When you think of personal injury accidents, you might picture car accidents or slip-and-fall incidents. However, the scope of personal injury extends far beyond these examples, covering virtually any type of accident in which someone’s negligence leads to injuries.
Understanding the common types of personal injury cases can help you determine whether your accident might qualify you for legal action. Consulting a Charlotte personal injury attorney is another effective way to determine your eligibility for compensation.
What Defines a Personal Injury Case?
Personal injury encompasses any type of injury to a person’s body, emotions, or reputation. A personal injury case involves a person or entity acting negligently, leading to another person’s injury.
Personal injury cases must meet the four elements of negligence:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care.
- The defendant breached their duty of care.
- An accident occurred due to the breach.
- You suffered injuries in the accident.
Just because another person was involved in an accident that led to your injuries does not mean you have a personal injury case. You must be able to show that their negligence caused you harm.
Common Types of Personal Injury Cases
Many types of accidents meet the definition of a personal injury claim. Below are a few common types of personal injury cases attorneys represent.
Auto Accidents
Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents are some of the more common accidents involving another person’s negligence. Determining fault in motor vehicle accidents is sometimes more challenging than in other types of accidents because multiple parties are involved and might all experience injuries.
North Carolina follows a contributory negligence policy for auto accidents, meaning if you were even 1% responsible for the accident, you cannot recover any compensation from the other parties. An experienced car accident lawyer can help you prove that you were in no way responsible for the accident to maintain your right to compensation.
Pedestrian Accidents
Pedestrian accidents are sometimes more straightforward than car accidents because they involve an obvious victim: the pedestrian. But in certain cases, the pedestrian may be partially or fully at fault for the accident, such as if they:
- Jaywalked
- Stepped into a crosswalk without giving an oncoming car enough time to stop
- Crossed an intersection while the red hand signal was flashing
These accidents often lead to even more serious injuries than car accident injuries.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional fails to meet the standard of care set by others in their field. If they act outside of what the average healthcare professional would have done, they may be liable for any injuries or other damages that occurred.
Examples of medical malpractice claims might include:
- Surgical errors
- Administering the wrong medication or the incorrect dosage
- Misdiagnosing a condition
- Childbirth injuries
- Premature discharge from the hospital
Slip-and-Fall Accidents
A slip-and-fall accident happens when someone slips, trips, or stumbles over a hazard on another person’s property. Said hazard might include:
- A wet floor
- Merchandise in the aisle
- Torn or bunched carpeting
- Uneven surfaces
The property owner may only be negligent in slip-and-fall cases if they knew about the hazard or reasonably should have known about it.
Slip-and-fall accidents are a type of premises liability case, which covers accidents that happen on another person’s property for which the property owner is liable.
Product Liability Claims
Product liability cases happen when manufacturers release defective products that put their customers in harm’s way. Manufacturers have a strict liability to ensure the safety of their products. This means that if product malfunctions, manufacturing defects, or design defects cause injuries, the producer is automatically liable, regardless of whether they actually made an error.
Dog Bites
Dog bite cases are another common example of premises liability. North Carolina has a “one-bite rule” for dog bites, meaning that if a dog has a history of being aggressive or biting, the owner can be held liable for subsequent injuries.
Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing homes are often the sites of abusive and negligent behavior. If a loved one experiences injuries due to a nursing home staff’s negligence or intentional behavior, your family may have the right to seek compensation for medical treatments, emotional distress, and pain and suffering.
Workplace Injuries
When workplace accidents happen, you can often seek compensation for out-of-pocket expenses through a workers’ compensation claim. However, if a third party was negligent in the accident, such as an equipment manufacturer or general contractor, you may be able to pursue a personal injury lawsuit. Workplace injuries are common on construction sites but can happen in any industry.
Wrongful Death
When a person tragically passes away in a personal injury accident, their family members may be able to file a wrongful death claim to seek economic and non-economic damages.
What Compensation Can You Seek in a Personal Injury Case?
These common types of personal injury cases often lead to serious injuries, such as broken bones, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and more. You may have the right to seek financial compensation to cover all of the following economic damages:
- Medical expenses (hospital bills, long-term medical costs, physical therapy, prescriptions, etc.)
- Property damage (i.e., damage to your vehicle)
- Time off work
- Loss of future income
You may also be able to seek non-economic damages, such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of quality of life
Cases involving gross negligence or intentional acts may give rise to punitive damages, which punish the defendant for their wrongful behavior. These would come out of the defendant’s bank account or assets. They are common in cases involving reckless driving and many wrongful death cases.
Seek Legal Advice From Our Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers
These common types of personal injury cases make up much of our case load at Yale Haymond Law PLLC. We are well versed in North Carolina’s personal injury statutes and have extensive experience across a range of practice areas.
Allow us to fight for your personal injury damages and guide you through the legal system. Contact us today at 704-800-HELP (4357) to schedule a free case evaluation or learn about the benefits of hiring a lawyer for your case.
