Common Types of Personal Injury Claims & Cases

What is considered a personal injury case?

There are many types of personal injury claims and cases — a fact that can sometimes lead to confusion. After all, at first glance, an oil rig explosion, a motorcycle accident, and daycare negligence have very little in common. But these incidents often have one key thing in common: more often than not, they’re preventable. 

In personal injury claims, a plaintiff and their lawyer are arguing that a person or institution whose duty it was to prevent the injuries was either negligent of their responsibilities or, in some cases, intentionally acted in a way that they knew might harm others. Of course, there are many types of preventable injuries in today’s world, and so there are also many types of personal injury claims.

For a free consultation regarding your potential personal injury claims, contact a Houston personal injury attorney at Grimes & Fertitta. Call 713-224-7644 or contact us online today.  

Common types of personal injury claims and cases 

Some types of personal injury claims are more common than others. Note that some personal injury claims are designated by the type of accidents that caused the accident while others are designated by the types of injuries incurred. 

If you don’t see your exact type of personal injury case below, that doesn’t mean that you don’t have a case. This list is not exhaustive. 

Workplace Injuries

Most Americans go to work every day without worrying about coming home in one piece. But some jobs—including many of those that our country relies on most—are by nature more dangerous others.

Texas differs from other states in that it does not require businesses to have workers’ compensation insurance. In some cases, such as when the employee or their representative is able to get insurance companies to pay more than a typical work injury compensation payment, this situation can work out to an employee’s benefit. Other times, it robs injured employees of simplified access to the financial resources they need to recover. 

Common workplace injuries include:

• Forklift accidents: From warehouses to shipping docs to construction sites, forklifts (and the injuries incurred by them) are so common that they have earned their own place in personal injury law.
• Industrial accidents: A more general category, industrial accidents occur everywhere from an automotive manufacturing floor to a consumer electronics assembly line and can result in injuries ranging from chemical exposure to slip-and-fall accidents.
• Oil rig explosions: Houston and The Woodlands has a long history in oil. While this long history has its benefits, it can also lead to poorly managed and outdated equipment and a higher likelihood of blowouts and fires.
• Plant explosions: Over the past decade, we’ve seen an uptick in the number of plant explosions in our city. Our lack of zoning laws in combination with these disasters has led to the injury of both employees and the public.
• Construction accidents: Like industrial plants, construction sites are home to heavy equipment, making their employees subject to more dangerous conditions than average, including those caused by operator negligence. 

Auto Accidents

Auto accidents are by far the most common type of personal injury claims. Unfortunately, the prevalence of these cases has led to an increased number of less-than-reputable personal injury lawyers looking to make a quick buck off of your car accident. 

Be wary of personal injury lawyers for auto accidents who lack experience, push for quick settlements without doing what’s necessary to prepare for trial, and charge excessive up-front fees. 

• Car accidents: The greater Houston area is home to both the world’s widest freeway (Beltway 8 in Katy) and tens of thousands of car accidents per year. Many of these accidents are caused by driver error, but others are caused by manufacturing defects and faulty road construction.
  
• Truck accidents: Truckers and trucking companies are supposed to abide by certain restrictions and regulations. When they don’t do so, the accidents they cause can have devastating consequences. Unfortunately, trucking companies can employ skilled insurance lawyers to keep those involved in a trucking accident from receiving the full compensation they are owed.
• Motorcycle accidents: Motorcycles have all the speed of cars with much less protection, making the injuries sustained in these accidents more severe and more costly.
• Drunk driving accidents: If you’ve been hit by a drunk driver, you can sue for damages. However, it’s best to move quickly in these cases, as DWI defense attorneys are adept at casting doubt upon and sealing evidence you need to win your case.
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist accidents: Being hit by an uninsured or underinsured motorist adds a layer of complexity and difficulty to your average auto accident personal injury case. Experienced personal injury lawyers can outline your options for you and tell you whether or not it’s worth pursuing compensation.
• Pedestrian and bicycle accidents: It’s no secret that Houston is neither pedestrian- nor bike-friendly. Fortunately, personal injury law does give Houston pedestrians and cyclists legal recourse should they be injured in an accident.  

Catastrophic Injuries and Death

• Neck and spine injuries: Neck and spine injuries can be caused by any of the aforementioned accidents and more. These injuries and can have devastating, life-altering consequences, including paralysis.
  
• Brain and head injuries: Like neck and spine injuries, traumatic brain and head injuries can be caused by a wide variety of accidents and earn their own distinction in personal injury law due to the severity of their consequences and the level of experience needed to handle these cases successfully.
• Wrongful death: Wrongful death cases are personal injury claims in which the victim was killed by their injuries. They can be brought by certain surviving members of the family.
• Toxic exposure: Toxic exposure claims range from those brought by plaintiffs who have been exposed to contaminated groundwater to those who are suffering from injuries caused by lead paint, asbestos, or toxic chemicals in medication. 

Other Injuries

• Cruise ship sexual harassment: Cruise ships are meant to be a place of relaxation and fun, but can act as safe havens for individuals who seek to harm others. Because the security onboard is owned by the cruise company, they have a vested interest in underreporting occurrences of sexual harassment and obscuring the evidence of cases that are reported.
• Daycare provider negligence: Under personal injury law, you can sue daycare centers that do not properly screen employees, underfeed your child and deprive your child of water, fail to supervise your child, or fail to provide a safe and sanitary environment for your children.
  
• Defective products: Defective product cases, also called product liability cases, are a type of personal injury claim that uses the rule of strict liability as opposed to the need to establish negligence in order to determine financial liability. Generally, you prove strict liability by showing that a product was used in the way it was intended, was defective, and that the defect caused an injury.
• Nursing home abuse: Nursing home abuse can take the form of neglect, sexual abuse, financial manipulation, and verbal abuse.
  
• Medical malpractice: Medical malpractice is another large subset of personal injury law. Claims include failure to treat a patient, failure to diagnose and illness, and providing the wrong treatment, and more. 

Grimes & Fertitta have experience handling all types of personal injury claims and cases

Now that you know the different types of personal injury claims and cases out there, chances are that you have more questions. For example, how do personal injury claims work? And who pays in a personal injury claim? Or, I don’t see my type of claim listed above—does that mean I don’t have a case? Grimes & Fertitta can help answer these questions and more.

The personal injury attorneys at Grimes & Fertitta have years of experience working with clients on personal injury cases to get victims of personal injuries the compensation they need to recover and move on. As former insurance attorneys, we’ve seen the “other side” of all types of personal injury claims and cases, and we know how to anticipate and counteract their manipulative strategies. 

Our close-knit firm maintains a manageable caseload for the express purpose of giving the clients the attention they deserve. Ready to work with a personal injury law firm that will treat you and your family like more than just a case number? 

To set up a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer at Grimes & Fertitta, call 713-224-7644 or contact us online today.