When you are injured by someone and the circumstances might mean that you are in a position to make a personal injury lawsuit, you need to engage a passionate and skilled attorney to represent you in the case. You must also locate an attorney to litigate your case in the state in which your case is filed. For instance if your personal injury case in filed in the city of Oakland, California, you should hire a reputable Oakland injury lawyer.
Personal injury lawsuits cover a broad range of instances where someone’s carelessness, negligence or intentional act causes harm to another. Personal injury can occur in a variety of situations and can involve injury to the emotions, mind, body or emotions of a person.
Anyone who believes that he or she has been injured in circumstances that fit the criteria mentioned above can file a personal injury lawsuit. The statutes for personal injury are purposely kept indistinct to allow for a broad range of situations to fit under them. There are however a range of typical situations that give rise to personal injury cases. Here are some of the most common:
Car Accidents
Car accidents are the largest group of personal injury claims filed every year and a good number are filed in Oakland, California. Unfortunately car accidents continue to be a major source of injuries in the United States. In fact, they are so frequent that they occur nearly every minute of every day. A good percentage of these accidents result in injuries to occupants in the autos or pedestrians who are struck by cars.
Many of these accidents occur because of a driver’s behavior. If the driver is negligent, careless or intentionally causes the accident, that driver may be liable for a personal injury lawsuit. Examples of behavior that can cause liability include: driving under the influence, driving while texting or being distracted in some other way, not observing road signs, speeding, and hazardous driving. Each US state allows someone injured in a car accident to pursue financial compensation for their injuries, but not all claims will be successful.
Assaults
When a person assaults another person it is a criminal offense that can be punishable by jail time. The state will start a case against the perpetrator if charges are filed. The injured person can also file a civil suit against the person who commits the assault. A civil suit seeks compensatory damages instead of a jail sentence.
These suits also have a lower level of proof than criminal cases making them potentially easier to win. In fact, it is not uncommon for a plaintiff to win a civil case for an assault claim even if the defendant is not found guilty in the criminal case or if the state does not file a case. If a plaintiff wins the case, compensatory damages will be awarded and often a plaintiff will also receive punitive damages in an assault case because the assaults are often very harmful.
Medical Malpractice
We trust our doctors and other medical practitioners to provide good service and advice that will make us healthier and ease our pain. Medical practitioners hold a special place in the hearts and minds of most Americans and they also are given the most respect of any profession. Because of this, medical practitioners have an obligation to provide a minimum standard of quality care to their patients.
When they do not meet this criteria and a patient is injured because of it, the patient can file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the medical practitioner. Medical malpractice can include when a medical practitioner prescribes or performs a medical procedure that was inappropriate, medication is mis-prescribed or not given, inaccurate medical advice or other issues around the medical practitioner interacting with a patient. Medical malpractice cases can often be nuanced and complicated and will typically take a long time to settle.