You’ve likely heard of a personal injury attorney, whether through billboards, TV commercials, or friends and family. Often the use of such an attorney is to represent you after a car accident, but there are actually many different situations that an experienced personal injury attorney can help you out. This article will outline some of the broad categories of personal injury law. If any of these apply to you, you might wish to contact an attorney to discuss the merits of your case.
Car, Truck, and Motorcycle Accidents: As noted, vehicle accidents are most often associated with personal injury law, as millions of Americans are killed or injured annually. If you or someone in your family has been involved in a motor vehicle accident, you may be able to win compensation for your pain and suffering, medical expenses, property damage, or long-term medical care. Drivers, passengers, or pedestrians may be able to bring a successful claim.
Wrongful Death: If an individual has been killed as a result of another’s negligence or reckless behavior. Although most wrongful death lawsuits are instigated by motor vehicle accidents, other situations may also be included in this class of claims and lawsuits – such as elder or nursing home abuse, physician malpractice, accidents at the workplace, or death due to a defective product. A “wrongful death” lawsuit has various potential financial remedies that would not be applicable in personal injury cases which did not cause death.
Product Liability: Defective products cause thousands of serious injuries annually. This category of claims may include harm from dangerous drugs, food poisoning, incorrectly designed consumer products, or toxic children’s toys. Products covered in this category may range from vehicles to chicken sold in grocery stores or personal grooming products. Depending on the situation, liability may be found with the designers, manufacturers, marketers, or sellers of the product. One of the more critical roles a personal injury attorney plays in this area of case law is researching and discovering all of the parties who should be included in the claim or lawsuit.
Medical or Physician Malpractice: The negligence of medical professionals and facilities often results in serious injuries and even fatalities. Medical malpractice may include misdiagnosis of a condition (or the failure to diagnose disease), inadequate treatment, mistakes made during surgery, prescription medication errors, or birth injuries. These cases are very complicated and typically require an attorney experienced in medical malpractice case law.
Premises Liability: Accidents that are the result of a dangerous condition on someone’s property are known as premises liability cases. These situations may arise at any public building, such as a grocery store or office building; or on someone’s private property, such as a trampoline, deck, or swimming pool. If you have been involved in an incident on public or private property, it is vital to document the dangerous condition which caused the injury. (a missing handrail or a slippery floor, for instance.)
The above scenarios are only a small part of the cases that you can pursue if you were injured. In general, you may have a personal injury claim if:
- you or a family member was injured or killed by another person’s negligence
- you or a family member was injured or killed due to unsafe conditions on a property
- you or a family member was hurt or killed by a product while using it appropriately
- you or a family member was injured or killed by the negligence of medical professionals
The attorneys at Probinsky & Cole specialize in all kinds of personal injury law cases, representing Sarasota, Orlando, and Tampa area residents. Call us today for a free consultation.
