A personal injury occurs when a person has suffered some form of injury, either physical or psychological, as the result of an accident or medical malpractice.

The most common type of personal injury claims are road traffic accidents, accidents at work, tripping accidents, assault claims, accidents in the home, defective product accidents and holiday accidents. Indeed, there are a multitude of types of accident and the term personal injury also incorporates medical and dental accidents (which lead to numerous medical and dental negligence claims every year) and conditions which are often classified as industrial disease cases. Industrial disease type cases include asbestosis and mesothelioma, chest diseases (e.g. emphysema, pneumoconiosis, silicosis, chronic bronchitis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chronic obstructive airways disease), vibration white finger, occupational deafness, occupational stress, contact dermititus, and repetitive strain injury cases.

Injuries caused by animals are often litigated in a court of law as personal injury claims. For example, a dog-bite victim may have grounds to sue the pet owner for damages. According to the Insurance Information Institute [1], laws used to determine dog owner liability for dog bites or attacks include the following:

Dog-bite Statutes: In a personal injury case involving a dog attack, the court must determine whether the dog was provoked by the victim. In cases of provocation, mitigating circumstances may come into play.

One-Bite Rule: Some jurisdictions will try to determine whether the dog had a prior history of attacking people or aggressive behavior.

Negligence Laws: The court seeks to determine the owner's level of carelessness or carefulness in supervising the dog.

Of course, dog bite laws vary from state to state. In some states, the pet owner is held liable regardless of the circumstances. In addition, in most states, victims bitten by dogs during the act of trespassing usually will not have a case in a court of law. [2]

Where the accident was the fault of someone else, the injured party may be entitled to monetary compensation from the person whose negligent conduct caused the injury. At least in the United States this system is complex and controversial with critics calling for various forms of tort reform. Attorneys often represent clients on a "contingency basis," in which the attorney does not charge for services until the case is resolved.

In England and Wales, under the limitation rules, where an individual is bringing a claim for compensation, court proceedings must be commenced within 3 years of the date of the accident, failing which the claimant will lose the right to bring their claim. However, if the injured party was under the age of 18 at the time of the accident, then they have up until the day prior to their 21st birthday to commence proceedings. Legal Aid for personal injury cases was largely abolished in the late 1990s and replaced with "no win, no fee" arrangements.

Structured Settlements in Personal Injury Cases

Often, the use of a Structured Settlement is desired by the injury victim to help protect them financially after an injury settlement.[citation needed]

Structured Settlements provide injury victims with tax benefits and enable proper financial planning for future needs of the injury victim as a result of the injury.[citation needed]

From Wikipedia