6 Common Situations Where You Need a Personal Injury Attorney

You might get through your whole life without needing a personal injury attorney. If so, you’re lucky. However, someone who doesn’t go seeking any trouble can sometimes get into a situation where you need to sue a person or company that harmed them.

Suing someone can test you emotionally, and it can take up a lot of your time. However, sometimesyou may have little choice. About 96% of personal injury cases don’t go to trial, though. The defendant and the plaintiff often settle out of court.

In this article, we’ll talk about a few common situations where you’ll need a personal injury attorney. You might encounter one of these scenarios at just about any time.

A Product Hurts You

Companies come out with new products all the time. Many of them work wonderfully. You should also understand that all of them should go through extensive quality control checks before they ever hit the market.

However, some products might hurt you or make you sick. Even with stringent quality controls in place, there’s no telling when a product might act in a way that the makers did not expect. It’s also true that every once in a while, you will have a company that rushes a product to market before they test it as thoroughly as they should.

If a product injures you or makes you ill, you might very well have a product liability lawsuit on your hands. In that instance, you will certainly need a personal injury lawyer to help you get ready to sue the company that made the product.

A Dog Bites You

Many people love dogs, and for good reason. Owning one has many proven health benefits. You get exercise when you walk it, and you have a loyal companion who loves you and expresses joy when you come home from work every day.

Sometimes, though, you might also encounter a vicious dog that is not restrained by a leash or a fence. When that happens, you can blame the owner. Responsible dog ownership involves keeping the dog restrained if it is out in the yard, and when you’re walking it, you need to keep it on a leash.

If a loose dog bites you, and you can locate its owner, you might want to sue them. You will likely have medical bills to pay after the incident, and there is no reason why the dog’s owner shouldn’t accept responsibility. If you’re bringing a personal injury lawsuit following a dog bite, you will definitely need a credible lawyer on your side to help you through the process.

You Hurt Yourself While in a Store

You might also have the classic slip or trip while in a store that results in an injury. If you have two left feet and fall while in a store, you probably can’t blame the facility or its ownership. However, you may also have a situation sometimes where you slip because there is a wet floor or a spill on the ground that nobody has cleaned up yet.

In that scenario, if the store didn’t put up a wet floor sign, you can consider suing them. If you have some eyewitnesses who saw what happened, that will only strengthen your case. You can potentially win a personal injury lawsuit against that establishment, and you’ll need a lawyer for that.

You Hurt Yourself While in Someone’s House

You might also injure yourself when you’re in or around someone’s house. It’s possible you might sue the owner, though these lawsuits can run into complications in a hurry.

To win such a case, you must usually demonstrate or establish that a dangerous situation existed, but the homeowner did not take the appropriate action to address it. For instance, if a loose front step causes an injury when you’re climbing onto the porch, you might blame the owner for that. However, if the owner claims they didn’t know about the problem, maybe you can’t establish negligence.

In any event, you will need a personal injury lawyer if you are going to have any chance of collecting a judgment in your favor in such a situation.

A Doctor Commits Medical Malpractice

It might genuinely surprise you to hear how many medical malpractice cases work their way through the court system in America every year. Doctors, nurses, and other medical professional go through years of training, and you’re entrusting them with your health and wellbeing. However, they’re human, and they sometimes make mistakes. You might also point to a hospital or clinic that caused an injury or illness if you’re not singling out any particular individual.

Assuming you’re bringing a medical malpractice case and you have evidence that supports it, you will need a personal injury lawyer who knows about these sorts of cases. Make sure to talk with your attorney before you hire them to make sure they have the requisite background to help you.

A Drunk Driver Hits Your Vehicle

Personal injury lawsuits from car accidents happen constantly. Car wrecks occur on highways and city streets, and sometimes, you might have to sue the other driver. If they acted negligently, like if they consumed alcohol before driving or they drove significantly over the speed limit, then you’re well within your rights to bring legal action against them.

Maybe the driver who hit your car seriously injured you, or perhaps they even killed one of your passengers. In such a situation, it’s not just a regular personal injury lawsuit but also a wrongful death suit. You might go after the guilty party for millions if their actions killed your partner, spouse, child, or some other close relative.

If you spend a little time thinking about it, you can probably come up with many other scenarios where you might injure yourself and have just cause to sue someone. When you do, make sure you find the right lawyer, or you may find yourself walking away with nothing.