Americans are usually reluctant to start an injury claim.
First off, lots of our citizens can’t discern whether their rights have been violated.
This is especially common among Americans who moved to a new state.
As if that wasn’t enough, they’re worried that high legal costs would completely drain their budget without getting anything in return.
According to Stein Law, injury lawyers from Florida, most people are completely unaware of their legal rights. “Clients often ask us questions such as, can I sue someone for stabbing me,” says Brandon Stein, the company’s owner, and founder.
The truth is you can start a court case for just about any type of personal injury.
American legal system classifies them into several groups, each with its specifics.
In this article, we will review the 6 common ones.
Table of Contents
6 Types of personal injury claims in the US
Slip and fall
A person can start a personal injury claim when they fall on private or public property.
According to the law, organizations (public and private) are responsible for marking potentially dangerous areas.
It’s their job to put up proper signs that would indicate a potential hazard.
Your chance of winning such a case increases if a property is unexpectedly or unreasonably dangerous.
Of course, you can’t sue a county if you fell in front of your house after slipping on the first winter snow.
However, there are lots of situations where you can get hefty compensation.
Car injuries
Unfortunately, car injuries are one of the most common unnatural causes of death in America.
Although auto manufacturers do their best to improve the safety of their vehicles, there’s nothing we can do about human errors and the weather.
Keep in mind that you can start a car injury claim only if you are a victim.
To have a case, the police need to make a valid report after the crash.
You should also acquire documents from your medical provider detailing the injury.
Assaults
Previously mentioned knife attacks are one of the more common types of assaults.
Aside from that, you can also start a case after being shot, punched, kicked, or injured by some other means. You can also file a legal claim after being sexually assaulted.
As you can presume, gun injuries are one of the most common types of personal injuries in America.
In these situations, it’s relatively easy to establish culpability and receive compensation.
If you were a victim of such an attack, you should definitely start a legal procedure.
Most commonly, these types of claims also involve criminal aspect cases.
Product liability
American legal system does an excellent job of holding businesses accountable for their malfunctioning products.
During the manufacturing process, all companies in the US have to comply with strict rules and safety regulations.
Nevertheless, there are lots of cases where dangerous products still manage to reach the market.
The size of the claim depends on the number of people affected and the severity of the injuries.
For example, in 2014, there was a major case against the Takata company.
This manufacturer created a line of faulty airbags that were subsequently installed in Ford, Honda, BMW, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota, and Chrysler vehicles.
Takata was deemed responsible for all injuries incurred by these airbags, resulting in 1 billion dollars of compensation.
Dog bites
Every now and then, we read in the news about a vicious dog attack.
While the reporting might seem a bit sensationalist, the consequences remain. Every year, several million Americans are injured in such situations.
In case of dog bites, the owner is usually the one that takes the blame.
However, there are some discrepancies between the states.
For example, in certain parts of the country, dog owners will be held responsible only if they know that the dog is potentially dangerous.
This is somewhat tricky to establish, given that every owner will claim they knew nothing about the pet’s violent tendencies.
So, before you start a court case for dog bites, make sure to get acquainted with the local laws and standard practices.
Workplace injuries
Workplace injuries are especially common in manufacturing plants.
They are commonly caused by hazardous working conditions, lack of training, or faulty equipment.
These types of injuries are most common among workers, nursing assistants, drivers, etc.
According to US law, these accidents are a part of worker’s compensation policy.
After starting a court case, the injured person can seek compensation for missed income, medical expenses, etc.
