9 Facts Law Students Should Understand About Different Types of Cases

If you are a law student that wants to specialise in personal injury law, then you need to know about the different types of cases. There are many different types of personal injury cases, from wrongful death to car accidents. If you cannot distinguish between them, then you won’t be able to serve your clients and will struggle to find work.

Legal cases all have their own unique characteristics. Knowing what category they fall into can make it easier for you to resolve them.

This article will present nine facts that law students should understand about different types of personal injury cases:

Motor Vehicle Accidents

As a personal injury lawyer, motor vehicle accidents are the type of case that you will encounter the most. As the name suggests, they are accidents that involve motor vehicles. More often than not, motor vehicle accident cases will be a simple matter of contacting the guilty person’s insurance company and making a compensation claim. Sometimes, however, these cases can be a lot more complex and require more work. In rare cases, motor vehicle accident cases end up being taken to civil court. This usually only happens if the accident was very severe or if the guilty person’s insurance company refused to pay compensation.

Wrongful Death

Wrongful death, as the name suggests, is when a person is killed wrongfully and a claim is made in their name. These claims are usually made by the family of the person that has been killed. As a lawyer, wherever you operate, be it California or Colorado, you need to know everything there is to know about wrongful death cases. Your clients will come to you to learn what to expect from a California wrongful death case – or a Colorado one! Wrongful death cases are usually taken to civil court, though can be settled privately (and often are).

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. As a lawyer, it’s imperative that you know everything that there is to know about medical malpractice cases because they are so serious. If a medical practice case is mismanaged, the person that was responsible for causing injury to your client could get away with it and could be able to continue practising medicine. It’s your responsibility to make sure that they are punished, financially or otherwise, so that they cannot hurt anybody else.

Workplace Accident

Workplace accidents are also very common. They are a type of personal injury where a person is injured at work. This could be because of their employer’s negligence – or because of their co-worker’s negligence. Workplace accident cases are usually settled out of court. The reason for this is that big companies rarely want to be featured in the paper and associated with a personal injury case. This can be very bad for their reputation. Workplace accident pay-outs can be very large.

Premises Liability

Premises liability refers to accidents that are caused by dangerous conditions on a person’s land or inside their rented property. These accidents can happen to anybody and are not just limited to employees or customers. It’s entirely possible for a friend to sue another friend if they are injured in their house. These cases are often very complex and can be drawn out for a long time. If the person that has been injured does not acquire evidence and document their injury as soon as it happens, then they can also be very difficult to prove. If you are unable to prove that the accident took place, then your client may not be able to get the compensation that they deserve.

Products Liability

Product liability is similar to premises liability, except rather than injuries being caused by defective conditions on somebody’s land, they are caused by defective conditions on a product that has been marketed and sold to the person that was injured. Product liability lawsuits can be incredibly complex because they usually involve suing large multinational corporations. With that said, it’s entirely possible to make a product liability claim against a small business or company, it is just rare.

Aviation and Boating

Aviation and boating accidents are accidents caused through another person’s negligence either in the air or while in a boat on the water. An example of an aviation accident would be a person that was taking lessons in aviation, and the company that gave them the lesson did not refuel the plane, and the plane subsequently crashed or had to emergency land. These sorts of accidents often involve fatalities, and so are taken very seriously by the courts. When large airlines are involved, they are usually dealt with outside of court, settled privately. This is to avoid negative press.

Dog Bites

Dog bite lawsuits are quite straightforward. As you likely already know, they are caused when another person’s dog bites your client. Dog bite injuries can be very severe, often requiring hospitalisation. They sometimes result in fatalities. The consequence of somebody’s dog biting your client will often be that the dog is put down and that they are required to pay significant compensation. It’s also entirely possible for a person to be arrested or sentenced to a period in prison if they did not control their dog and it hurt somebody. These kinds of cases become a lot more serious if the dog that was responsible for causing injury was a prohibited breed.

Bicycle Accidents

Bicycle accidents can happen anywhere. More often than not, they involve cars. Cyclists have gained a bad reputation over the years for riding recklessly on the road. Whether or not this is true, as a personal injury lawyer you will definitely encounter bicycle cases. Unfortunately, many bicycle-related accidents result in death. This is because cyclists share the road with car drivers. If you are in charge of a cycle-related injury case, then you need to first rule out any fault on your client’s part. Make sure that they were riding safely.

As a personal injury lawyer, you will likely encounter all of the cases that have been mentioned on this list. By taking the time to study them individually, you will equip yourself for when you inevitably have to deal with them. There are many other categories, but these are the most common.