What Are the 5 Most Common Kinds of Personal Injury Claims?

Attorneys who handle accident and negligence cases represent clients who have suffered injuries resulting from someone else’s reckless behavior.  Injuries can happen in several ways, including car collisions, slip, and fall accidents, medical malpractice, workplace mishaps, or dangerous and defective consumer products.

The personal injury lawyers at Rutter Mills in Norfolk help injured parties to recover damages for their property losses and the injuries. We have seen many kinds of injury claims in more than fifty years of representing Virginia residents. The majority of those claims have fallen into one of five common categories

What are the Five Most Common Virginia personal Injury Claims?

1. Motor Vehicle Accidents.

Car accidents happen when a driver gets distracted or fails to follow the rules of the road, operates a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or drives carelessly or recklessly.

• Slip and Fall Accidents

Property owners owe a duty of care to their guests and other individuals who have a right to be on their premises. That duty requires the owner to fix hazards, such as broken sidewalks, loose handrails, or liquid spills, or to warn their guests about those hazards.

• Medical Malpractice

Physicians, hospitals, and other medical care providers owe an enhanced duty to provide services that are consistent with the prevailing standards of care in the medical industry. This includes diagnosing illnesses properly, refraining from harming a patient during regular procedures, and offering necessary care to prevent the worsening of a health condition.

• Workplace Injuries

Federal and state laws require employers to provide their employees with safe workplaces and equipment to prevent potential injuries. Damages for many workplace injuries are handled under workers’ compensation insurance claims, but in certain situations, an injured employee might also have a negligence claim against their employer.

• Dangerous and Defective Consumer Products

Companies that manufacture and distribute consumer products must ensure that those products do not present an unreasonable potential for injuries when used correctly for their intended purposes. Dangerous and defective product injury claims are frequently made as part of class action negligence lawsuits.

What Other Kinds of Claims do Personal Injury Lawyers Handle?

A personal injury lawyer will represent individuals who have suffered harm from attacks by dogs or other domestic pets. Someone can also have a claim for libel or slander when another person publishes false information that leads to a loss of reputation, business or employment opportunities, and other adverse financial impacts.

A personal injury lawyer can also represent parties that have suffered injuries as a result of someone else’s intentional actions, including, for example, sexual assault or other intentional infliction of physical or emotional trauma.

If you believe that your injuries or property losses are the result of someone else’s negligence or intentional acts, contact a knowledgeable and experienced personal injury attorney as soon as you can to determine whether you have a viable personal injury claim.

Contact Us for a Free Consultation

At Rutter Mills, we file personal injury claims and lawsuits to recover damages for injuries and losses due to motor vehicle accidents, slip and falls, medical malpractice, workplace mishaps, product liability. This also includes dangerous or defective consumer items and other negligent and intentional acts. We serve clients in Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News, and elsewhere in Virginia. Contact us for a free consultation—we are available 24/7.