Personal Injury

What is a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

A personal injury lawsuit is a legal action, brought in court, by someone who has been injured (either physically or emotionally) by another person, usually by way of an accident, slip and fall, or a defective product. Personal injury can occur anywhere: at work, in your car, in the hospital, at a restaurant, on the sports field or simply walking down the street. Illness is also classified as personal injury in work-related and industrial diseases, from stress and anxiety to asbestosis and pulmonary disease.

Personal injury lawsuits are designed to redeem compensation for past and future medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering. The most common personal injury lawsuits involve car/truck accidents, sports injuries, work-related injuries, defective products, negligence and malpractice. These injuries can severely damage a person's future with disabling head and brain injury, spinal cord injury, back and neck injury, birth injury, knee injury, paralysis. Even dog bites can cause serious injury.

Injuries at work can also be extremely disabling; employees can sue for damages incurred from exposure to toxic chemicals or harmful materials, safety hazards, accidents due to poor equipment or negligence, wrist injury and carpel tunnel.

A personal injury attorney can help resolve your injustice. Click on one of the links below to submit your case and related injury.

Types of Personal Injury Lawsuits

An injury can occur at any time and in any place. Whether it's an on-the-job accident or a medical error or even a seemingly innocent fender bender, injuries happen and are more common than most people think. Some examples of personal injury lawsuits include the following:

Car accidents

Motorcycle accidents

Boat accidents

Slip and fall accidents

Dog bite injuries

Birth defects and birth injuries

Wrongful death

For those times when a personal injury accident occurs at work, worker's compensation may or may not cover all of an injured worker's expenses--or worse, may not be approved. In these instances, it may become necessary to obtain legal help. In addition to a slip and fall accident, listed above, accidents at work can include industrial accidents and fire accidents.

Back and Neck Injury

Back and neck injuries are the most common reasons for missed work. Possible consequences of back injury include paralysis (spinal cord injury), temporary or lifelong pain, suffering and discomfort, and general impairment of movement. Often, what is initially considered a minor accident can result in damage to the muscle, bone, the spinal cord and/or the discs between the vertebrae.

Back and Neck personal injury settlements include a $537,500 settlement for a man who underwent cervical fusion surgery following a car accident and a $250,000 Milwaukee County settlement for aggravation of a pre-existing neck condition in a motor vehicle collision.

If you have suffered back and neck injury that was caused by negligence of another person, group of people or any other entity, you can take the necessary actions with the help of a personal injury attorney.

Birth Injury

If correct medical procedures are not carried out by doctors, hospital and nurses during delivery, the child could be left with a devastating birth injury. Birth injury claims include cerebral palsy, nerve injury from forceps, spinal cord injury due to overstretching, drugs taken during pregnancy and more.

Birth Injury lawsuit settlements include a number of Paxil birth defect lawsuits. A personal injury settlement of $4.9M settlement was awarded to a couple in 2007 due to a birth injury that resulted in cerebral palsy.

If your child or someone you know has suffered a birth injury that was caused by negligence, you can take the necessary actions with the help of a personal injury attorney.

Brain Injury

Brain injury, also known as traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a sudden physical damage to the brain. Some common causes of brain injury include auto accidents, bus accidents, sports injuries, domestic violence, and falls. Veterans who have served in active duty may also be brain injury victims. It does not apply to brain injuries that are hereditary, congenital or degenerative, or brain injuries induced by birth trauma, toxic substances, or disease-producing organisms.

Personal injury settlements for brain injuries include a $6.6 million settlement for a young boy who was sitting in his stroller at a mall when a plexi-glass sign fell on his head, fracturing his skull and piercing the left side of his brain. In another personal injury settlement, a man was struck on the head by the side mirror of a passing truck while riding a bicycle. He received $2.4 million as a result of his brain injury.

If you, or someone you know has suffered a brain injury that was caused by negligence, you can take the necessary actions with the help of a personal injury attorney.

Defective Product

A defective product that is unreasonably dangerous, does not carry sufficient warnings or the manufacturer fails to provide complete and adequate instructions for use of the product can result in a defective product personal injury lawsuit. If a manufacturer of a product does not take reasonable care to properly design, manufacture, test and inspect their products, they can be held accountable for injuries caused by their negligence.

A few well known personal injury settlements regarding defective products include a $2.86 million settlement (later reduced to $640,000) to a woman who claimed she was burned by a cup of McDonald's coffee. A widow was awarded about $7.75 million in a personal injury settlement after her 71-year-old husband's death due to use of the painkiller Vioxx. Victims of the 2007 Minnesota bridge collapse obtained $38 million dollars in personal injury settlements for their losses.

If you, or someone you know has suffered an injury that was caused by a defective product, you can take the necessary actions with the help of a personal injury attorney.

Slip and Fall

Thousands upon thousands of slip and fall accidents occur each year when people slip and fall on a dangerous floor, a flight of stairs, or rough ground. Property owners, from store owners to your neighbor, must keep their premises safe. For instance, floors must be kept clean from any substances that could cause you to "slip and fall". Property owners must also provide adequate lighting on their premises and must make sure that all hazardous conditions are repaired promptly as well as clearly marked until they are repaired. If the property owner does not meet these standards and injuries result, they may be held liable in a slip and fall lawsuit.

Personal injury settlements from slip and fall accidents include $12.2 million for a brain injury a woman sustained after falling outside a convenience store in 2003. Annette Ritzman slipped on the raised sidewalk in front of Miller Mart and lost consciousness upon striking the ground. The store did not adequately warn customers or prevent them from stepping on dark algae that had formed on the ground.

A train conductor was injured after slipping on a patch of ice outside an Iowa motel during a work layover and received $942,000 for a personal injury settlement.

If you, or someone you know has slip and fall injury that was caused by negligence, you can take the necessary actions with the help of a personal injury attorney.

Wrongful Death

A wrongful death lawsuit can provide compensation for people who may have been damaged from the death of the victim. A wrongful death claims that the victim was killed as a result of negligence (or other type of unjust action) on the part of the person or entity being sued, and that the victim's survivors are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the improper conduct.

A personal injury settlement of $25.8 million was reached in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2003 by the family and children of a cancer patient who died when she was given a prescription ten times stronger than what her doctor had prescribed.

A Florida family won a $5.5 million verdict in a personal injury settlement. They filed a wrongful death lawsuit involving the Duragesic pain patch.

If a wrongful death was caused by negligence, you can take the necessary actions with the help of a personal injury attorney.

Personal Injury: What to do if you are Injured

After the initial shock and any immediate medical treatment required, start to collect evidence about the accident. Were there any witnesses? If so, get their names and contact information. If applicable, take photos of the accident scene. Get copies of all your medical reports. If your accident happened at work, tell your employer immediately and fill out the necessary forms—you will need these for insurance purposes and/or worker's compensation.

Next, you will want to talk to an experienced personal injury lawyer and your insurance company and figure out how much your claim is worth. (If you think you are not being treated fairly or believe you are entitled to more compensation from your insurance company it is particularly important that you seek legal help.) There are a lot of variables to take into account, particularly if your injury is ongoing and medical attention will be needed down the road.

A person or organization that is liable (to blame) for your accident usually has liability insurance from their insurance company. A personal injury claim should cover the following: * medical care and related expenses * lost income lost because of time spent unable to work or undergoing treatment for injuries permanent physical disability or disfigurement * loss of family, social, and educational experiences, including missed school or training, vacation, recreation, or special event * emotional damages, such as stress, embarrassment, depression, or strains on family relationships - from the inability to care for children to psychological sexual dysfunction * damaged property Once liability has been proven, an insurance company will determine the amount of compensation. Generally, an insurance adjuster negotiates a claim by a "damages formula" that includes medical expenses as well as pain and suffering and other non-monetary losses, referred to as "general damages".

Personal Injury Lawsuits and State Law

Each state has its own statute of limitations, and depending upon where you live, you may have one year, two years, or more, to file a personal injury claim. As well, many states have specific time limits for different types of personal injury cases, such as accidents involving product liability and wrongful death. It is important to understand this and to consult with a personal injury attorney who can help navigate state law and legal code.

While some New York personal injury information is provided here, please see our State Law pages for further information about your own state.

New York Personal Injury

The New York State statute of limitations for personal injury cases is three years from the actual date of the accident. If your claim involves NY City authorities, a Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days and a personal injury lawsuit must be filed within one year and 90 days. For wrongful death cases, the Statute of Limitations is two years from the date of death and for medical malpractice cases, it is two years and six months. If your accident occurred in New York, it is important that you contact a NY personal injury attorney to ensure that you file your lawsuit within the NY Statute of Limitations.

No-Fault insurance covers various expenses for people injured in New York car accidents. It applies to the occupants of most vehicles and to pedestrians and bicyclists who are hit by a vehicle. It does not cover motorcycle drivers or passengers. An example of a New York personal injury settlement includes a New York postal worker who operated a delivery truck and settled his case for $3.1 million after a car accident which left him needing back surgery. While seated in the vehicle and sorting mail he was hit in the rear. An employee making a delivery to a commercial location fell down an open shaft in the floor that was missing rails and stairs, injuring his shoulder, which required an operation. He was awarded $1 million.

Personal Injury Compensation

LawyersandSettlements.com reports daily on lawsuit settlements, verdicts and awards--see our full and continually updated list of personal injury settlements.

Shown here are some examples of personal injury settlements or damages that have been awarded: In 2007 a Virginia woman was awarded more than $12.2 million in a slip-and-fall case at a local convenience store. The store's owners were charged with negligence. Also in 2007 over $500,000 was been paid in a medical malpractice civil settlement following the death of Donda West, Oscar-winning rapper Kanye West's mother. More than $4.6 million in damages were awarded in a Washington State asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit. The plaintiff, a 56-year-old retired union insulator, had been exposed to asbestos during his career and was diagnosed with malignant pleural mesothelioma in 2006. The suit was resolved in 2007.

In a car accident involving a U.S. Postal truck, The US government agreed to pay $5 million in damages to a woman who suffered severe burns and partial amputation of her hand.

You can claim monetary compensation if there is a person or an organization partially or totally to blame for your injuries. A court will award you damages, i.e. money paid or awarded to you, (the plaintiff or claimant) in a successful lawsuit.

Personal Injury Attorney

If you have suffered an injury, either physically or psychologically, that was caused by negligence of another person, group of people or any other entity, you can take the necessary actions with the help of a personal injury attorney. It is important that you find an experienced attorney to assess your case and determine whether it is applicable to recover the injuries.

LawyersandSettlements makes it easy for you to find the right personal injury attorney. We work with attorneys throughout the US and Canada who practice in this specialized area, and they have helped thousands of injured persons and families. As well, LawyersandSettlements.com provides comprehensive personal injury news coverage that aims to keep the public informed. We also provide an online legal news source that includes interviews with personal injury attorneys.

Personal Injury Lawsuit

You have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit if you have suffered an injury or accident when another party may be liable. The grounds for a personal injury lawsuit vary and different states have different requirements, but generally personal injury lawyers will attempt to prove that the defendant was negligent and thereby caused an injury to you, the plaintiff.

A personal injury lawsuit can be settled out of court, which will spare you added stress of a trial. If you have a strong personal injury lawsuit, however, you may win a larger settlement through court proceedings. Either way, it is important that an attorney help with your personal injury lawsuit.