Definition of Personal Injury
You hear the legal term "personal injury" on television, and you read it on the Internet, but what does it really mean? Of course, it involves an injury to a person, but there is more to know and understand about the legalities of "personal injury."
A personal injury usually involves an injury to someone's body, but it may also be a psychological injury, such as extreme stress at work. When another person or company is at fault for someone's physical or psychological injury, that person or company may be legally responsible for the expenses of treating the injury.
This is why you see commercials for attorneys who specialize in personal injury law. Having an attorney helps to ensure that the injured person will be justly compensated for the costs of the injury.
Most of the time, injuries are the result of negligence. A grocery store, for example, may have left a spill on the floor without mopping it up. As a result, someone slips and breaks a leg.
This is an example of negligence. In another case, an employer may have failed to repair equipment regularly, causing an employee to be injured, or a nurse at a hospital may have given a patient the wrong medication.
If you have been injured, you have what is called a "claim" against the party responsible for your injury. The most common personal injury claims are the result of car accidents, slip and fall accidents, and accidents at work. But there are numerous other kinds of personal injury claims.
These include everything from injuries from toxic substances to medical malpractice claims. If the injury leads to death, the claim may then be brought by the relatives of the person who died. In this case, the claim is called "wrongful death."
Diseases like asbestosis and mesothelioma also fall under the category of personal injury. That is because these diseases are caused by industrial substances, and they might have been prevented if the substances had been cleaned and cleared from the workplace in time.
A Tort is Not a Pastry
A tort may sound like a pastry, but it is actually a legal term that means a "wrong" that has been done. This can be on purpose or through carelessness/negligence. The person who commits the tort is called the "tortfeasor."
The tortfeasor must owe a duty to the injured person in order to have committed a tort. This duty can be as simple as making sure that the sidewalk in front of a business is free of hazards, such as ice or broken concrete.
The most common kind of tort is called a "negligent tort." This is when someone's carelessness results in the injury of someone else. If someone has failed to exercise what is called "reasonable care," they may be found to have committed a negligent tort.
An "intentional tort" isn't exactly the way it sounds. The tortfeasor may not have necessarily set out to hurt anyone, but if that person was aware that their actions would likely lead to injury, they will probably be found to have committed an intentional tort. Assault, battery, and trespass fall under the category of an intentional tort.
What Happens in a Personal Injury Case?
The money that a person receives for a personal injury is called a "settlement." Insurance companies usually pay the settlement for personal injuries on behalf of the responsible party, and their objective is always to pay as little as possible.
This is why many people choose to hire an attorney to negotiate a fair settlement with the involved insurance company.
The settlement may include repayment for medical expenses, loss of earnings from work, and pain and suffering. Monies may also be paid for what is called "loss of consortium," which refers to a loss of benefits by the injured person's husband or wife.
These can include the injured person's inability to work and provide money for the spouse's living expenses, and it can even include the injured person's inability to care for the spouse, give affection, or have sex while recovering from the injury.
Sometimes, more than one person or company is at fault for the person's injuries. This can become complicated because someone has to decide what percentage of the settlement each party is responsible for. Cases like this commonly end up before a judge or jury to decide how much money each party's insurance company must pay.
In other cases, the parties may argue that the person who is injured is at fault or at least partially at fault. Let's say someone falls down an uncovered manhole. It could be argued that while the party responsible for covering the manhole is at fault, the person who fell may also be partially at fault for not paying attention and avoiding the manhole.
If attorneys are involved, they may argue the points and try to settle among themselves on behalf of their clients, but if they cannot come to an agreement, the case must go to court.
In still other cases, it may be difficult to determine who was at fault. This is especially true of car accidents. If a driver has a heart attack, for example, that person is not really responsible for the accident because he or she couldn't help the attack.
"Products liability" is a specific type of personal injury. This occurs when a company sells something that proves to be dangerous. This could happen with machinery, food, toys, etc. If a product carries a warning label, however, and the injured person used the product improperly, the company may not be responsible for the injuries.
When someone is injured, it's to their advantage to make a claim as soon as possible. The law requires that claims must be made in a certain amount of time after the injury has occurred. This is called the "statute of limitations," and it varies depending upon your state. In Pennsylvania, for example, the statute of limitations is two years.
Attorneys who specialize in personal injury cases are generally paid on what is called a "contingency basis." This means that the injured person does not have to pay the lawyer anything until a settlement is received from the tortfeasor's insurance company. The lawyer then takes a percentage of the settlement.
If you have been injured in an accident, it's a good idea to learn as much as you can in order to protect your rights and receive the compensation that you deserve.
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_N._Jackson
A personal injury usually involves an injury to someone's body, but it may also be a psychological injury, such as extreme stress at work. When another person or company is at fault for someone's physical or psychological injury, that person or company may be legally responsible for the expenses of treating the injury.
This is why you see commercials for attorneys who specialize in personal injury law. Having an attorney helps to ensure that the injured person will be justly compensated for the costs of the injury.
Most of the time, injuries are the result of negligence. A grocery store, for example, may have left a spill on the floor without mopping it up. As a result, someone slips and breaks a leg.
This is an example of negligence. In another case, an employer may have failed to repair equipment regularly, causing an employee to be injured, or a nurse at a hospital may have given a patient the wrong medication.
If you have been injured, you have what is called a "claim" against the party responsible for your injury. The most common personal injury claims are the result of car accidents, slip and fall accidents, and accidents at work. But there are numerous other kinds of personal injury claims.
These include everything from injuries from toxic substances to medical malpractice claims. If the injury leads to death, the claim may then be brought by the relatives of the person who died. In this case, the claim is called "wrongful death."
Diseases like asbestosis and mesothelioma also fall under the category of personal injury. That is because these diseases are caused by industrial substances, and they might have been prevented if the substances had been cleaned and cleared from the workplace in time.
A Tort is Not a Pastry
A tort may sound like a pastry, but it is actually a legal term that means a "wrong" that has been done. This can be on purpose or through carelessness/negligence. The person who commits the tort is called the "tortfeasor."
The tortfeasor must owe a duty to the injured person in order to have committed a tort. This duty can be as simple as making sure that the sidewalk in front of a business is free of hazards, such as ice or broken concrete.
The most common kind of tort is called a "negligent tort." This is when someone's carelessness results in the injury of someone else. If someone has failed to exercise what is called "reasonable care," they may be found to have committed a negligent tort.
An "intentional tort" isn't exactly the way it sounds. The tortfeasor may not have necessarily set out to hurt anyone, but if that person was aware that their actions would likely lead to injury, they will probably be found to have committed an intentional tort. Assault, battery, and trespass fall under the category of an intentional tort.
What Happens in a Personal Injury Case?
The money that a person receives for a personal injury is called a "settlement." Insurance companies usually pay the settlement for personal injuries on behalf of the responsible party, and their objective is always to pay as little as possible.
This is why many people choose to hire an attorney to negotiate a fair settlement with the involved insurance company.
The settlement may include repayment for medical expenses, loss of earnings from work, and pain and suffering. Monies may also be paid for what is called "loss of consortium," which refers to a loss of benefits by the injured person's husband or wife.
These can include the injured person's inability to work and provide money for the spouse's living expenses, and it can even include the injured person's inability to care for the spouse, give affection, or have sex while recovering from the injury.
Sometimes, more than one person or company is at fault for the person's injuries. This can become complicated because someone has to decide what percentage of the settlement each party is responsible for. Cases like this commonly end up before a judge or jury to decide how much money each party's insurance company must pay.
In other cases, the parties may argue that the person who is injured is at fault or at least partially at fault. Let's say someone falls down an uncovered manhole. It could be argued that while the party responsible for covering the manhole is at fault, the person who fell may also be partially at fault for not paying attention and avoiding the manhole.
If attorneys are involved, they may argue the points and try to settle among themselves on behalf of their clients, but if they cannot come to an agreement, the case must go to court.
In still other cases, it may be difficult to determine who was at fault. This is especially true of car accidents. If a driver has a heart attack, for example, that person is not really responsible for the accident because he or she couldn't help the attack.
"Products liability" is a specific type of personal injury. This occurs when a company sells something that proves to be dangerous. This could happen with machinery, food, toys, etc. If a product carries a warning label, however, and the injured person used the product improperly, the company may not be responsible for the injuries.
When someone is injured, it's to their advantage to make a claim as soon as possible. The law requires that claims must be made in a certain amount of time after the injury has occurred. This is called the "statute of limitations," and it varies depending upon your state. In Pennsylvania, for example, the statute of limitations is two years.
Attorneys who specialize in personal injury cases are generally paid on what is called a "contingency basis." This means that the injured person does not have to pay the lawyer anything until a settlement is received from the tortfeasor's insurance company. The lawyer then takes a percentage of the settlement.
If you have been injured in an accident, it's a good idea to learn as much as you can in order to protect your rights and receive the compensation that you deserve.
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_N._Jackson