Personal injury accidents are a common case of lawsuits in many regions. The term refers to an incident in which bodily or psychological harm has occurred, as opposed to injury of property. Personal injury lawsuits usually assert that the injury was caused, if not intentionally, at least through the negligence or malpractice of the perpetrator.
One of the most common forms of personal injury accidents revolves around vehicle accidents. These may include car crashes, accidents caused by debris in the road or road instability, or vehicle-pedestrian collisions. Like all personal injury lawsuits, these are civil rather than criminal trials, where the damages are generally limited to financial remuneration. If a person has caused a road accident by driving under the influence, evading police, or intentionally engaging in recklessness, he or she may face a criminal trial as well as a personal injury suit for civil damages.
The workplace is a common site of personal injury accidents. These can occur in a variety of different ways, from suffering electric shocks due to poor wiring to being injured as a result of a machine malfunction that occurred through poor maintenance policies. Personal injury accidents at work may also include the acquisition of industrial diseases, such as being diagnosed with asbestosis or emphysema after chronic exposure to these elements at work without means of protection.
Slip and fall personal injury accidents occur when a person injures himself on another person's property. This may be at a business, at a friend's home, or on public property. If the injured party can prove that the accident would not have occurred without negligent behavior on the owner's part, he or she can sometimes sue for damages. If the owner believes he or she was not negligent, a counterargument may suggest that the injured party managed to fall or slip despite adequate safety provisions, or that reckless behavior on the part of the injured person caused the accident, not existing conditions.
Malpractice torts are commonly considered a form of personal injury. These personal injury accidents occur when a doctor or dentist does not behave as per acceptable medical standards, and exhibits negligence or breach of duty that is shown to be the main cause of an injury. Examples may include administering a drug to a patient that is contraindicated by recorded allergies, failing to act in a timely manner during a birth that results in permanent damage to a mother or child, or failure to test for a condition even though symptoms are present and reported by the patient.
Personal injury accidents happen every day and are often simply accidents. In those that are lawsuit material, there are several conditions that must usually be met. First, almost all personal injury claims must occur within a statute of limitations, though this timeline varies regionally. Secondly, there must be material and measurable damages so that a judge can award damages. Medical bills, psychological treatment, and home care expenditures are types of damages that can be repaid through legal proceedings.
