Personal injury cases cover different sorts of cases. Did you know Philadelphia is the first city in the US to have a courthouse designed exclusively for complex mass tort claims?
Mass tort claims are when a group of people files a case against a particular defendant. When many cases are filed against a specific defendant, such cases are bought together, and a hearing is conducted collectively.
This article covers various aspects of personal injury cases, and how a Philadelphia personal injury lawyer helps you. Let’s have a look.
What Is a Personal Injury Case?
A personal injury case is one where a party is injured due to the negligence of another party. There is always a plaintiff (the victim) and a defendant (the convict) in such cases.
The convict commits wrongdoing that is not a crime but a civil wrong. The key elements that should be included in a personal injury case in Philadelphia include:
- There should be an element of negligence
- Such negligence is caused by a failure to uphold a duty of care
- There should be actual loss and damage
Types of Personal Injury Cases in Philadelphia
As mentioned earlier, various cases are considered personal injury cases. For each of these cases, you can hire a personal injury attorney. Such attorneys are experts in dealing with almost all personal injury cases. Some of the personal injury cases in Philadelphia include:
Car/Auto/Truck Accidents
Car accidents or motor vehicle accidents are the most common type of personal injury cases in Philadelphia. Philadelphia doesn’t have a good track record for car accidents. The year 2021 was the worse for them as it witnessed an increase of 54% in accidents, of which 60% included driver fatalities.
If you are injured in Philadelphia in a car, truck, or auto accident, no matter if you are a driver or pedestrian, you can file a personal injury case.
Product Liability Cases
You can also file a product liability personal injury case if the product you bought caused injuries due to faulty machinery, side effects, or other reasons. Such cases are usually filed for faulty auto parts, medicines, medical devices, etc. The defendants usually are the manufacturers of the product.
The injuries caused due to faulty products can be severe, life-altering, and life-threatening. For instance, allegations against popular medicine manufacturers like Zantac claim life-threatening diseases like cancer risk.
Nursing Home Abuse Cases
Nursing home abuse cases are also considered under personal injury cases. These cases are filed against the nurses, caretakers, and, in some instances, the nursing homes. In cases where the nursing staff ill-treats seniors living in nursing homes, mentally, financially, or physically, the family members of such seniors can file a personal injury on their behalf.
Talking to a personal injury lawyer can help you identify the signs if your elderly is being neglected or abused in the nursing home.
Premises Liability Cases
Premises liability cases cover the worker’s compensation cases. This means it covers cases where you are injured at someone else’s property due to their work. It includes getting injured at construction sites, in offices, hospitals, etc.
It also covers cases where people are injured at premises due to one or more reasons like slippery surfaces, faulty furniture placement, poor maintenance, etc.
Does Philadelphia Have Comparative Negligence?
Yes, Philadelphia is a comparative negligence state regarding personal injury lawsuits. This simply states that if one of the injured parties is entirely not a not-at-fault party, the modified comparative fault rules are applied to calculate the amount of damages.
If it’s clear that one party is fully at-fault, such party is responsible for providing the full compensation.
On the contrary, if both parties are partially at fault, the amount of damages is calculated based on the percentage of fault of each party. For instance, if one party is at 60% fault, while the other party is at 40% fault, the party with 60% fault is liable to compensate for the damages caused (but not fully).
The 40% fault party will receive 60% of the total damages caused, not 100%. The jury decides such percentage of fault and amount of damages depending on the police records, evidence, and how well your attorney put the case before the judge.
When To Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia?
Hire a personal injury lawyer when your injury is a part of the above-mentioned personal injury cases.
You can consult a personal injury lawyer and introduce your case. After a thorough investigation, the personal injury lawyer will let you know if you should file the claim. This investigation would involve:
- Collecting all the evidence,
- Going through police reports,
- Understanding the injuries,
- Reviewing medical records,
- Speaking to witnesses and much more.
They also need to know how the accident happened, how the injuries affected your life, the date of injury, the date of the accident, and everything else. They may also talk to the liable party or their insurance company.
Taking to the insurance company will allow you to know if the case can be settled outside the court or need the interference of courts. If the insurance company settles on the negotiated settlement amount, there is no need to file the case.
If not, the lawyer on your behalf will look forward to filing the case provided they see a good potential. There are a lot of negotiations involved in such cases. Being able to negotiate for the damages is a big task. The skills and strategies owned by an experienced lawyer make a difference.
In Philadelphia, you can recover for the damages caused like:
- Expenses on medicines, physical therapy, medical equipment like crutches
- Loss of income when you no longer can go to work due to injuries
- Pain and suffering caused due to the injuries
- Emotional trauma
- Permanent disability like losing a body part
- Loss of companionship in case of wrongful death
Ensure you claim damages and file a lawsuit within two years starting from the date of accident/injury (statute of limitation).
If you are looking for Philadelphia personal injury attorneys, we are here to help. Contact us today to learn more.