Understanding Different Types Of Personal Injury Cases

Personal injuries include every variety of injury to a person’s body, emotions, or reputation. Personal injury law, also known as tort law, was created to protect individuals and their property when they’ve been injured, and it applies when there is negligence, strict liability, or intent for wrongdoing involved.  

It is important to have an understanding of different types of personal injury cases so that you can be prepared if they happen to you. Below is an overview of several of the most common causes of personal injury. 

Car, Truck & Motorcycle Accidents

Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents can all have catastrophic effects on your health and wellbeing. Some of the most common types include but are not limited to the following:

• Rear-end collision (most common in Florida)
• Head-on collision
• Side-impact collision
• Roll-over collision
• Sideswipe
• Intersection accident
• Jackknife accidents (common with trucks) 
• Underside/override accidents (common with trucks and small cars)
• And more. 

In accidents involving trucks and motorcycles specifically, injuries can be especially devastating. Trucks are often 20 to 30 times heavier than passenger vehicles, so a collision with a truck has a far more substantial impact. It can be just as dangerous, if not more so for those who are injured on a motorcycle as they have less coverage and protection than that of a person who’s in a car or larger vehicle. Car, truck, and motorcycle drivers can be negligent and cause personal injury.

Auto Product Liability Injury

An auto product liability injury occurs when your vehicle malfunctions or is defective, causing an accident and bodily harm to occur. Despite vehicle manufacturers being required to run extensive testing that ensures the safety of a vehicle, they’ll often cut corners to save themselves time and money, and unsafe vehicles get sold to a consumer. That consumer could be you. 

Distracted, Drunk, Fatigued & Reckless Driving

One thing that distracted, drunk, fatigued, and reckless driving accidents have in common is they can all be prevented. Behind each one of these types of accidents is a driver who chose to get behind the wheel while in an unfit state, or failed to limit personal interruptions while driving. 

Drunk driving is a selfish choice that can lead to fatal accidents and everlasting effects for everyone involved. It is the kind of accident that can be easily avoided by choosing to rideshare using Uber or Lyft, or phoning a friend for a ride. 

Fatigued driving includes getting behind the wheel after failing to get the proper amount of sleep.

Distracted and reckless driving share similar characteristics and can be classified as anything that takes a driver’s attention off of the road. Examples of distracted and reckless driving include: 

• Texting
• Talking on the phone
• Doing makeup in the mirror
• Changing the music on your phone or radio
• Fidgeting with something in your passenger seat or backseat
• Eating
• Swerving intentionally
• Failing to use proper signals while operating the vehicle
• Blasting music so loudly you cannot hear potential emergency vehicles approaching you
• Tailgating
• And more. 

Train

Since Florida has a railroad system that allows for travel to several areas around the state, and the U.S. itself has 130,000 miles of train tracks, train accidents are far more common than most people would think. Defective parts, weather conditions, interference or negligence of another driver/pedestrian, and other factors can be cause for a train accident. If an operator, owner, or any other entity neglects their legal responsibilities, resulting in an accident, the company can be held accountable for the resulting injuries and damages.

Bus Accidents

Many fail to consider safety when they get on public transportation, but bus accidents still occur. They are similar to car, truck, and motorcycle accidents as the collisions are often of the same nature, but the repercussions can be much more severe due to the simple matter of size. If you’re hit by a bus, your injuries could be catastrophic, if you’re injured while riding the bus you might be lacking the usual safety precautions you’d have in a regular vehicle, like a seatbelt. 

Pedestrian Accidents

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that nearly 500 pedestrians are killed in Florida traffic accidents each year, and more than 7,000 others are injured. Pedestrian accidents can include the following: 

• Crosswalk collision
• Intersection collision
• Jaywalking incident
• School zone collision
• And more!

Consequences Of Personal Injury 

Depending on the severity of the accident and the injuries you’ve sustained you could face tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills and might need to take weeks, months, or an indefinite amount of time off of your work to recover. Without the ability to return to work, your income stops, and you lack the means to cover medical expenses and maybe even your everyday utilities. Understanding the circumstances and legal nuances of the accident you’re involved in is crucial so that you may file a personal injury claim and pursue compensation for the damages that you’ve suffered. However, even when you do file a claim, fault has to be determined and negligence has to be proven. 

Determining Fault & Proving Negligence

If you’ve been injured in one or more of these types of accidents, filing is only the first step towards recovering compensation for the injuries you’ve sustained. Fault also has to be determined, and negligence of the at-fault driver has to be proven using supporting evidence from the accident. Without that, liability can’t be identified, and you may miss out on the opportunity for a fair settlement. Working with a personal injury attorney is the best way to increase your odds of winning. 

How The Florida Law Group Can Help You

The Florida Law Group has served accident victims in Florida since 1982, and our personal injury attorneys have 100+ years of combined legal experience. We have knowledge that can be used to your advantage to secure compensation when you need it most. After all, you shouldn’t have to suffer physically and financially from an accident that you didn’t cause. Call today for a free consultation and learn more about what your next steps are.