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What is a personal injury?

As it is usually understood when discussing legal topics, it is an umbrellas term encompassing anything from personal slights caused by defamation, physical injuries caused by a faulty product, accidents at a place of business or residence covered by premises liability law, to life-threatening medical malpractice can all fall under this heading.

Why do people consult lawyers about personal injuries? In worst case scenarios, if someone is injured or dies because someone else was negligent, no amount of money can change that. However, what personal injury suits try to do is provide compensation to the person who was hurt, or a family who suffered from having someone injured. That award can help to cover the medical costs, the loss of income and help the injured party — or the family — get help on the road to recovering from the injury.

Another aspect of personal injury laws is that they make the negligent party responsible for changing the conditions that resulted in the injury. The company that allowed a dangerous product to be sold or the homeowner who let a dangerous condition go unfixed is told that they share in the consequences.

Tripping on the street is an accident. If bones are broken or injuries result, there isn't much that can be done. But if the fall was due to a tree root that was allowed to grow making the walk unsafe — or a hole in the sidewalk left unrepaired making the street dangerous... the fall is no longer an unpreventable accident. The injury with all the associated medical costs and pain could have been avoided.

Catastrophic injuries, birth defects, disability and even death can occur even with the best medical care. But if a diagnosis was missed until it was too advanced to late to treat the disease successfully or a patient was misdiagnosed or improperly treated, the professionals who were responsible should be held accountable for their actions.

If the economic and personal hardships, the pain and suffering that was caused by an accident or other injury could have been avoided but the person or company responsible failed to remove or fix a dangerous situation... their negligence, at least partially, caused the injury.

While no one else can suffer the pain that results from a preventable accident or medical malpractice, the negligent parties should bear some of the financial burden that they helped to create.

Learn more about what legal steps and protections you're entitled to with information on personal injury laws and insurance on the Web...

Personal Injury - Legal Encyclopedia - Nolo - Good advice on determining who is at fault, handling your own personal injury claim through insurance companies, when to hire a lawyer and steps to bringing your case to court.

FindLaw - Personal Injury - Detailed info on your legal rights if you are in an accident or suffer an injury, with more on pedestrian accidents, slip and fall accidents, wrongful death, the stages of a personal injury court case together with separate sections on Medical Malpractice, and Car Accidents.

Medicine and Law - Malpractice Topics - Get an insiders view of information for legal professionals from the The 'Lectric Law Library covering what makes for a good malpractice suit, using expert witnesses, and common pitfalls in trying the malpractice suit.

FBIC: Fight Bad-faith Insurance Companies - FAQ, advice, news and related articles on what to do when your insurance company unfairly holds back payment, with a lawyer search, links directory and membership information.

LII: Law about...Personal Injury and Torts - Concise overview explaining the differences between intentional injury, negligence, and liability, with links to recent court decisions and key Internet sources for more information.

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also in Home Legal Advisor -> Auto Accidents

Class Action Lawsuits | Disability | Product Recalls

Workplace Injuries | Catastrophic Injuries

Product Liability Law

The information provided on these pages is intended as reference
only and does not constitute professional legal advice.