Personal injury claims are abundant. Almost 40 million people in the United States receive medical treatment for personal injuries each year. Personal injury claims cover a broad spectrum from medical malpractice to assault. By far, the leading cause of personal injury claims, however, is car accidents.
Top Ten Personal Injury Claims
With over ten percent of the population dealing with personal injuries that require medical treatment, it is likely that either you or someone you know has suffered from a personal injury within the last year. Click here to find out more information about the most common claims related to personal injury. The ten most common personal injury claim types are:
- Car accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Workplace accidents
- Slip and Fall accidents
- Construction injuries
- Product liability
- Premises liability
- Dog bites
- Assault
- Defamation
Car Accidents
Car accidents happen at an extraordinary rate compared to other personal injury accidents. While some personal injuries do not lead to insurance claims or lawsuits, the vast majority of car accident claims do. This is because all drivers are required by law to carry driver’s insurance, and with most car accidents, there is somebody at fault.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice cases carry with them a big debate. Hospitals and doctors argue that malpractice cases end up costing the public, both in that they raise insurance premiums and that they cut from funding for treatment for the hospital, which leads to worse care for patients. With the money spent on fighting malpractice claims and performing unnecessary tests to protect against the possibility of a malpractice claim, they say that there is not enough money left for new, life-saving equipment.
On the other side of the debate though, there are a lot of careless accidents that occur in hospitals around the country every year, which could easily be avoided with proper safety protocols in place. Wrong-site surgeries, such as amputation of the wrong limb, are far too common and can have devastating consequences on a patient. Anyone seriously affected by a hospital accident is going to need financial compensation to adjust.
Workplace Accidents
Workplace accidents are incredibly common and almost always result in claims being filed. All employers, except those in Texas, are required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance. This type of insurance is meant to protect employees and business owners from the costs involved in employee accidents, including medical bills and lost salary.
Slip and Fall Accidents
Slip and fall accidents can lead to very severe injuries ranging from broken bones to brain injuries and death. There isn’t always a party found to be at fault for a slip and fall accident. However, when there is, filing a claim is typically not a greedy money grab as often portrayed, but rather a serious need for financial cover for injuries sustained.
Construction Injuries
Construction sites tend to take a lot of safety measures to ensure as safe a work environment as possible. However, even with the strictest safety measures, construction can still be a dangerous job. This is the reason there are so many safety measures in the first place.
Product Liability
While product liability results in far fewer cases than it used to in the days of lawn darts, there are still many product liability claims filed each year. Businesses tend to test products much better than they did in the past and plaster all kinds of warnings over their merchandise in order to avoid costly lawsuits. However, defective products do still find their way out into the market from time to time. This can lead to many injuries before the product is recalled.
Premises Liability
Premises liability claims involve accidents that occur at the property of another due to dangerous or defective conditions. Many accidents that occur on the property of someone else do not lead to claims as no fault can be proven or people don’t want to get litigious when the accidents happen at the homes of friends or family.
Dog Bites
Dog bites account for many personal injury claims each year. While the dog cannot be sued (although they are sometimes put down due to misguided laws that don’t understand where a dog’s aggression comes from), their owners often can. Not all states hold a dog owner accountable for an attack unless the dog has a documented history of aggression.
Assault
While most of the personal injuries listed above are typically the result of negligence or completely unavoidable accidents, assault is a deliberate act of aggression with the intent to cause harm. When filing a claim for a personal injury resulting from an assault, there is typically also a criminal case pending against the assailant.
Defamation
Not all personal injury cases are about physical harm. There are other ways that a person can be hurt, such as defamation. When someone has publicly damaged another person’s reputation through slander, the financial implications for the damaged party can be devastating, such as the loss of a job.
Even if it is proven that everything said was a lie, it can be hard for an injured party to continue on as before. Certain accusations can be difficult to clear from people’s memories, and that’s why you can be compensated for defamation in court.
