Personal injury is any damage to one’s person, mental and emotional damage such as PTSD, and related damages—in short:
Anything that has caused you pain and suffering.
This includes physical damage to the body which can be caused by negligence or deliberate assault.
These are personal injuries that people may suffer from in various ways depending on how they were injured. One of the most common personal injuries is an accident where someone has been hurt due to another party’s carelessness or lack of attention while driving a car or other vehicle.
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Types of Personal Injuries
Physical Pain & Suffering
Different personal injuries are caused by different things, so what qualifies as a personal injury can vary. Different examples of injury are automobile accidents, slip and falls, construction site accidents, medical malpractice claims, etc.
But that’s a broad overview—let’s take a look at some more specific events that could be categorized legally as a injury:
- Exposure to industrial chemicals in a facility that was not in compliance with OSHA policies,
- Deliberate assault and battery,
- Sickness due to a poisonous product,
- Harm caused to the body or mind due to an oversight or negligence on someone else’s part.
It is especially important to file an injury claim if your physical injury or injuries can or have lead to long-term disability, which no-doubt include ongoing healthcare costs, physical therapy, and other inconveniences, medical bills, and medical expenses.
Mental & Emotional Pain & Suffering
Personal injury can be mental and emotional.
One injury case that is often cited as an example of this is PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). This disorder can be brought on by a person experiencing or witnessing something traumatic, such as physical assault, accident, injuries, and death.
The most important thing to remember about personal injury law is its purpose: compensating victims for their pain and suffering.
It does not matter how you got the injury or whether it is mental, physical, or both—if your pain and suffering was caused due to someone else’s actions, you likely have a personal injury claim.
Even if it turns out that you were at fault in causing your own personal injuries—say, because you failed to stop at a red light while driving—you still might have some recourse under personal injury law depending on state laws.
Wrongful Death
Wrongful death is a type of personal injury case, and it refers to the passing away of an individual due to negligence. This makes the family members or estate who will receive compensation as recipients in such cases.
A personal injury attorney can help you file effective claims if your loved one has passed on due to wrongful behavior by another party.
Property Damage
When filing for personal injury compensation, it doesn’t matter who was fault in causing the accident as long as you suffered damages from it. And during the event, if you have also experienced property damage, this can and should go into your injury claim—it may qualify depending on how severe the cost and how much it has inconvenienced your life.
While personal injury and property damage are two separate things, a personal injury attorney can typically handle both.
How to File a Personal Injury Claim
It’s important to know how personal injury claims work.
For personal injury claims, it is always a good idea to hire a personal injury attorney. Personal injuries can get extremely complicated and difficult to understand—especially if you have never been through the process before or do not fully know what your rights are under personal injury law.
Your personal injury lawyer knows how best to support you throughout the process of filing your claim and seeing your case through until settlement or litigation judgement before any statute of limitations renders it void. They will be able to guide you along each step of the way while explaining anything you do not understand so you can feel confident about pursuing the injury compensation for your pain and suffering to which you are entitled.
If you are ready to start the process, there is no reason why your personal injury lawyer cannot contact the insurance company on your behalf. They will be able to represent and advise you throughout any negotiations that take place before settlement or trial with regard to personal injuries.
When to Hire a Personal Injury Attorney
If you have personal injuries, are involved in an accident, or someone is attempting to sue for injury compensation because of your negligence, then your best recourse is to hire a personal injury attorney.
You’ve Suffered A Permanent Disability Or Other Serious Injury
If you are an injured person who has been physically hurt, made ill, or emotionally traumatized by someone else’s negligence or intent to harm then a personal injury lawyer should be contacted as soon as possible.
You Aren’t Quite Sure Who Is Responsible
This situation is one where you should consult with an injury attorney. The other party’s insurance company will likely try to blame you and hold you responsible for the damages, so it would be best to get legal advice on how to proceed in this type of circumstance.
There Are A Number Of Different Parties Involved
In multiple-party situations, it is easy to get caught up in a vicious legal battle. To avoid this mess on your own, find an attorney with the ability and knowledge necessary to negotiate between different insurance companies. They will have experience building cases that protect you from being responsible for all of the damages—and they can do so without letting things escalate into nasty litigation.
Your Claim Is Being Denied (Or Attempting To Be Denied) By The Insurance Company
If you were injured, the insurance company might try to convince you that it wasn’t your fault. They know most people do not understand complicated legal language or processes and they will act accordingly.
However, with an experienced injury attorney at their side this is less likely to happen as both sides are on equal footing when knowledge of laws comes into play, so there is a much lower chance of being denied compensation for damages.
Personal injury claims, like many other types, involve complex rules and obscure terminology which can make filing them difficult without some experience in these areas.
This also means lawsuits aren’t necessarily guaranteed because the defendant (the person/company accused) has lawyers too who could potentially slow down proceedings by using delaying tactics such as asking for more time or flooding you with paperwork.
A personal injury attorney can help you avoid or mitigate all of this.
Hiring An Attorney vs. Handling Your Own Claim
In personal injury cases it’s always a good idea to hire an attorney because they will already know the laws and legal processes surrounding your case. This puts them at an advantage over you in court if things were to go that far.
On top of this, personal injury law involves many technicalities, so having someone who knows what they are doing is especially helpful if there is any chance of going up against insurance companies or other big players with high level lawyers on their side.
In fact, even most attorneys don’t represent themselves in court if they find themselves in a bad legal situation. This is because they understand the importance of having an objective, third party as a representative.
Conclusion
So, personal injury is more than just an accident or incident that happens to you. It’s also about the various ways you can be affected by it, including physical damage, mental and emotional trauma, lost wages due to missed work, etc.
Now, if you’re thinking personal injuries only happen in car accidents or medical malpractice cases like botched surgeries (which are definitely not fun!), think again! You could get injured anywhere—at your job for instance where negligence on behalf of your employer caused harm to come upon yourself; as a result of harassment from another individual; through seeing something traumatic such as death after witnessing it first-hand (this falls into PTSD).
Basically, anything which causes significant pain and suffering qualifies as personal injury.
You are entitled to compensation for this pain and suffering, and the best way to get it is to hire a personal injury attorney. A personal injury attorney in Idaho Falls will help you to get the most out of your injury case and fight for what is right in court.
