Personal Injury – Many questions arise when a person is injured, especially when the injuries are extremely painful and costly. Everywhere including Maryland, personal injury can be defined by the negligence of a person or company, intentional or unintentional, that caused bodily harm along with medical expenses, physical or mental hardships to the person and their family. The best way to explain personal injury is to give examples of different scenarios and how they would play out with a Baltimore personal injury lawyer. There are three questions to follow and see if getting an attorney is right for you and your case.
- Have you been injured?
- Were the injuries expensive?
- Was negligence involved from a person or company that caused your injuries?
Having answered “yes” to all three questions, you now know you have a case and an excellent chance to win a personal injury lawsuit to compensate you for your losses.
The Importance of an Attorney
If you are injured and have to come up with the finances for your injuries and lost wages, it is not fair or proper to go through double losses for someone else’s negligence. If the damages or personal injuries deal with a company or property owner, an attorney can handle the case and fight for your rights. But who are you fighting, you may ask. You are fighting the insurance companies of the property owners. Personal injury attorneys are experienced enough to go against the grain of insurance companies who thrive on robbing the client of their due earnings. Insurance companies will do whatever they can to take the blame off of the actual events. A personal injury attorney will use the actual events and continue to fight back in their client’s defense. A good and experienced attorney will come out victorious.
Examples of Personal Injury Claims
There are several ways a person can get hurt. These are some of the claims that will put an injury attorney in the driver’s seat, and all the client has to do is tell the truth about their injuries and explain all of their expenses to their attorney. The attorney will do the rest of the work.
Traffic Accidents
Traffic accidents are probably one of the most personal injury cases in court. If the person at fault runs a stop sign, red light, ignores a traffic warning sign, or is drunk or under the influence, negligence is a primary factor in the case. Everyone is required to have Liability insurance on their vehicle, so it is the automobile insurance companies who the lawyers will go toe to toe with in court. In traffic accident cases, if there is proof beyond a shadow of a doubt of negligence, the insurance company will almost always settle out of court. If the case drives to court, the insurance company knows they will come out with a more significant loss, so they will agree on a fair and final price between the client and their attorney.
The Slips and Falls on Private and Public Property
Those who own property have to have insurance for others who may injure themselves. Like automobiles, mortgage buildings, homes, and businesses have to have insurance to cover personal injury. There may be a hazard that was not addressed in some situations, and the client slipped and fell. If they severely injured themselves, the insurance company should cover the medical and any other cost related to the accident. This is not always a perfect world, and this very seldom happens. Insurance companies will fight to keep their interest in check. The more they spend on claims, the more they lose profits.
Personal Injuries Through Consumer Products
This is another common event that many people forget about when it comes to personal injury cases. Products like automotive parts, which should be recalled, store-bought products that hurt a child or another person, or a restaurant or any place that serves food may have caused injury to a by standard through food poisoning or some other form of illness. In these situations, the products are removed immediately. With automotive recalls, a class action lawsuit is possible and may take place.
By the tens of thousands, each year, people are injured through consumer products. The personal injury attorneys will go after the manufacturers in these situations. High fines will be paid through the companies, but they will still seek their legal attorneys in the battle. Many times these cases end up in court, more so than others. If a consumer product fails by injuring or killing a person, a business can go bankrupt. The battle can get really ugly in a courtroom. Most times, it takes a class action lawsuit to beat the manufacturers. Single cases usually settle out of court if there is ample proof of negligence on the manufacturer’s part.
Food Poisoning
As for restaurants, the food can get tested for bacteria. Investigations would occur to see if some others may have gotten ill with the food served at the exact location, date, and time of serving. There is a lesser time limit to work in these cases. If a case can get drawn up, another class-action lawsuit may come into play for personal injury. In some situations, too many complaints could get the restaurant to shut its doors. Through all the possible damages, personal injury attorneys will know the best routes to handle the situations.