A personal injury is a physical injury that a victim’s body suffers, and it includes injury to a person’s mind or emotions. A personal injury case is the result of someone else’s negligence or purposeful act.
There are a variety of different types of personal injury cases, and while in theory any sort of injury could be considered a personal injury, there are common personal injury lawsuits. These include the two major categories of automobile crashes and medical malpractice.
Traffic Accidents
The largest number of personal injury claims are caused by traffic accidents. This can include vehicles such as cars, bikes, trucks, motorcycles, and public transport accidents.
A total of 1,083 people were killed in the State of Michigan in 2020 as a result of the 1,010 fatal crashes for an average of 1.1 deaths per fatal crash. A traffic crash was reported every 2 minutes and 9 seconds. And for each person killed, more than 50 others were injured in crashes.
Of the 1,083 traffic crash deaths, about two-thirds were drivers of vehicles, 16% were passengers in motor vehicles, the same percentage were pedestrians, and about 4% were bicyclists.
Accidents on Michigan roadways can be caused by drunk driving, speeding, distracted driving, texting while driving, and reckless driving.
Buchanan Firm handles third-party vehicle crash cases – or cases against an at-fault driver when that driver has causes a serious injury. The Buchanan Firm’s personal injury lawyers are experienced with claims against an at-fault driver and have successfully litigated and resolved crash cases involving automobiles, semi-trucks, pedestrians, motorcycles, and bicycles.
Medical Malpractice
One in 10 of all deaths in the United States are the result of medical error.
According to the National Practitioner’s Data Bank, there are about 60,000 cases of Adverse Action Reports and Medical Malpractice Payment Reports in the United States each year. Roughly 34% of American physicians have been sued over allegations of medical malpractice, according to research by the American Medical Association. Nearly half of those (16.8%) have faced two or more lawsuits. About a third (32%) of malpractice suits related to medication involve patient death, and 18% of all other cases do as well.
Injuries from medical malpractice can be life-changing, and the victims must be reimbursed for their physical, emotional, and financial hardships. The most common types of medical malpractice include:
- Misdiagnosis;
- Delayed diagnosis or failure to treat;
- Injuries sustained to the infant or mother during childbirth;
- Prescription dosing errors;
- Poor aftercare;
- Poor health management by primary care provider;
- Premature discharge;
- Failure to order the proper test;
- Administration of the incorrect medication;
- Anesthesia errors; and
- Errors by the surgeon and staff during medical procedures.
Other Types of Personal Injury Cases
Here are some of the other common types of personal injury cases:
Slip and Fall. Another frequently seen type of personal injury is the slip-and-fall case. These cases are typically the result of a property owner’s negligence and may include things such as uneven steps or wet floors without proper signage to warn people. Michigan property owners may also be held liable for failing to keep sidewalks and driveways free of snow and ice in the winter.
Premise Liability. Sometimes injuries occur as a result of dangerous property conditions, such as falling objects or structural problems. If this happens, the owner of the property may be found liable for the injuries sustained by the victim. Dog bite cases are a common kind of premises liability personal injury cases.
Product Liability. These claims can include injury or medical side effects from defective products, medications, and recalled products. For example, there were many claims against Monsanto over Roundup Weed Killer and its potential to cause cancer. The company was ordered to pay nearly $300 million to victims.
Contact Buchanan Firm
The Buchanan is a full-service personal injury law firm in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury Michigan attorney, contact Buchanan Firm. Our firm proudly serves people all across Michigan, including major cities like Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Detroit, Lansing, Holland, St. Joe, and Ann Arbor, and rural towns such as Lowell, Ada, Fremont, Newaygo, Grand Haven, Rockford, and Cedar Springs. We will meet you after-hours, at home or in the hospital, to accommodate you.
Contact us today!