Slip and fall cases fall under premises liability. If you were injured in an accident in a store, restaurant, hotel, vacation resort, etc., you can sue the owner.
Pittsburgh, PA – Personal injury law is a vast legal domain that deals with basically all types of accidents you can think of, provided they were caused by someone else’s negligence. If you fall down the stairs in your house, that’s unfortunate but you should have watched your step. On the other hand, if you fall down the stairs at the local store you may blame the owner or manager for negligence if the steps were broken or slippery, or the lightning was dim.
Personal injury claims are all based on negligence, but each presents different challenges. In some cases, you can handle the claim on your own, but for more serious accidents you will need help from a skilled Pittsburgh personal injury lawyer.
Let’s have a look at the most common types of personal injury claims in Pennsylvania.
Car accident claims
Car accidents account for the vast majority of personal injury claims in Pennsylvania. The numbers speak for themselves. In 2020, for instance, there were 12 reportable crashes every hour. Each day, 3 Pennsylvania residents lost their lives in a crash, while 168 people sustained injuries that were serious enough to warrant a trip to the ER.
If you’re ever involved in a car accident, make sure to see a doctor even if you don’t feel bad at the moment. With some types of injuries, symptoms may take longer to manifest. Unfortunately, if you go to the doctor 2 weeks after the crash it may be very difficult to prove that your injuries were caused by the accident. The insurance adjuster will surely accuse you that you’re faking it and maybe you had a pre-existing condition and now you want them to pay your medical bills.
In a car accident claim, you may need legal counsel if the insurance company is trying to pin the blame on you. Or most of it. Pennsylvania uses a modified comparative negligence rule. This means that if you are found to be 51% to blame for the crash, you lost the right to recover damages.
Slip and falls
These fall under premises liability. If you were injured in an accident in a store, restaurant, hotel, vacation resort, etc., you can hold the owner responsible for your damages, but you must make sure to document the scene. If there’s a puddle on the floor and you slip in it, take photos right away. Or at least ask someone else to do it for you. It is very important to get the names and contact information of all the witnesses. You can expect the owner to remedy the situation as soon as you leave for the ER and then deny everything. Call a personal injury lawyer and have them request access to surveillance camera footage.
Medical malpractice cases
These can be very dangerous and, unfortunately, very hard to prove. Suing a doctor or a hospital is not as easy as filing a claim against the driver who rear-ended you. To file a personal injury claim for medical malpractice you must contact the best Pennsylvania accident attorneys you can find. They’ll put you in touch with a medical expert who can examine the facts in your case and determine if the doctor who treated you made a mistake at some point. As you’re probably aware, hospitals can afford tough lawyers so you must get one yourself to level the playing field.
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