury
The word “personal injury” most frequently refers to physical or bodily damage, which encompasses all sorts of disease, incapacity, or bodily damage caused or worsened by another party’s negligence. Most personal injury lawsuits include some type of injury, ranging from slight to severe.
Financial Injury
Numerous occurrences of physical damage also result in some degree of economic loss – such as substantial medical expenditures or loss of income owing to incapacity to work. However, it is completely viable, though less often, for financial injury to take place in the absence of physical injury. Financial injury happens when a person’s economic stability is jeopardized, or their property is considerably devalued as a result of another party’s negligence.
Loss Of Reputation
A person’s reputational damage may have a significant effect on their mental and financial well-being. Defamation and slander are examples of personal damage under this category.
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Intentional Injury
The majority of personal injury lawsuits include negligence, which is classified as a breach of a duty that leads to damage to others. However, in other instances, the injury is intentionally done or as a consequence of such egregious carelessness that it might be termed intentional.
Personal Injury Lawyer: Should You Hire One?
There are several advantages to hiring a competent personal injury lawyer. The following are some of the top advantages of why you should hire a personal injury lawyer:
Determine if your case is qualified for a personal injury claim. A person who has been injured as a result of the actions or negligence of another person is possible to file a personal injury lawsuit. However, the circumstances surrounding your accident may work against you. A lawyer would know what to look for in order to assess if you have a case.
Assist you in making sure that you comply with the statute of limitations. Each state has a statute of limitations on how long personal injury victims have to file charges. A local personal injury lawyer can help you in meeting this deadline.
Assert your right to be appropriately compensated for the injuries you incurred. You may be entitled to compensation for physical injuries and, maybe, mental distress. Personal injury lawyers will seek compensation in all available avenues. Moreover, victims who retain the services of a lawyer are more likely to get a significant payment than the victims who do it on their own.
Things To Consider When Filing For A Personal Injury Claim
Statute Of Limitations
Statute of limitations will vary in each state, and according to the state you reside in, you could have a year, two years, or more. Consult a lawyer immediately since they are knowledgeable about their state’s statute of limitations.
The Nature Of The Injury
Numerous states have enacted statutes of limitations for certain sorts of personal injury claims. For instance, incidents involving product liability as well as wrongful death are classified differently.
Age Of The Involved Parties
Depending on the state and the sort of injury, the countdown to filing charges does not normally begin until the child reaches the age of 18. On the other hand, medical malpractice claims may have a shorter statute of limitations if a minor is involved.
Claims For Personal Injury Against The Government
Individuals seeking compensation from a federal, state, or municipal government entity, employee, or affiliate must inform the government of their intent to pursue charges within 60 days after the accident.
In Conclusion
If you are decided to file a lawsuit, you should first determine whether the possibility of success is worth the expense. Not every injury qualifies as a personal injury, and not all personal injury claims will have a good result, such as availing monetary compensation. A settlement may take years; during the process, you may lose wages and be required to pay lawyer fees and court fees.
