Personal injury refers to the intentional harm, reckless behavior, or negligence that one entity or person commits that causes injury to another. It can be attained at any place, whether at work or in public areas such as in the train, bus, road, schools, hospitals, and others.
This type of injury can leave one sick or even dead. Victims and family members can suffer a lot and might have to shoulder the hospitalization bills, lost hours at work, and damage to private properties.
Personal injury litigation can also cause tedious court processes that may take months or years. As much as possible, government and non-governmental organizations are continuously campaigning for people to take utmost care when they are in public areas.
Thus, in this article, we will discuss the common causes of personal injury accidents in public so you can hopefully prevent one from happening in the future.
- Assault
An assault happens when a person intentionally causes harm to another. It is both a tort and a crime. It is also more of a misdemeanor and not a felony, according to US law.
Assaults can cause personal injury through the following events:
- Intentionally causing unconsciousness with the use of drugs or other substances.
- Purposely causing harm in the body of another person with the use of deadly weapons.
- Provocatively threatening a person.
- Battery
Battery is different from assault because it involves unlawful physical contact with a threat. It includes pushing, beating, tripping, shooting, stabbing, or injuring another person with the use of a dangerous tool.
Also, battery can be a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the evidence presented in the court.
The laws of America also divide battery into three major categories, which are the following:
- Aggravated battery
- Sexual battery
- Simple battery
- Car accidents
Car accidents or traffic collisions are one of the primary causes of personal injuries. It happens when a car collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, non-moving object, or private property. Indeed, car crashes can affect the lives of the drivers, passengers, and pedestrians.
There are some reasons why car accidents are prevalent. These include defective car designs, drunk driving cases, poor road conditions, and simply not following the road rules.
Settlements for car accidents might take years, and if the court determines out who’s at fault for the incident, the guilty party will be in charge of the hospitalization bills and repair of the vehicles.
- Dangerous Drugs Prescribed By Health Professionals
If a company continuously produces prescription drugs and sells them to the public even if they are fully aware they fail to pass safety measures, the guilty company can be liable to pay for damages. Some drugs have severe manufacturing defects which makes them unsafe for consumption.
The same is also true for doctors, pharmacists, and nurses who negligently administer wrong drugs to the patient. If you have enough evidence, you can file a lawsuit for personal injury to the court.
- Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice may happen when a doctor failed to conduct an acceptable quality of care with his/her patients. In America, thousands of citizens are harmed due to the medical professionals’ negligence.
Some examples of medical malpractice that can cause personal injury include wrong administration of drugs, mistakes in childbirth, surgical errors, misdiagnosis, and others. If found guilty by the court, the doctors must pay damages, correct their wrong-doing, and may potentially have their license suspended.
- Property That Is Poorly Maintained
Another possible cause of personal injury is when the owner of a building or dwelling poorly maintains the property or is negligent in conducting necessary repairs or upkeep.
For example, if you are renting a house and lot and you incur injuries because of a hole in the ground, then the owner must be held liable for damages under US law. Similarly, any situation that results in a ‘slip and fall’ that is proven to have been a result of poor maintenance or negligence, may result in the guilty party paying for compensation associated with the personal injury.
- Workplace Accidents
Lastly, personal injury can also be due to accidents that happen in the workplace. Employees have a responsibility to make the equipment and facilities employee-friendly to prevent accidents inside the business premises.
They also must provide the employees with proper training, protective gear (if needed, especially for blue-collar jobs), and a health insurance policy that they can use in case of emergency.
Employees cannot perform their jobs well if they don’t have protection or are prone to injuries.
Conclusion
In sum, suffering a personal injury in a public area can be caused by several factors, and this can leave you hurt and faced with many expenses. As much as possible, try to work and act safely when a public area.
If you are currently facing a personal injury accident, file a claim with your insurance company, be checked by medical professionals, and hire a competent lawyer like the ones here to help you with the legal processes to claim compensations from the one who’s at fault.
Timothy Garret
Timothy is a budding law writer who enjoys all aspect of the law industry. He’s currently studying to become a lawyer and is applying his law knowledge into what he writes about. He spends time with his friends and swimming in his spare time.
