What are your first thoughts when you hear the words personal injury attorney? To many people, those words simply equate to an attorney who accepts car accident cases. However, this is only one type of case a personal injury attorney may represent. Personal injury law actually encompasses a wide variety of situations.
First, we should define personal injury. When a party has suffered a personal injury, they have endured harm to their body, mind, or emotions due to an action, or lack thereof, by another party. In other words, someone else has been careless or reckless in some way which has caused you harm. Another term sometimes used to describe personal injury law is tort law. The American Bar Association offers clear guidelines as to the definition of personal injury, as well as the statute of limitations placed on these matters.
While car, truck and motorcycle accidents are certainly the most common types of personal injury, there are many other situations that can occur. Some of those are product liability, premises liability, defamation, or negligence. In a product liability case, a party may have sustained injury by ingesting an unsafe medication. In a premises liability matter, a party may have slipped and fallen in a store causing injury. Defamation can occur when a person’s character or reputation has been damaged by the actions of another. Negligence can result when someone does not receive care at the level that was expected, thereby causing harm.
A personal injury matter always asks for compensation for the plaintiff. While most often requested in monetary form, damages may be requested in other forms as well. One example would be that an injured party’s ongoing medical bills be paid by a negligent party.
Consult with a personal injury attorney if you feel that you have been harmed in any way by the careless or reckless activity of another person or business. You may be surprised to find out that you do, in fact, have a legitimate case that could result in compensation for your injuries.