Common Types of Personal Injury Claims
In this section, we’ll discuss some of the most frequent types of personal injury claims. Please remember this is not a complete list of every possible personal injury.
If your injury doesn’t seem to fit in a category, but you believe negligence was involved, it’s still a good idea to seek legal advice.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents go beyond car accidents and may involve cars, trucks, and motorcycles, as well as pedestrians or bicyclists hit by cars. These traffic collisions can cause severe injuries and leave you with an ever-growing stack of medical bills.
However, many people who are hurt in car accidents assume the at-fault driver’s car insurance policy will take care of their losses.
It would be nice if that happened automatically, but in many cases, the injured person struggles to recover fair compensation from the insurance carrier. When you file a claim after a car accident, the other party’s insurance company assigns an adjuster to review this claim.
If the other driver also files a claim on your insurance, your insurer will do the same.
Both adjusters will work to whittle away at the compensation you deserve. The other driver’s adjuster may try to blame you for the accident, even partially, so they can deny the claim or reduce its value.
Undervaluing your damages can also cut into the settlement you need to recover and move forward.
Additional issues may appear if the at-fault driver has no insurance or a minimal policy that doesn’t cover all your damages.
Dealing with the insurance company can be frustrating for the average person. It’s hard to argue your case when the adjuster is far more knowledgeable about the policy and legal landscape than you are.
However, a Berwyn car accident lawyer can help with the following:
- We’ll carefully calculate the value of your claim so you know how much to expect.
- Our investigative team will collect evidence, and we’ll build a case to show you had no or very little responsibility for the collision.
- If the insurance company makes a lowball offer (which happens frequently), we’ll negotiate for a better deal.
Other Accidents With Moving Vehicles
Motor vehicle accidents are more common due to the large number of vehicles on the road, but we also see accidents with low-speed vehicles like golf carts or ATVs. Despite the slower pace, it’s still possible to have a serious accident in these vehicles, especially if the vehicle flips.
Golf carts are particularly prone to flipping because of their boxy, top-heavy design.
Sometimes, the driver in this type of accident is at fault for driving recklessly, but the vehicle’s owner or property owner could be liable in other situations. In rare cases, a third party might also be at fault.
Determining liability can also be challenging with boating accidents. Boaters have a duty to operate their craft carefully and follow best boating practices.
Unfortunately, if another boater isn’t so careful, they might cause a collision. However, a boat owner who doesn’t maintain their vessel in safe condition could also be at fault.
Aviation accidents can also lead to serious injury, although not necessarily in the way you might think. Plane crashes are relatively rare, and commercial air travel is one of the safest ways to travel.
However, many people suffer in-flight injuries each year. These can occur for a number of reasons, including:
- Runaway drink carts. It may sound silly, but injuries from unsecured food and drink carts happen frequently. If the cart isn’t locked down, turbulence or even a slight change in the plane’s movement can cause the cart to roll away and strike a passenger. Arm and leg injuries are common with this type of incident.
- Falling luggage. Overhead luggage compartments must be secured before the plane takes off, and you may have seen flight attendants checking the compartments for this reason. But if they fail to check or secure a compartment, luggage can spill out and hit a passenger, causing injury. However, the airline isn’t always to blame—in some cases, a faulty compartment door might be the cause.
- Trip-and-fall hazards. These can occur on planes as well. A snagged carpet in a small space like a plane can lead to a passenger falling and striking a nearby seat. Some people also trip and fall while boarding or exiting the plane.
- Assaults from other passengers. Airlines have a responsibility to ensure inebriated passengers don’t board planes, mainly to avoid drunken altercations. If the airline allows someone to board in an intoxicated state and that person causes an injury, they might be at fault. Flight crew members are also responsible for handling altercations that occur whether or not the person is intoxicated. If another passenger becomes belligerent and the flight crew fails to address the situation, the airline could be at fault for your injuries.
- Lack of proper training or medical equipment. Because medical emergencies can happen in the air, flight crews are trained to deal with a variety of situations, and planes are expected to be equipped with a well-stocked first aid kit. If the plane lacks a defibrillator or other equipment, the airline may be negligent.
An experienced personal injury attorney can assist you in getting to the bottom of these types of accidents and understanding your options.
Premises Liability
If you suffer an injury on someone else’s property, are they at fault?
People often ask us some version of this question. When you have an injury, figuring out what happened or who was at fault can be confusing.
Many people don’t know exactly what happened—one minute, everything was fine, and the next, they were bleeding or in pain.
In some cases, the property owner is liable, but only if the following criteria are met:
- There was a dangerous condition or hazard on the property.
- The property owner knew or should have known about this hazard.
- The owner failed to take reasonable steps to fix, remove, or warn guests about the hazard. Reasonable steps might include cleaning up a spilled drink, setting out a “Wet Floor” sign, repairing a loose floor tile, warning guests to watch their step, fencing off a pool or other “attractive nuisances,” etc.
- The hazard caused your injuries.
While slip-and-fall accidents are very common, this is not the only situation where you might have a premises liability claim. Hazards can come in many forms.
Here are a few other examples:
- You go to a friend’s house, and their dog bites you unprovoked.
- At the golf course, you’re driving a golf cart when the wheel catches in an unexpected hole in the ground. The cart flips, causing you injuries.
- You are injured by a mugger in a poorly lit parking lot with no security cameras. There have been several muggings in this lot recently, but the property owner has not tried to improve security since then.
- You attend a heavily advertised Black Friday sale, and things get out of hand. Someone tries to cut in line, a fight breaks out, and you take an elbow to the face despite trying to avoid the altercation. We learned the store expected hundreds of customers but failed to staff enough security guards to deal with potentially volatile situations.
It’s not always easy to know if the property owner is at fault, so if you have questions or concerns about an injury on someone else’s property, it’s a good idea to speak with a personal injury lawyer.
Daycare and Nursing Home Neglect or Abuse
Facilities that care for elderly loved ones or young children have a responsibility to create a safe environment for patients or charges. The facility could be at fault if it fails to deal with potential hazards that cause an injury.
Many daycares now offer video portals for parents to check on their children or watch the day’s events. If you suspect something is wrong and your daycare provides this service, we recommend reviewing any available video.
Common issues that lead to injuries in daycare include:
- Poor supervision
- Failure to remove sharp objects or toxic cleaning chemicals from a small child’s reach
- Not keeping up with recall notices and continuing to use recalled toys or equipment
- Lack of unexpired car seats for excursions
- Lack of training for workers
- Choking hazards
In nursing homes, understaffing is often the reason for injuries. If the facility doesn’t have enough workers, those who are on staff may not be able to meet all the patient’s needs.
Again, lack of supervision is an issue for some patients, especially those deemed a fall risk. Mistakes with medication or failing to give the medication at the right time can also cause injury.
Bedsores are a red flag that your loved one is not being cared for properly, as they are usually caused by a failure to turn a bedridden patient.
If you suspect daycare or nursing home abuse, we recommend speaking with an attorney right away. Don’t confront the facility’s staff, as this could make it harder to learn more about the injury.
How to Get Help From a Berwyn Personal Injury Law Firm
If you have questions or concerns about your personal injury claim, please contact The Personal Injury Lawyers™ for a free consultation. Founded by attorney Robert S. Fakhouri, our firm has helped personal injury victims and their families recover millions of dollars in compensation.
Our experienced team is ready to evaluate your case, explain your legal options, and answer any questions you may have. Contact us today at 312-999-9990 to get started.
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