Accidents are tragic. They usually come on quickly, and you cannot predict their long-term effects. Most of us try to avoid personal injury accidents. The best way to avoid sustaining an injury or causing an accident is to know why accidents happen. A personal injury lawyer can also benefit you in understanding the accident process and get the case results you desire. To learn more about the common causes of personal injury accidents, continue reading.
What Is a Personal Injury?
A personal injury is a physical, emotional, or mentally and emotionally traumatic injury to an individual. Personal injuries come in many forms, and many people or businesses may be potential defendants. The severity and permanence of the injuries can vary widely. If you have suffered a personal injury, contact an experienced accident attorney in your area to learn more about your options after an accident.
Common Types of Personal Injury Accidents
Premises Liability:
Premises liability is an area of law that requires property owners and business owners to maintain safe premises for their visitors or customers. Many property-related accidents can happen, and the most common is a slip and fall. If a negligent property owner injured you, call an experienced premises liability attorney in your area.
Products Liability:
Products liability law requires that manufacturers place safe products into the marketplace. If a manufacturer fails to place safe products into stores, they are liable for the harm caused to the customer if they used the product in an intended way. For example, if a customer used a hair dryer for its intended use and the product was defective, the customer has a cause of action against the manufacturer.
Medical Malpractice:
Medical malpractice refers to negligent acts taken by healthcare professionals that cause injury to patients. Doctors and medical staff must ensure that the patient gets proper care and does not suffer harm by the actions of the hospital or its staff. If the patient suffers injury because the hospital and staff, the patient or their family may have a cause of action against the proper defendants.
Construction Accidents:
Construction accidents can lead to a workplace injury claim or personal injuries if a non-employee gets hurt on a construction site. Both construction workers and pedestrians traveling by construction sites can be injured in a construction accident and have legal action against the negligent worker and the construction accident.
Motor Vehicle Accidents:
Motor vehicle accidents are a common cause of personal injury accidents. Motor vehicle and traffic accidents may take the form of car, motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian accidents.
Common Causes of Motor Vehicle Accidents
Although many things cause motor vehicle and traffic accidents, and every case is unique, the following are common causes of motor vehicle accidents. If you have been in a traffic accident, contact a personal injury lawyer to learn how to protect your legal rights and receive the compensation you deserve.
Driving Under the Influence of Drugs and Alcohol
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol is the number one cause of motor vehicle accidents across the country. Many people may not consider prescription drugs when they think about impaired driving. However, using prescription drugs may decrease a driver’s reaction time and cognitive ability and cause an accident.
Poorly Maintained Roads
Poorly maintained roads can cause accidents. Roads littered with potholes, cracks, missing road signs, or other damage can lead to tragic and deadly accidents.
Fatigued Driving
Fatigued drivers can cause traffic accidents. Fatigue refers to prolonged tiredness and can cause functional ability.
Fatigue can happen due to many things, including:
- Underlying disease
- Using a new medication or increasing or decreasing the medication’s dosage
- Long periods of repeated activity
- Lack of sleep or lack of quality sleep
- Stress
Fatigue shows up in:
- Dizziness
- Weakness
- Reduced reaction time
- Lost ability to concentrate
- Mood changes and unstable moods
- Lack of motivation
Distracted Driving
Distracted driving happens when a driver loses focus on the task of driving, causing an accident. Distracted driving can have tragic consequences. People get distracted while driving when they take their mind off the task of driving, taking their hands off the wheel, or taking their eyes off the road. If you have suffered an injury in an accident caused by a distracted driver, call an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.
Examples of distracted driving include:
- Eating
- Texting and driving
- Talking on the phone while driving (even while using the Bluetooth option)
- Changing your music
- Changing the heating or air conditioning settings
Speeding
Speeding is a common cause of traffic accidents. This not only refers to exceeding the speed limit but driving too fast for specific weather or traffic conditions. If a speeding driver causes an accident, they are liable for the injuries they caused. Speeding makes it more challenging or impossible for a driver to stop in time for another vehicle, pedestrian, cyclist, or other obstacles.
Each driver must ensure that they are not driving recklessly. If you have suffered an injury in an accident caused by a speeding driver, call a personal injury lawyer in your area.
Aggressive Driving
Aggressive driving happens when a driver gets angry while operating a vehicle and, in their anger, begins to drive erratically. An aggressive driver can cause an accident that leads to a fatal injury.
Signs of aggressive driving to identify include:
- Cutting another driver off
- Honking
- Road rage
- Tailgating
- Brake checking
- Flashing high beams
- Failing to signal a lane change
- Running a red light, stop sign, or another traffic sign
If you have suffered an injury in an accident caused by an aggressive driver, call an accident lawyer in your area. An accident attorney can help you understand and protect your rights after a motor vehicle accident.
Bad Weather
Poor weather conditions are sometimes responsible for traffic accidents. If a driver fails to properly control their vehicle, they can cause a tragic accident.
Traffic accidents can have serious consequences, including severe injury and death. If you have suffered an injury in a traffic accident, call a personal injury lawyer in your area to learn more about your rights after an accident.
Common Causes of Medical Malpractice Claims
When we go to the doctor’s office or the hospital, we expect to get better and return to normal lives. Unfortunately, because of some medical professional’s negligence, patients across the country suffer severe injury or death. Some common causes of medical malpractice include the following:
Defective Medical Equipment
Defective medical equipment is a major cause of medical injury claims. You may have heard of medical devices that were subject to recall because they caused injuries, but doctors continue to use them. While using the recalled device may not amount to medical malpractice in most states, using the product with the knowledge that the device is defective may give rise to a claim. Speak to an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to learn more about your rights after an injury.
Misdiagnosis
Misdiagnosis is a major contributor to medical malpractice claims. Misdiagnosis can lead to many complications, including delayed treatment of the underlying illness. A delay in treatment may cause a significant increase in the chance of future injury or death. In addition to the physical problems misdiagnosis causes, there may be significant mental and emotional trauma by getting an incorrect diagnosis. If you received a misdiagnosis, call an accident attorney in your area.
Failure to Treat
Some patients go to the doctor with a complaint and do not receive a diagnosis or treatment. The harm caused by failure to treat is like the harm caused by misdiagnosis. Like misdiagnosis, the patient can suffer serious harm or death if a doctor or medical professional fails to treat an illness.
Childbirth Injuries
Childbirth injuries often happen due to the negligence of doctors and medical staff. Childbirth injuries include any damage that occurs during delivery. Depending on the injury and your state, a claim for childbirth injuries may come from either the mother or the child. If you or your child suffered an injury during labor and delivery, call an attorney in your area with experience in childbirth injury law.
Medication and Anesthesia Errors
Treating a patient properly can save their lives and the quality of their lives. To ensure that patients receive the best care available, doctors and medical staff must administer the proper amount of medication, including the correct administration of anesthesia. If the patient takes the wrong medication or the incorrect amount, that can lead to injury or death.
Surgical Errors
Surgical errors are also a basis for medical malpractice claims. Surgical errors can take the form of complications after the surgery and leaving surgical instruments inside the patient.
Wrongful Death
Wrongful death claims replace medical malpractice claims when the victim does not survive. Wrongful death lawsuits are personal injury lawsuits that allow certain surviving family members to file a lawsuit against a doctor, medical staff, and the clinic or hospital whose negligence they allege caused their family member’s death. Wrongful death laws vary from state to state. If you lost a loved one due to medical malpractice, call an experienced medical malpractice attorney in your area.
Common Causes of Construction Accidents
Construction sites are some of the most dangerous places to work across the country. Construction workers risk their lives daily to erect the buildings where we live and do business.
Some common causes of construction accidents include:
- Electrocution
- Slip, Trip, and Fall Accidents
- Being pinned between two objects
- Use of defective or dangerous machinery or power tools
- Vehicle accidents
- Falling objects or debris
Pedestrians also face the risk of construction site accidents. Although they do not work on the site, if they must pass by while traveling, they can get hurt. If you have suffered an injury in a construction accident, call an experienced attorney in your area to discuss your rights after an accident.
Common Causes of Premises Liability Injuries
An accident victim files a premises liability lawsuit when they are hurt while on another’s property. Private landowners and business owners must keep their property safe for visitors and customers.
Some common causes of premises liability cases include:
- Slip, Trip, and Fall Accidents
- Swimming Pool Accidents
- Fire
- Falling objects and debris
- Broken or poorly maintained elevators and escalator accidents
You have the right to safely enter another’s property without fear of injury. If you suffered an injury and think you may have a premises liability claim, call a premises liability attorney in your area.
Common Causes of Products Liability Injuries
Customers can suffer injuries from the products that manufacturers place in the marketplace. Manufacturers of products must avoid placing dangerous or defective products on shelves.
If the manufacturer fails to do this, they may be liable for the harm that the product causes.
Common causes of product liability claims include negligent product manufacturing and the use of defective products. If you suffered an injury by a defective product, call an experienced products liability attorney in your area to discuss your rights.
What If I Cannot Afford an Attorney?
Do not delay getting the money you need to recover because of the fear of large legal fees. Most personal injury attorneys offer their services on a contingency basis. A contingency fee payment structure is an agreement between a client and a lawyer to defer payment for legal services until after a case settles. The terms of a contingency fee agreement must be in writing and signed by the attorney and client before any work starts.
Contact a Personal Injury Attorney Today
Personal Injury Attorney, Jacob D. Lawrence
If you are suffering from a personal injury, call an attorney today. An experienced personal injury attorney can help protect your rights against an insurance company or a defense lawyer. Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers work to protect the insurance company’s bottom line.
Your accident attorney works hard to get you the maximum compensation available. Despite the type of personal injury that you suffered, you need an attorney on your side.
Contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.