Here are some of the most common types of personal injury lawsuits our firm handles.
Motor Vehicle Accidents Accidents involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, and other vehicles are among the most common type in the United States. Often, these personal injury claims stem from another motorist’s negligence. Whatever the cause or whomever was negligent, these accidents can have lifelong impacts. Even crashes that might at the time feel as if they’re not that bad could require long-term medical care.
You would file a personal injury lawsuit in this instance to pursue compensation for immediate medical bills that stem from the crash and future medical expenses, such as rehabilitation. There are also damages available for lost wages, because of an inability to work and the lost ability to work in the future, along with compensation for the physical and emotional suffering you’ve endured.
One example of this is a case in which a Morgan & Morgan client was riding his motorcycle when a drunk driver, driving in the wrong lane, hit our client head-on. This caused life-altering injuries, for which we were able to secure $47 million to cover his lifelong expenses. (Medical bills and the loss of earning potential can add up quickly.)
Slip & Fall Accidents/Premises Liability Slip & fall lawsuits are a bigger deal than some think. After all, you didn’t just fall for seemingly no reason. This isn’t just a matter of you being a clutz. Those who slip and fall on someone’s property may find themselves with an injury that could have been avoided had the property owner not neglected to repair their broken facilities. Sometimes a grocery store or restaurant fails to clean up spilled food, drink, or cleaning solution. A railing could be loose. Steps could be loose and in poor condition. The list goes on.
This type of fall can cause an injury that lingers, resulting in costly medical bills and missed work. A legal team handling slip & fall lawsuits will use evidence such as photos, video, and medical records to prove that negligence caused your injuries, thereby getting you compensation. You and your family shouldn’t have to suffer because someone was lackadaisical about keeping their property safe for visitors.
Wrongful Death Wrongful death cases are unnecessary tragedies. Compensation for these horrific personal injury accidents caused by the actions of another can fall under a few different categories. There is the usual compensation for current and ongoing medical bills and expenses and lost wages that one can get in any personal injury lawsuit.
Then there are those reserved for survivors of people who died because of the negligence of another. Plaintiffs can seek compensation for funeral costs. They can also seek compensation to account for the sudden and enduring loss of household income that comes with the death. Compensation is also available for pain and suffering, as well as the loss of companionship. These damages can help the family obtain some degree of peace of mind after a sudden loss.
Given all of that information provided above, it’s crucial for survivors to pursue legal action as soon as they can. Thinking about a lawsuit when you’ve just lost a loved might seem uncomfortable, but it’s important to ensure you get the justice you deserve as a survivor.
Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries Some of the most horrifying and heartbreaking types of injuries that can stem from motor vehicle and other personal injury accidents are those to the brain and spinal cord. In personal injury cases involving these specific injuries, you could sustain potentially permanent physical and/or mental damage in the form of cognitive impairment, paralysis, and a host of other conditions.
If a negligent person or company injures you or a family member, all of you are victims to their carelessness. However, you won’t have to try to hold these negligent parties accountable alone. You can hire a contingency-fee attorney who, along with their legal team, will work tirelessly for you.
Using evidence such as medical records, photographs, videos, and other documentation, in addition to medical expert depositions, your legal team will build a case to bolster your claim to receive compensation to cover damages such as past and ongoing medical bills, pain and suffering, loss of life’s enjoyment, and lost wages.
Birth Injuries Birth injuries are particularly devastating for your family. A negligent mistake by an obstetrician or other medical professional can result in physical injuries to a newborn, and it can also lead to lasting conditions, such as cerebral palsy, paralysis, and brain damage. This can be traumatic to the children and the parents, as well as a major financial strain on the family.
A personal injury lawsuit related to an injury to a newborn during birth gives your family the potential to recover compensation for tangle and intangible damages, such as a lifetime of medical bills and the loss of life’s enjoyment for the child.
At Morgan & Morgan, we have handled many cases like this, investing time and energy on a contingency-fee basis in order to get your family justice. For one family, our attorneys were able to secure a $38 million verdict from a doctor and hospital responsible for birth injuries associated with a delayed C-section. One birth injury is too many, but when they do happen we’re available to help families hold medical professionals accountable for negligent practices.
Burn/Fire Injuries Fire and burn injuries are some of the most dangerous and life-altering injuries a person can suffer. Imagine if your life or a loved one’s were irreparably changed for the worse, because of a chemical fire caused by unsafe working conditions or an apartment fire that occurred because of a landlord cutting corners with fire safety?
Apartment tenants burned because a landlord didn’t install and/or maintain proper fire safety equipment and enable proper fire safety measures, a scalding beverage, faulty electrical wiring, and many other hazards can cause horrific burns. Whether it’s one that heals or a burn that causes lifelong scarring and trauma, you have a right to hold the negligent party accountable for injuring you.
Burn injuries can result in astonishingly high medical bills — both for an immediate hospital stay and for ongoing treatment. Additionally, you can miss work and suffer profound pain and suffering for the rest of your life.
These are often life-changing injuries, and whether they happened to you or a loved one, you’ll likely feel angry and even helpless about it. The biggest insult to injury of all — it’s all so much suffering that was someone else’s fault.
Our fire and burn injury attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for victims of negligent landlords and employers. They have experience with the sensitive nature of these cases, and can work with fire experts who can help your legal team build your case.
Dog/Animal Bites Dog bites and attacks have the potential to be far more serious than they may seem. If someone’s pet attacks you, then you might be able to file a lawsuit against the animal’s owner and, if applicable, their homeowners’ insurance.
As with other personal injury cases, with dog and animal bite lawsuits you could be entitled to compensation from the liable party to cover expenses like medical bills, lost wages, and even the emotional distress that stems from the harrowing incident.
Laws determining liability for a lawsuit vary by jurisdiction. Generally, an animal’s owner is liable for the destructive actions of the animal — whether they were aware of a dog’s aggressive personality or not. However, in certain states the law assigns a degree of liability based on certain factors, such as whether or not the victim provoked the animal and where the attack occurred.
Negligent Security If you shop at a store, go to school, attend a concert, or park in a parking garage, and suffer an injury or death because of negligent or inadequate security practices, you can file a lawsuit seeking to obtain compensation.
Generally, the property owner will be the one liable for the injury or wrongful death suffered, if the property owner could have reasonably provided security but failed to do so. In other words, you wouldn’t file a negligent security lawsuit against the perpetrator of a shooting, rape, or assault, but instead you’d sue the landlord or property owner.
How foreseeable the offense was and if it were preventable are primarily what determine a property owner’s liability. For example, if there were a door or gate that should have been locked but wasn’t, and an outside party entered a premises and attacked someone, that’s negligent security. The owner had a duty to keep guests safe.
Other examples of negligent security:
- There is a repeat security issue for which an alarm system or other measures should have been installed and carried out, but the responsible party did nothing;
- There was a need for adequate lighting, metal detectors, and security staffing, and the property owner installed no such things.
In some circumstances, such as a mass shooting, assigning liability to pay compensation can be quite complex, even if it is possible. Other cases are a bit more cut and dry. An experienced negligent security lawyer and their legal team will be able to navigate these waters with a clear idea of what to look for and how to help you.