How a Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You
Personal injury is one of those things we don’t like to think about. For legal purposes personal injury happens when an individual is harmed in some way because of the actions, negligence or carelessness of someone else.
This is significant because a person who causes personal injury in this way may be found to be liable for the injury by the courts. And in today’s society where almost everything is measured in terms of dollars and cents, the job of the courts is to decide the cash value of this liability - the amount of monetary compensation the injured party should receive from the party responsible for the injuries.
Most of us have liability insurance to protect us against being sued for thousands or millions of dollars in compensation for injuries we may have caused other people. When someone is determined to be responsible for injuries sustained by someone else that person’s liability insurance policy will pay the compensation up to the insured level.
Injuries due to traffic accidents are the most common types of personal injuries that become the subject of litigation or compensation. Such injuries range all the way from strained necks or backs to the loss of limbs, paralysis, and death.
For example, a common type of injury resulting from a vehicle crash is a neck or back strain The driver of a vehicle may be found to be liable for injuries sustained by others in virtually any situation in which that driver causes harm to someone else as the result of failure to obey traffic laws, or because of careless or inattentive driving.
Another common type of personal injury is the work-related injury. For example if you work for a construction company and are injured as the result of unsafe conditions in your work place, you will probably be eligible for compensation. You may fall off a poorly constructed scaffold, have a heavy object fall on you from above, or have a heavy machine or truck back over you because of a careless driver.
In all work-related cases it is the responsibility of the employer to provide a safe environment and take reasonable precautions against the possibility of injury or harm to its employees.
Manufacturers can also be liable for personal injury when their products are found to be unsafe or cause harm. Companies sometimes wittingly or unwittingly allow a dangerous or defective product to enter the market. In such a case it may be possible to gain compensation for the costs associated with the pain or suffering caused by the product.
Claims against manufacturers can be filed for a variety of reasons. If you used the product in the proper manner, but were injured or harmed in some way, then the manufacturer may be liable for defective design or even misrepresenting the product.
Many of these cases involve the effects of potentially harmful chemicals as in cases of certain prescription drugs or of the highly-publicized and controversial case of silicone breast implants. Other well known cases involve defective toys or baby equipment which has been found to be dangerous in some situations. Still others involve manufacturing defects in cars or trucks. The best known example is the case of Chevrolet Corvair which Ralph Nader used to achieve national prominence in the 1960s.
All personal injury cases are legally complicated, and since there is usually so much to be gained (or lost) by the parties involved, corporations and insurance companies are often not eager to admit responsibility without a legal fight. That is why it is so important to contact an attorney when you suspect you have been injured as the result of someone or some other party’s actions or negligence.
The goal of a personal injury lawyer is to assist people who have been injured to get the level of compensation they are owed because of their injuries. Without knowledgeable and vigorous representation by an experienced personal injury lawyer it is unlikely an injured party will receive full compensation.
If you are in the Chicago or Morris Illinois area be sure to contact an experienced Grundy County Personal Injury Lawyer or LaSalle County Personal Injury Attorney for the best possible representation when you are injured.
