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What is a personal injury?

As it is usually understood when discussing legal topics, personal injury is an umbrella term encompassing anything from personal slights caused by defamation, physical injuries caused by a faulty product, or accidents at a place of business or residence covered by premises liability law. Life-threatening medical malpractice can also 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, personal injury suits 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.

Tripping on the street is an accident. But if the fall was due to a tree root that made the walk unsafe — or a crack in the sidewalk made the street dangerous, then the accident is deemed as preventable. Personal injury laws also make negligent parties responsible for changing the conditions that resulted in the injury.

Medical personal injury

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 treat the disease successfully, or a patient was misdiagnosed or improperly treated, the professionals who were responsible should be held accountable for their actions..

In short, 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.

Around the Web, learn more about what legal steps and protections you're entitled to if you or a loved one has been a victim of personal injury, including guides to bringing your case to court, and information on personal injury laws and insurance ...

also in Home Legal Advisor -> Product Liability Law

More about personal injury around the Web:

Accidents & 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.

also in Home Legal Advisor -> Class Action Lawsuits

Workplace Injuries | Catastrophic Injuries

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