Personal injury cases are some of the most common cases in the legal space. People are injured all the time with good reason to sue or otherwise demand compensation.
However, “personal injury” is a fairly broad term that covers a lot of situations, and despite that, some things that you think would fall into the personal injury category don’t qualify at all.
Today, we’re going to go over 12 situations that warrant calling a personal injury lawyer and setting up a consultation.
Let’s get started.
1. Slip and Fall Accidents
One situation in which you might need to consult a lawyer is if you slip and fall on someone else’s property. This can be a private residence or a business of any sort. Beyond being a personal injury, it is also considered premises liability in a more specific sense.
Whether or not you can claim a personal injury with this situation depends on if the property owner caused the injury with negligence.
Let’s say you go to a big box store, and you slip and fall because no one put a wet floor sign down. You clearly didn’t do it intentionally, and the business failed to have proper measures in place. Call a lawyer.
If you just lost your footing and the owner did nothing wrong, you can’t claim a personal injury and expect to win.
2. Car Accidents
Car accidents are easily some of the most common personal injuries to enter the court system. They happen every day, and because they’re so dangerous, they often do result in personal injuries worthy of court.
For a car accident to be considered for a personal injury case, you have to sustain an injury, and you have to prove that the other driver is responsible for the wreck and the injury.
If you rear-end someone, you’re unlikely to have a case, because most of those collisions are the fault of the driver in the rear position. If you are hit while running a red light or otherwise being negligent on the road, injuries sustained are not the other driver’s fault in most cases.
3. A Poorly Designed Product
You’ve likely seen numerous examples of this in the news throughout the years, but if a company sells you a product, and the product causes you an injury due to negligence in manufacturing, designing, or applying suitable warning labels, you might qualify for a personal injury case. A product should be safe when used as directed.
However, if you modify the product, use it in a way goes against its intended usage, or do something such as eat it when it’s clearly labeled not to, you likely won’t qualify.
4. Medical Malpractice Injuries
Medical malpractice injuries are types of personal injuries. This type of case means that a medical professional was treating you, and they failed to do something properly. Maybe they misdiagnosed you and the problem got much worse, or maybe they gave you the wrong medication because they didn’t pay attention. In either situation, immediately consult a lawyer.
However, a treatment simply not working is not a personal injury. There has to be a form of negligence involved.
5. Intentional Attacks
Usually, you think of intentional criminal behavior when you think of intentional attacks. Someone attacks you on the street or something like that. However, intentionally injuring you can be a personal injury.
A good example of this is someone trying to hit you or push you off of something. Maybe they aren’t trying to brutally attack you, but they’re frustrated. Except, you fall because of it and break a bone. That’s a personal injury case.
Of course, if you’re mutually doing something such as boxing or having a wrestling match, that’s not likely to qualify.
6. Motorcycle Accidents
Mortorcycle accidents are just like car accidents, but negligence is an even bigger problem and the injuries are often more serious.
If you go to overtake a car and the car’s driver switches lanes without checking their mirrors, that can be a personal injury. So can situations such as a homeowner spraying lawn clippings on the road and causing your bike to lose traction.
In contrast, if you’re driving recklessly, you likely won’t qualify for a personal injury case.
7. Construction Site Accidents
You have to assume a certain level of risk when working a construction site, but if an injury occurs because of the site supervisor’s negligence or another form of negligence such as not training other employees, you might qualify for a personal injury case.
8. Pedestrian Accidents with Cars
Let’s say you’re crossing the street at the crosswalk and a car hits you because the driver is on the phone. That, and similar situations, is a personal injury.
However, you might have complications if you were jaywalking, ran out in front of a vehicle, etc.
9. Dog Bite Cases
If you’re bitten by someone’s dog because the dog was allowed near you, the owner didn’t have a secure fence, or the owner didn’t properly label parts of the property where the dog resides, you have a personal injury.
However, property owners are protected in many states if you are crossing those labeled boundaries, breaking into their home, attacking the owner, etc.
10. Nursing Home Accidents or Abuse
Nursing home accidents or nursing home abuse are extremely similar to the medical malpractice situation we talked about earlier, but instead of a doctor or similar professional causing an injury, a nursing home employee causes the injury with neglect.
Injuries such as bed sores from not being moved, illnesses going unmedicated, avoidable injuries happening, and similar situations would qualify as personal injury cases.
11. Wrongful Death
If you lost a loved one because of negligence, you should call a personal injury lawyer. This can stem from any of the other situations we’ve mentioned, but it’s unfortunately the worst-case scenario.
12. Train Accidents
Unfortunately, train accidents happen often, but they’re also some of the most difficult personal injury cases to navigate. However, if you or a loved one have been injured, had property destroyed, or worse due to a train derailment, crash, spill or other issue that is the railway’s fault, you may qualify.
Get the Compensation You Deserve with DeSalvo Law
If you believe you qualify for a personal injury case in any of the above situations or several others, contact The Law Office of Scott D. DeSalvo today for a consultation, and start your path to compensation!
