Personal injury lawyers often get asked what types of injury claims they can help resolve. Regardless of what an attorney does, however, it cannot eliminate all risks. We accept these risks as part of everyday life. When you suffer a financial loss due to the intentional negligence of another person, a personal injury attorney can help you recover financially.
We seldom think of danger when leaving our homes. However, any person can suffer an injury at any time. It does not matter your location or who’s around you, it takes just one negligent act—deliberate or not—to sustain an injury. Below, we describe some of the injuries that you may face in certain situations.
Supermarkets/Retail Outlet Injuries
Victims who lose their footing in an accident in a retail shop can suffer some of the following injuries:
- Broken bones - a fall can result in broken limbs, ribs, or a broken pelvis, resulting in serious pain and long recovery times. Victims who fall downstairs could also suffer other injuries.
- Neck and head injuries - concussions and neck injuries can prove serious if not diagnosed early after a fall. Anytime you suffer an injury, you should seek immediate medical attention.
- Soft tissue injuries - many people underestimate the severity of a bruise, but oftentimes, victims learn days after suffering a fall that they have sustained sprains, strains, or damage to tendons. These injuries can result in serious pain and may require weeks of recovery.
If you have suffered any kind of injury while shopping in a supermarket or other retail outlet, you should seek the assistance of a personal injury lawyer. This step can help make sure you know what rights you have as well as your options for pursuing a claim under the property owner’s liability policy.
Playground and Waterpark Injuries
Children face a particular risk of sustaining injuries at playgrounds, including public and private playgrounds.
Some of the common injuries a child may suffer include:
- Dog bites - children suffer dog bites at a higher rate than adults. People must control their dogs even when in a dog-friendly environment. With more dogs than ever in the United States, the general public faces an increased chance of suffering a bite or attack. Dog bites do not cause only physical harm, but they can also cause emotional distress.
- Burns - when playground equipment sits in the sun all day, children playing on slides and other surfaces can suffer serious burns. Parents should not have to worry about their children suffering a burn at a playground.
- Head and neck injuries - loose cables on swings, poorly maintained equipment and other hazards in playgrounds often result in children suffering serious head and neck trauma. By retaining an attorney, you can hold playground operators accountable for your child’s injuries.
- Drowning - swimming pools attract children, and as a result, municipalities put stringent requirements in place to ensure that all pool areas have proper security and fencing. If your child drowns or nearly drowns because someone failed to meet the required standard of care, you may qualify to hold the at-fault parties accountable for their lack of action.
When your child suffers an injury because of poorly maintained playgrounds, you want answers. You want someone to face responsibility for the harm to your child. These claims involve many complicated factors, especially when a public entity owns the playground. If your child suffered an injury in a playground accident, you need to contact a personal injury attorney immediately to make sure you know what steps you have to take to file a claim on behalf of your child.
Workplace Injuries
In most cases of workplace injuries, victims have only the worker’s compensation claim process to follow. However, in certain situations, such as when an injury results from the negligent behavior of a third party, the victim may have additional recourse.
Every year, thousands of workers sustain injuries on the job or suffer a long-term illness because of exposure to hazardous materials.
Some of the injuries a victim may have to deal with include:
- Crushing injuries - if someone receives inadequate training to operate a forklift or other equipment, victims may become pinned and suffer serious crushing injuries. Some of these injuries can result in internal organ damage, among other injuries.
- Hearing damage - when workers don’t have the proper equipment, they can suffer a loss of hearing, which has life-long repercussions. Victims of hearing loss will face impacts both at work and in their personal lives.
- Permanent disability - unfortunately, in some instances, workers learn that they cannot return to their jobs because an injury has left them incapable of performing their assigned tasks.
Whether you suffer injuries on the job because of a simple accident and need help filing a claim with worker’s compensation or have received a claim denial, you can seek guidance from an attorney with experience handling workplace injuries.
Medical-Related Injuries
When we go to the doctor, we assume that our healthcare team knows the best course of action and will treat us with the right medication. However, every year, patients suffer medical injuries that can result in serious consequences.
Some of the potential injuries that may allow a victim to file a medical malpractice claim include:
- Infections from improper sterilization procedures - MRSA and other serious staph infections are often transmitted in hospital settings. These infections can take weeks or months to clear up, leaving victims unable to work, and in some cases, facing other, related health problems.
- Failing health because of delayed diagnosis - a missed diagnosis of a serious health issue can result in delayed treatment. Unfortunately, delayed treatment can negatively affect a patient’s health, and in some serious cases, patients may even die waiting for proper treatment.
- Disfigurement injuries - when medical staff misidentifies one patient as another, the patients may learn they have received an incorrect medical procedure, including having a limb amputated, an organ removed, or a surgical procedure intended for someone else.
Medical malpractice cases prove complicated. Patients of dentists, plastic surgeons, and emergency room doctors have a right to the best possible care available. When medical professionals fail to provide the proper level of care, a medical malpractice lawyer can help hold them accountable for the harm they cause.
Hotel and Casino Injuries
We all enjoy our vacations, whether traveling with friends, family, or alone. We don’t expect to suffer an injury because a hotel or casino owner failed to have the property well-maintained or properly secured.
Some victims of an injury at a hotel or casino may suffer:
- Broken bones - slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere. Whether a victim falls because of a wet surface around a pool, in a hotel lobby, or at a casino, many different reasons may exist as to why the property owner bears liability. Keep in mind, when property owners become aware of potential hazards at their facility, they must warn all visitors.
- Gunshot or stab wounds - muggings happen in hotel and casino parking lots when insufficient security exists to keep guests safe. If a hotel or casino manager failed to warn guests to not travel alone in certain areas, failed to provide adequate security, or failed to keep an area properly lit, that party may bear financial liability for your injury.
- Head trauma - imagine being alone in your hotel room and sitting on a chair to enjoy the evening news. The chair you sit in breaks, and you bang your head on the corner of a dresser, table, or bed. The resulting trauma could take weeks to recover from, and you could lose time from not only your vacation but your job as well.
Victims of negligent behavior by a hotel or casino owner or manager have the right to hold the at-fault parties accountable for their actions and/or lack of care. Contacting a Fort Lauderdale hotel injury lawyer who understands how premise liability claims work can prove helpful and will help ensure that you don’t suffer financial losses associated with the negligent conduct of another party.
Roadway Accident Injuries
Fort Lauderdale offers many great options for exploring. Whether you travel on foot, by car, or by bicycle, however, you can suffer serious injuries, or you can lose your life because of a roadway accident. Drivers and passengers can suffer injuries when a driver fails to pay adequate attention, but victims may also include pedestrians, bicycle operators, and motorcyclists.
Some of the most common injuries that stem from these types of accidents include:
- Back and neck injuries - these hidden injuries can cause a lifetime of pain. Oftentimes, victims may not show any outward signs of an injury but have to live with excruciating pain because of the trauma they suffered in a car accident. In some cases, victims may spend weeks or months trying to recover from their injuries.
- Head trauma - you can never fully prepare yourself for a car accident. When you experience one, it often comes as a total shock and, as a result, your body may violently shift in one direction or another. Unfortunately, this also may leave your head unprotected because your brain may shift inside your skull during a collision. When this occurs, you face a high chance of suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI). These injuries can impact every day of your life because you could suffer issues maintaining balance and communicating, and you may even suffer a complete change in your personality.
- Death following collisions - unfortunately, not every car accident victim survives. Family members often must bury a loved one following a car accident. In addition to the incomprehensible loss of a loved one, families often face an uncertain financial future and must bear the brunt of additional costs of funeral and burial expenses. The responsible party should bear accountability for these costs.
Across Broward County, more than 23,000 victims of roadway accidents suffer an injury, and more than 200 die from their injuries on an annual basis. These numbers provide a sobering reminder of how quickly someone’s life can change. Remember, every accident statistic includes a person and a family dealing with tragedy.
When families lose a loved one, they face uncertainty about the future. No amount of money can ever make up for these inexplicable losses, but a family should not have to face financial ruin after losing a loved one in an accident caused by another driver. In these instances, a Fort Lauderdale wrongful death attorney can help grieving families recover compensation to cover the full cost of their losses.
Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer in Fort Lauderdale
Victims of an injury usually have several questions. Some of these questions include:
Who bears liability for my injury?
This question can prove challenging to answer without knowing what injury you sustained, where the injury occurred, and the individual circumstances. To determine liability in your accident, you should talk to a lawyer as soon after an injury as possible.
Can I collect compensation for an injury?
If someone’s deliberate or negligent act caused your injury, then you may qualify to pursue compensation for your injuries. A Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer can explain your rights and your legal options during a free consultation.
How much compensation should I expect to recover?
We cannot provide an exact answer to this question, as every case will depend on its specific facts and circumstances. However, an experienced Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney can provide you with some general guidance regarding how much compensation to expect.
How long will it take to resolve my claim?
The length of time it will take to receive compensation for your injury will depend in large part on the insurer’s willingness to negotiate your claim. If the insurer negotiates in good faith, then your claim may resolve sooner. If the insurer does not cooperate or fails to make a reasonable settlement, you may have to go to court to resolve it.
Whether you or your child suffered an injury because someone did not behave reasonably, you have legal rights and options. If you lose a loved one, you have the right to make sure you do not have to live with the financial consequences of someone else’s bad decisions.
Regardless of where your injury occurred or the extent of your injuries, you have the right to have someone listen to you and explain your legal options. Do not wait, because remember, you must file your claim within the legal time limit. Contact a Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer today and get the answers you need to decide the best way to move forward.