Law Lingo: What Are Personal Injury Claims And How Do They Work?

Personal injury law involves legal claims against another in which you seek restitution

for a physical or psychological injury to your person or property. The entity you have a claim against may be an individual, a company, an agency, or other equivalent organization that has harmed or damaged you.

Types of Damage that Constitute a Personal Injury

Lawsuits for personal injury are categorized as torts, either intentional or negligent, and as strict liability cases or product liability cases. Of these, the most common claims are either intentional torts (assault, battery, false imprisonment, slander, libel, trespass, etc.) or negligent torts (car and motorcycle accidents, slip and fall incidents, and medical malpractice events). While some of these actions may be precluded by a crime, personal injury cases are civil actions filed to compensate victims monetarily; criminal actions are handled as a separate matter and are designed to punish the perpetrator.

Intentional Torts

An intentional tort results when someone deliberately harms another physically, mentally, or emotionally. A defendant in an intentional tort action knew that their actions would result in injury and yet engaged in that action anyway. He/she does not necessarily have to have motive for the harmful action, but simply knew that the likelihood of harm was imminent.

Negligent Torts

Negligent torts typically occur as a result of carelessness. These torts usually do not involve malice on the part of the defendant. Instead, the defendant failed to take proper precautions in his/her actions to assure that another was not injured.

Strict Liability

A strict liability case arises when a company is responsible for injuring someone due to possession and/or use of equipment or materials that are inherently dangerous. Examples of strict liability materials include explosives, wild animals, or assault weapons. Ownership of the material that caused the damages is sufficient to hold the owner liable.

Product Liability

Product liability refers to the liability for damages of sellers and manufacturers of dangerous or defective products. These damages are the result of a design defect, a manufacturing defect, or a failure to warn the consumer of the danger of using the product.

What to Do If You Think You Have a Personal Injury Claim

If you have been harmed physically, psychologically, or emotionally in any of the ways mentioned above, you need to contact a personal injury attorney to determine if you have a claim.

by: Daniel Beasley

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