When you’ve been involved in an accident, it can be hard to know if you have grounds for a personal injury claim. Understanding what qualifies as personal injury is key to protecting your rights.
This post will discuss personal injury qualifications so you can start pursuing the compensation you need to get your life back on track.
A personal injury claim arises when someone suffers harm due to another party’s negligence or intentional actions. There are a broad range of personal injuries you can suffer, but certain types arise very commonly in our line of work as personal injury attorneys in Philadelphia (we cover these in more detail in the next section).
The objective of a personal injury claim is to recover compensation (damages) for the harm you’ve suffered. These damages fall into three broad categories:
“Personal injury” is a broad term; in its most general sense, it could refer to almost any type of harm you can suffer. However, for the purposes of this blog, we’ll focus on personal injuries that arise because of the negligence or intentional acts of others. These are the types of personal injuries that can give rise to compensation:
Car accidents are among the most common causes of the personal injury claims we deal with. Common road accident injuries include whiplash, fractures, and traumatic brain injuries.
Because Pennsylvania is a choice no-fault state, it’s not always necessary to file a personal injury lawsuit to recover compensation in the wake of a road accident. We cover this in more detail later on in this post.
According to the National Safety Council (NSC), falls accounted for over 8 million nonfatal injuries in the U.S. in 2022. This is more than three times the number caused by motor vehicle accidents.
Of course, a large percentage of falls are complete accidents and do not, therefore, give rise to any liability. However, if you suffer a fall because of a hazardous condition on someone else’s property, you may be entitled to file a slip-and-fall lawsuit against that person or business.
Wet floors, uneven surfaces, and poor lighting commonly give rise to cases like these. Property owners (particularly those with businesses that are open to the public, like stores) have a responsibility to keep their premises safe, and failing to do so can result in liability.
Medical malpractice happens when a healthcare provider deviates from the accepted standard of care in a given situation, causing an injury to a patient. These cases commonly involve surgical errors, misdiagnosis, or medication mistakes.
Medical negligence cases are often difficult to win, for a few reasons. They tend to be highly technical and, because plaintiffs are already sick or injured by the time the alleged malpractice takes place, it can be hard to prove that negligence made the situation worse. For this reason, it’s important to hire a law firm with a strong track record of success in cases like these.
Workplace injuries can result from accidents (such as construction incidents or exposure to hazardous materials) or from repetitive motion (such as lifting and carrying, or even the long-term use of a keyboard and mouse).
In many cases, workers’ compensation will cover the costs arising from work-related injuries, but a separate personal injury claim may be appropriate in some circumstances.
Product liability refers to injuries caused by defective or dangerous products. This can include faulty machinery, unsafe drugs, or poorly designed consumer goods. Manufacturers, distributors, and retailers can all be held liable if a product causes harm.
If you’ve suffered an injury similar to those experienced by other users of a particular defective product, you may be able to join a class-action lawsuit related to the issue in question. If you’re wondering how this process works or whether it might be appropriate in your situation, you should discuss your case with a personal injury attorney.
When a person dies due to another party’s negligence, close family members may seek compensation through a wrongful death claim. These operate similarly to personal injury lawsuits, in that they arise from the same kinds of incidents and require the same standards in terms of negligence.
Wrongful death claims can cover costs like:
A personal injury lawsuit can be a very effective means of securing compensation following a personal injury, but there may be an easier way. If you’ve had a car accident or a workplace injury, you may not need to file suit in order to secure the damages you require.
It’s also possible to negotiate a settlement with a third party without filing a lawsuit. However, if you choose to do this, you won’t get the chance to request evidence from the other party to the dispute during the discovery process. For this reason, we generally recommend filing a lawsuit before starting negotiations.
Pennsylvania is a choice no-fault state. If you have no-fault coverage, you’ll be able to file a claim with your own insurance company following a road accident, regardless of who was at fault for your accident. This can save a lot of difficulty during the post-accident period, as you won’t need to prove who was responsible for your crash.
However, if the damages you incur exceed the limitations of your no-fault policy, you may still have to file a personal injury lawsuit to recoup the balance. The same applies if you don’t have no-fault coverage.
Additionally, even if your own insurance policy is sufficient to cover your damages, you may still have difficulty with your insurer. The company may try to dispute the true value of your claim, or exploit some technical loophole to throw out your claim completely.
Remember, no insurance company is your friend; they are all profit-seeking organizations that will do what they can to limit their expenses related to claims. If you’re in a difficult situation with an insurance company and you’re not sure what to do, it’s generally a good idea to consult with a lawyer.
If your injury happened at work, or because of your work activities, you should be entitled to workers’ compensation. This mandatory insurance scheme provides wage replacement and coverage of medical costs to employees who get sick or injured, if the condition is work-related.
However, accepting workers’ comp benefits does legally preclude you from suing your employer in relation to your accident. This means you generally cannot access noneconomic damages following a workplace injury. An exception to this may arise if you can file a lawsuit against a third party who may have been legally liable for your injuries, such as the manufacturer of a defective piece of protective equipment.
When you hear the term “personal injury,” you might think of organ damage, broken bones, and other such physical issues. However, mental health issues can be just as problematic and also qualify for personal injury benefits. We’ve worked with clients suffering from various types of severe psychological difficulties, including anxiety, depression, phobias, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
However, these cases are often more challenging than those involving only physical injuries, as it’s much more difficult to prove the existence of psychological issues. While conditions like PTSD are very real and highly debilitating, they’re not as easily proven as physical damage like broken bones.
To successfully claim for emotional distress, you’ll likely need medical records, psychological evaluations, or expert testimony from a mental health professional.
A pre-existing condition won’t disqualify you from seeking compensation in a personal injury claim, but it can complicate the process. The challenge here is proving that the accident worsened your condition; if you can’t, you may not be entitled to compensation from the party who caused your accident, or from your insurer.
Insurance companies often use pre-existing conditions as a reason to minimize or deny your claim. For example, if you have a history of back problems before you get into a car accident, your insurance claim might seek coverage of physical therapy costs, citing the accident as the reason the therapy is necessary; but the insurance company might claim you need therapy because of your previous back issues and refuse to pay for it.
To get around this problem, you’ll need thorough medical records showing the state of your condition before and after the accident. You’ll also need the representation of a personal injury lawyer with a lot of experience dealing with these tricky situations.
Regardless of the type of personal injury you’ve suffered or the way in which it arose, you should be entitled to compensation if it resulted from the negligence or intentional activity of someone else. If you think you’re in this position, it’s time to talk to an attorney.
Contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation about your case. You can reach us via our online contact form or by calling 800-969-4400. Don’t wait around; the sooner you start the personal injury lawsuit process, the easier it will be for us to build a winning case on your behalf.
