While it doesn’t take away the pain, knowing that you can make a claim for compensation if you’ve suffered an injury can at least provide a little help.

Medical bills can quickly pile up and your day to day expenses still need to be cared for. But what types of injuries are most common in personal injury cases?

It’s good to be aware of these to understand your chances of making a legitimate case and winning a payout.

Read on for our guide to the most common types of personal injury cases, and how you can get the representation you need.

Personal Injury 101: What is Personal Injury?

We hear a lot about personal injury lawsuits in the media. But from a legal standpoint what does it actually mean?

In terms of lawsuits, the definition of personal injury is an injury that you have suffered to your person due to the actions of another. This can be due to carelessness, negligence or intentional harm.

In personal injury cases, the damage done is usually temporary. The expectation is that you will make a full recovery in time and be able to resume your regular activities.

A more serious injury, resulting in long-term incapacity that does not allow you to resume your former duties is known as a catastrophic injury. An experienced personal injury lawyer will be able to advise you in both cases.

Car Accident Injuries

The most common types of personal injury cases are those resulting from car accidents.

Hardly surprising, given that in Florida alone in 2018 there were 399,423 crashes!

These resulted in 253,056 injuries to passengers and pedestrians. Sadly, over 3000 of these were fatalities. 

The most common injuries resulting from car accidents were:

• Whiplash
• Concussion
• Fractures
• Soft tissue damage

All of these injuries can have a debilitating impact on those affected.

It’s important to have a thorough examination from a doctor as soon as possible after being injured. This will help you to get an accurate idea of the severity of the injury. Some injuries, such as concussion, may not present obvious symptoms straight away.

Workplace Accidents

If you work with machinery, there are no doubt strict safety guidelines in place. They are designed to prevent personal injury. At times though, this direction is not followed, or injury results from a lack of training or other forms of negligence.

Workplace injuries include:

• Fractures
• Soft tissue damage
• Spinal damage
• Electrocution
• Diseases contracted through exposure to irritants or dangerous chemicals

If you’ve suffered an injury at work, it’s vital to head down to the doctor’s office as soon as possible. To make a successful claim, you will need a clear paper trail, diagnosing the exact nature of the injury, and its impact on your life. 

Medical Malpractice

Like car accidents, this is also a broad heading. There are many different types of personal injury that can be sustained, depending on the type of medical procedure that you have undergone.

To establish medical malpractice, it has to be shown that the physician was either negligent or failed to give proper healthcare through omission. This can be at any stage in the provision of care but must be shown to have caused pain or expense beyond reasonable expectations.

Common examples that have been seen regularly in personal injury cases include:

• Misdiagnosis
• Unnecessary surgery
• Surgical errors (including wrong surgery performed)
• Errors involving medication

As you can imagine, the impact of any one of these forms of malpractice can be devastating on the patient.

If you feel you have a case, your experience will be compared with standard practice. Expert witnesses will be called who can testify on the levels of care expected.

If deviations are found, you could be awarded compensation commensurate with the level of suffering resulting from the malpractice.

Injuries from Defective Products

We’ve probably all had a chuckle at statistics about the number of people injured by products as every day as toilet seats at home in the past.

However, joking aside, defective products result in personal injury to many people on a daily basis. And the effects can be more serious than some embarrassing bruising.

Again, our old friend fractures feature prominently in the most common injuries resulting from defecting products. But painful and debilitating injuries like burns, head injuries, 

Injuries have been sustained when equipment has collapsed, causing falls, caught fire, or had side-effects not indicated in the small print. Food poisoning can also result from food that has been improperly prepared.

Slip and Fall

We’ve all taken a tumble at some point in our lives, and usually, we end up with just a few bruises and damaged pride.

But when falls are due to negligence or carelessness on the part of others and result in injury, it’s time to take out a personal injury lawsuit. This type of accident can occur just about anywhere – in public areas, at work and around common areas of your building if you live in an apartment.

Common injuries seen in these types of cases include:

• Fractures, especially affecting arms, wrists, ankles, legs, and spine
• Spinal cord injury
• Head trauma
• Concussion

Sadly, especially in cases affecting elderly people, death can result from slip and fall injuries. Hip fractures are also very common, and they have a very high mortality rate in elderly people.

In slip and fall cases, it’s important to first seek appropriate medical attention. Then if you can, return to the scene and take down evidence, especially photographs, to show the cause of the fall. Witness testimony may also be helpful when proving your case if legitimate.

Animal Attacks

While they can be man’s best friend, at times our pets can turn on us and others, sometimes with severe consequences.

The most common type of animal attacks and injuries come from dog bites. Wild animal attacks such as snake bites and bear attacks are less common.

If a domesticated animal owned by someone else attacks you, it has to be proven that the owner was negligent in their care of or restraint of the animal. Pet owners need to take reasonable precautions to ensure that their pets do not attack anyone.

While laws may vary from state to state, with wild animal attacks you’re likely to have less success pursuing a personal injury claim. As they are considered part of the landscape, we accept this risk when we interact with our natural environment.

However, if you feel that there are factors in your case that could make this an exception, by all means, consult with a personal injury lawyer to explore your options.

Premises Liability Injuries

As we go about our daily lives, we enter numerous premises such as shops, malls, and doctors’ offices. We expect that the premises are well maintained and that they will be safe environments to enter.

At times, when proper maintenance or precautions are not taken, we may experience injuries.

These can include poorly maintained railings resulting in falls on stairs. In supermarkets, spills that are not cleaned up in a timely fashion. The dramatic nature of the resulting falls runs the serious risk of head injuries and concussion occurring.

Flooring can also become worn and present a trip hazard, leading to sprained or broken ankles and wrists.

Wrongful Death

Tragically, some accidents are so severe that they result in loss of life.

This can be the result of any of the above categories and can leave loved ones considering their options. A wrongful death lawsuit can be pursued where misconduct or negligence is to blame for the death.

Death of a loved one can have huge implications. There are not only the immediate medical and funeral expenses to cover. Families suffer ongoing hardship due to lost earnings, which can lead to loss of homes and other financial difficulties.

A personal injury lawyer will be able to talk you through what is needed to prove wrongful death. They can advise you on how likely you are to succeed in pursuing your claim.

Still Not Sure?

The injuries we’ve discussed are the most common in personal injury cases. But if your injury doesn’t appear among them, don’t conclude that you can’t make a claim.

Speak to an experienced team, like the lawyers at Perry & Young, The Injury Firm.

They have the background knowledge to advise you on whether the types of injuries you’ve suffered are likely to form the basis of a successful claim. They offer a free consultation and you will only have to pay fees if you win.

The Takeaway: The Most Common Types of Injuries in Personal Injury Lawsuits

Dealing with the after-effects of a personal injury can be a minefield.

If you’ve suffered one of the injuries mentioned above, you’re far from alone. In fact, thousands of Americans file personal injury lawsuits each year and usually for one of these common types of injuries.

The key to a successful personal injury lawsuit is collecting strong evidence and getting the advice of an experienced lawyer. Even if your type of injury is not listed above, with their advice you may still be able to sue and get the compensation you deserve.

For more information about personal injury lawyers and how they can help you, click here to read our helpful blog.