Personal injury claims have gained something of a bad reputation in recent years. It’s probably true to say the practice has been abused, but that doesn’t mean claims aren’t, for the most part, genuine and necessary.
A personal injury is defined as an injury to an individual’s body, mind or emotions, as opposed to injury to property. In a world where mental health problems are better understood and taken more seriously than once they were, it follows that there’s a greater variety of traumatic events that can lead to allegations of personal injury.
How Do Personal Injury Claims Arise?
Usually personal injury claims are made in the aftermath of an accident in which the plaintiff was not personally at fault. They typically claim that their injury happened as a result of an error or negligence perpetrated by others. For example, if somebody is injured in a road traffic accident where the other driver is at fault, there may be a claim for personal injury.
It’s also common to see personal injury claimed when somebody is suing for defamation. This would be related to damage to the individual’s mental wellbeing or confidence that arose as a result of false claims made against them.
What Are the Results of a Personal Injury Claim?
A personal injury claim, if successful, usually yields financial damages. This is the reason the practice has been open to attempted abuse on occasions. Typically, damages awarded by the courts are sufficient to cover the injured party’s medical or care bills, as well as compensate for any pain and suffering inflicted together with any reduced life quality as a result of the incident.
Is It Just Accidental Injury Claims?
Accidental injury is the biggest part of personal injury claim work, but the range of situations that lead to a claim is getting wider all the time.
Most often, personal injury claims come about after road accidents, work accidents, or any other accident that leads to injury such as tripping on uneven or badly maintained surfaces. It can also be used for injury claims after an assault or for injury caused by faulty products. A growing area is from defective medical work.
Immediate physical injury is obvious, but conditions that develop over time are also areas that may merit a claim. This includes industrial diseases such as asbestosis, emphysema and mesothelioma, as well as deafness, stress and repetitive strain injury.
Is the Role of Personal Injury Solicitors Controversial?
Whilst most of those situations elicit sympathy and personal injury lawyers can benefit the claimant greatly, there have also been claims that are verging on the fraudulent. This has given personal injury lawyers a bad reputation as ‘ambulance chasers’. The most notorious cases involve whiplash following relatively minor road accidents. Whiplash is difficult to prove but also difficult to disprove, meaning there’s potential for dishonest claimants to make money from doubt.
For more information about personal injury or to find out whether you’ve got a claim, contact Mark Reynolds Solicitors. We’ll advise you on your potential claim and assist you as you return to peak health.