Personal injury is any damage or loss that affects a person’s body. This also includes mental damages even though they may not have a physical side effect in some cases. Personal injury is a broad category of legal claims that affect the body. Most of these types of claims are also known as “torts.”
What Are the Types of Personal Injury Claims?
Any kind of incident that affects someone’s body could be considered a personal injury claim. The most common types include:
- Car accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bus crashes
- Dog bites
- Slip and fall accidents
- Medical malpractice claims
Car accident cases are by far the most common personal injury case in Washington and throughout the United States. Personal injury cases allow an auto accident victim to make the injured party whole again by allowing them to recover money from the person/company responsible. These damages often include things like lost wages, medical expenses, and even pain and suffering that you experienced because of the accident.
How Do I Prove a Personal Injury Case?
Most personal injury cases require that you show that the other party involved was negligent. This would require showing:
- The other person owed you a duty of care (i.e. to watch where they were driving)
- They violated that duty (i.e. they followed you too closely and rear-ended your car)
- The violation caused you harm (i.e. the crash caused your injuries)
- You suffered damages because of their actions (i.e. you missed time from work and had to pay medical bills)
You must prove these things regardless of what type of personal injury case you are claiming. Certain circumstances however, such as medical malpractice or dog bite cases, have very specific additional requirements as well. These factors may be easier (or in some instances, more difficult) to prove in some types of personal injury cases compared to others.
Can I Still Have a Personal Injury Case Even If I Wasn’t Hurt Very Badly?
Yes. While most claims involve some type of physical injury, you may still have a claim even without an injury. Consider, for example, a car accident case where someone T-bones you. The accident was at a slow speed, and you’ve suffered only minimal physical injuries. You may decide to only make a claim for the property damage that was done to your car, instead of also including a claim for your injuries. While a car accident is a common type of personal injury claim, you can choose to only bring the property damage portion of that claim as part of a lawsuit.
While you’re certainly allowed to divide up your claims after a situation like a car crash, it may also be a good idea to include some type of demand for your physical damages, even if it’s slight. It’s much easier to assert all of your losses at one time than to try to bring a case later.
Regardless of what type of personal injury claim you may have, Premier Law Group can help. Our team can help you determine whether you have a legal claim and what you should do next. Fill out the form to your right or call us at 206-285-1743 to get your FREE consultation today.
Jason at premier law group is truly an outstanding individual. Our particular case was not something that their firm usually sees but they were more than willing to help us and give us all of the information they had available. I can't recommend them enough.