Injury Law Covers A Lot More Than You Might Expect
When people think about injury law in America, there's a good chance the first thing they picture is a locally famous personal injury attorney they remember from TV ads. Although injuries from things like slip-and-fall incidents are certainly a part of the job, a personal injury attorney's practice may cover a lot more.
Auto Accidents
If you're aware of a second field of practice for a personal injury attorney, it's probably car wreck cases. It's not unusual for a car accident lawyer to exclusively do vehicle cases, but they may also practice general injury law. For legal purposes, though, a car accident attorney is considered nothing more than an injury lawyer.
Criminal Assaults
Seeking compensation for injuries suffered during a criminal assault is considered a civil legal matter. That means you'll most likely be represented by a personal injury lawyer. While people traditionally think of injury law as covering negligent behavior, malicious actions are potentially compensable, too.
Medical Malpractice
When a doctor, a nurse or a medical organization fails in its duties, you'll probably hire a medical malpractice attorney. Such failures, however, are considered to be injuries for legal purposes. Notably, a medical malpractice lawyer may be a bit more narrowly focused because they have to deal with the specific quirks of fighting insurers in a field where problems are bound to happen.
Some Types of Workplace Accidents
Before the advent of the worker's compensation system, virtually all workplace injuries had to be compensated through injury claims. A lot has changed over the last 100+ years, but there are still cases where injury claims and lawsuits are the go-to approaches for handling workplace incidents. Individuals who are contract workers might fall outside the work comp system, as will certain unusual types of workers, such as seamen who work primarily on vessels in navigable waters.
Premises Liability
The question of who's responsible when you get hurt at someone else's house or at a place of business is a big one. Premises liability is the umbrella term for this class of injury cases. If you go to a store and an overstocked item from a shelf falls and hits you on the head, the store is likely liable to compensate you for your injuries.
Notably, premises liability is expanding in some states. California now extends liability to numerous injuries suffered on most properties. That means even when someone walks onto posted property, for example, the owner may be liable for their injuries.