There
are millions of lawsuits filed in the United States each year. Many of these
lawsuits are based on accidents or conducts that resulted in injury. These
types of lawsuits are commonly known as Personal Injury claims as they seek
compensation for the injuries that the victims sustain. It is always helpful
for victims to have some understanding of these claims before contacting an
attorney.
An Injury Does Not Mean You Have
An Actionable Claim
Simply
because someone had an accident or sustained an injury due to some other reason
does not necessarily mean that there is an actionable claim. In order to get
some compensation in a personal injury claim, there has to be a legal aspect
that can hold the defendant accountable for the injury. One of the most common
legal scenarios involved in personal injury claims is negligence. This means
that injury happened due to defendant’s negligence and the victim needs to show
that the defendant owed a duty to the victim. For example, if the victim was an
employee or customer in the store, it is the sore owner’s duty to maintain the
premises safe. The victim must also be able to show through his or her attorney
that the defendant failed to abide to this legal duty and the injuries happed
because the owner did not take proper precautions to ensure safe premises.
There
are other scenario’s (theories) that may be used, e.g. intentional torts etc.
No matter what the theory is, the plaintiff always has the burden of proof in order
to be able to get any recovery out of the claim.
Personal Injury Cases Are Of Many
Different Types
Whenever
someone refers to the term “Personal Injury”, it is most commonly believed to
be pursuing a car accident claim. Though car accidents are one of the personal
injury case types, there are several others, including Workplace Injuries,
Premises Liability, animal attacks, Workers Compensation etc. In other words,
any case which indicates that a person suffered harm due to negligence or other
actions of another individual or entity.
Personal Injury Cases Often
Involve Insurance Companies
Of all
the personal injury claims filed each year, a lot of them involve insurance
companies. A few examples being road accidents, medical malpractice and
injuries that generally happened at a business place or private home. The
insurance companies’ priorities are always to protect financial interests of
the insurance company. Hence the settlement amount offered by the insurance
company may not always be fair as they are trying to limit the financial
exposure of the company.
Most Personal
Injury Claims Settle
The
court system in US is flooded as there are over 40 million lawsuits of
different types including personal injury are filed each year. Hence, a lot of
personal injury cases are settled outside of court. The pretty much means that
a judge or jury does not give a verdict for the case. Instead, the victim’s
attorney negotiates a monetary settlement with the defendant or the insurance
company outside the court. The victim always has the option to accept or reject
the proposed settlement.
The Victims May Have Limited Time to File a Case
In most
states, due to the statute of limitations, the victim may have a very specific
(limited) time period for a personal injury claim to be filed. Once the time
limit for statute of limitations is expired, a claim cannot be filed and will
be barred forever. Many states have a 3-year limitation for personal injury claims;
however, this may be lesser or more in different states depending on state laws
and the identity of the defendant.
