6 Things About Personal Injury Claims

Every day there is a number of personal injury cases reported and most of them are relevant to accidents and consequent injuries. Personal injury claims occur when a person faces severe physical and financial loss as the result of an accident. However, before pursuing a personal injury claim, it is important for the victims to have a prior understanding of these claims.

1. An Injury Does Not Incur an Actionable Claim:

This refers to the scenario that if a person gets injured it does not mean that he or she is going to face an actionable claim. There must be certain legal grounds that hold the accused accountable. And for that matter, the most common ground is negligence.
For instance, if a victim gets injured in a store, the store owner has the duty to observe safety measures. Moreover, the victim has to prove that there was a breach of legal duty on part of the defendant and failed to take precautions.

2. Various Type of Personal Injury Cases:

Usually, the term “˜personal injury’ is considered as a car accident case. A car accident is one type of personal injury case. There are several other types of cases that fall under this category such as medical malpractice, animal attacks, slip and fall, premises liability, battery, emotional distress, etc. hence, it includes all those types of cases that bring harm to the person because of the negligence of another person.

3. These Cases Involve Insurance Companies:

Most of the personal injury cases involve insurance companies, such as automobile accidents, accidents occurring in businesses or homes, medical malpractice, etc. the insurance companies are there to protect their financial interests. They also offer settlement through the payment of an amount of money that is not always a fair one.

4. Most of the Claims Settle:

Given the nature of the personal injury cases, most of these cases get settled outside the court, meaning, the judge does not decide the result of the case. The personal injury attorney of the victim negotiates a financial settlement with the insurance company or the defendant. This is on the will of the victim whether he or she accepts the settlement or not.
In a few cases, this settlement occurs through mediation or the collaboration of the disputed parties. the case will go to trial if the settlement is rejected.

5. The Claim is Sought despite the Victim is At Fault:

Many of the US states, follow the comparative negligence model in personal injury cases. This model allows the victim to pursue a personal injury lawsuit even if he or she is partially at fault. For instance, the victim suffered damages of $200,000 but is 10% at fault. The recovery amount will be $180,000 and was responsible for the %20,000 of the damages.

6. These Cases Are Complicated in Nature:

Personal injury cases are usually complicated. The victim has to make a lot of effort to find a suitable one for the case. The victim can also conduct several interviews with the lawyer to gauge who is the best fit. The victim also has to consider the experience of the attorney in handling similar cases.