Being seriously injured in an accident isn’t something that most of us ever think about until it happens. A lot of us tend of fall into a false sense of safety when we are carrying about our normal, daily routines. When nothing serious happens during this routine that we carry on about for years and years, its easy to think that nothing serious ever will happen. That feeling of safety makes it all the more traumatic when that serious injury causing accident actually happens.
There are many different types of accidents that happen in our little town that may need the services of the injury lawyers in Las Vegas. Just because we live in a small tightly knit community, that doesn’t mean that serious life changing accidents don’t happen here all the time. However, there are some types of accidents where a good injury attorney won’t be able to do much for you.
First, we will go over most of the common types of injury causing accidents that would require the services of the injury lawyers in Las Vegas. Then we will talk about the accidents that may not require an attorney.
The Most Common Personal Injury Accidents
- Auto Accidents and Car Crashes
By far the most common type of personal injury accidents that will end up in court is a car crash. This category also involves any type of accident that happens out on the roads where a crash causes an injury. This can include trucks, motorcycles and any other type of motor vehicle that is out on the road.
As of the writing of this article, New Hampshire, and Virginia are the only states in the U.S. that doesn’t mandate that all registered vehicles carry some form of insurance. However, in New Hampshire the drivers must prove that they have the funds to cover any accident or injury that may happen, before they are legally allowed to drive without insurance, and in Virginia, the drivers must pay the State an additional $500 per year. (Delbridge, n.d.)
- Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is a type of personal injury case where the victim was injured by the mistreatment and/or negligence of a doctor. In a medical malpractice case, your injury lawyers must prove that the doctor in question owed a duty to the patient and that the standard of care was less than the duty owed. Basically, your lawyer would have to prove that there was an action by the doctor that violated the regular standard of care and that action caused injury or even death. (Morton, 2021)
- Slip and Fall Accidents
In the United States, slip and fall accidents are responsible for well over a million ER visits according to the National Floor Safety Institute. Slip and fall injury cases, while common, are not as open and shut as you might think. Just because someone slips and falls and suffers an injury at a business, does not automatically mean that they have a case.
In order to receive any type of compensation from a slip and fall accident, your injury attorney must prove that the establishment was negligent in the incident. In most cases, this means that the cause of the slip and the injury it causes, must be due to a failure to secure the safety of their establishment, and if not secure, the owner has a duty to clearly notify the public of the danger.
That means if you ignore a wet floor sign and slip and fall due to a wet spot in front of the door due to rain or snow, its unlikely that you would have a valid slip and fall personal injury case.
- Product Liability
Another common type of personal injury case is when someone is injured due to a defective or dangerous product. This type of case is governed by national Product Liability Law. This group of laws concern just who is responsible and how they are responsible when an injury occurs due to a defective product.
Bashing yourself over the head with a blender does not count. The only way that you will have a product liability injury case is if the product operates outside of its specified expectations and that operation causes an injury to a consumer. Then your injury lawyer would have to prove that it was the manufacture of the product that caused the unexpected operation or defect. An example of this would be if you turn a new blender on while trying to make your morning smoothie, and it explodes in your face, its likely you would have a product liability case.
- Wrongful Death
A wrongful death claim is when the family of the deceased files a claim against a person or entity alleging that the accident that caused death was due to the liability of another. Wrongful death claims happen in auto accidents, workplace incidents as well as medical malpractice, product liability and more.
When You Cannot File a Successful Injury Claim
The above types of personal injury claims are just some of the most common, and it is by far a complete list. There are many other situations where you can hire an accident attorney and get compensation. The key to having a successful injury claim is proving “negligence.”
There are four elements that must be proven in order to establish negligence in an injury claim. Those elements are:
- Establishing duty
- Showing a breach of that duty
- Causation
- Harm
Establishing duty means that your attorney will have to show that the alleged negligent party had a duty or responsibility as member of our society to keep you safe. Meaning that your neighbor across the street has no duty or responsibility to ensure that you don’t fall on a patch of ice in your own driveway. However, the owner and management of your local grocery store does have a duty to put up that wet floor sign, so their customers don’t slip and fall.
Failing to put up that sign after knowing full well that the floor is wet and dangerous is a clear breach of the duty of the management of the grocery store. In this case it is necessary to show that you as the injured, did everything in your power to keep yourself safe regardless of the breach of duty. Meaning if you were doing somersaults through the puddle at the grocery store, the presence or absence of a wet floor sign doesn’t matter, you won’t have a case.
Causation and harm relate to the evidence that shows that due to the presence of a duty of care, that was breached that caused harm and injury to happen. If you cannot show that the breach of duty, caused the injury, then you will likely not get compensation for your injuries.
The Justice Law Center Injury Lawyers in Las Vegas
A good injury lawyer will be able to gather and present the evidence surrounding your injury in a light that will increase the amount of compensation you can receive through settlement or legal judgement. Gathering the evidence is one of the most important things your Injury lawyers in Las Vegas will do for your case.
Our expert team of personal injury attorneys have been helping your Las Vegas Nevada neighbors get the compensation they deserve after an injury causing accident for 30 years. We offer free consultations and will only take our fees out of the money awarded to you.
Call us today.
References
Delbridge, E. (n.d.). These States Do Not Require Auto Insurance. Retrieved from the balance: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/states-with-no-car-insurance-requirements-4121731
Morton, H. (2021). Medical Liability/Medical Malpractice Laws. NCSL.
Josh is writer and paralegal, with over 10 years of experience in family law, personal injury, criminal defense and more.
