Most Common Personal Injury Accidents

Personal Injury Statistics

Personal injury accidents occur more frequently in the United States than one might think. According to the National Safety Council, personal injury accidents have become the number 3 leading cause of death in the United States. The National Safety Council further reports that new injury statistics have recently been released, which show that one American is injured every second in a preventable accident and one American dies every three seconds in a preventable accident.

If you are injured in an accident or a loved one dies in an accident, you or the estate of the deceased may be able to file a successful personal injury lawsuit against the person or company responsible for the injury or death. If the lawsuit is successful, you may receive monetary compensation for the injures you or a loved one sustained in the accident. In this blog, we discuss the most common types of personal injury accidents for which you may bring a viable personal injury lawsuit.

Automobile and Motorcycle Accidents

Automobile accidents are by far one of the most common personal injury accidents for which an injured individual or the estate of a person who died in the crash can sue. In the United States, approximately 2 million people are injured in car accidents each year and more than 32, 000 people are killed each year. Additionally, in 2016, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that, in 2015, 5, 029 people were killed and an additional 88,000 people were injured in crashes involving motorcycles in the United States. To successfully bring a personal injury lawsuit for injuries sustained in an automobile or motorcycle accident, you must prove that the person at-fault for your injuries, namely the operator of the vehicle if you were a passenger or the operator of the other vehicle if you were the driver or motorcyclist, was operating their vehicle negligently at the time the accident occurred and this negligent behavior caused your injuries.

Slips, Trips, and Falls

Falls resulting from either slipping or tripping are also among the most common personal injury accidents in the United States. In 2015, more than 33,000 people died in the United States from injuries sustained during a slip and fall accident. Moreover, falls due to either tripping or slipping are the leading cause of medically treated non-fatal injuries in the United States as they are the cause of approximately 8 million visits to the emergency room throughout the country each year. With respect to serious non-fatal injuries, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that one out of every five falls results in either broken bones or a head injury. To bring a successful lawsuit if you were injured in a fall that occurred because you either tripped or slipped, you must prove that the property owner of the property on which you fell had a duty to you to keep the premises safe, the owner did not do so by removing or warning of hazardous conditions on the property, and the hazardous condition caused you to slip, trip, or fall, which, in turn, caused your injuries.

Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses

Every year, thousands of workers across the United States are injured or killed in an incident that occurs at work. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2.8 million non-fatal work-related injuries were reported by private sector employers in 2017. Additionally, more than 5,000 fatal work-related injuries and work-related illnesses were recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2017. To receive monetary compensation for sustaining work-related injuries or contracting work-related illnesses, injured or ill workers may either file a workers’ compensation claim with their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier or, if the worker is not at-fault for the injury or illness, file a personal injury lawsuit against the employer or a third party that caused the injury or illness to occur.

Medical Malpractice

According to a recent study published by Johns Hopkins Hospital, medical errors result in 235,000 deaths each year in the United States. Thousands more suffer non-fatal injuries from medical errors that occur during a medical procedure or while patients are under medical care. To successfully bring a medical malpractice lawsuit against a doctor or other medical professional whose errors caused your injuries, you must be able to prove that the doctor or medical professional did commit a preventable error in administering medical care to you and this error caused your injuries.

Contact an Erie Personal Injury Lawyer to Discuss Your Personal Injury Case in Pennsylvania

Did you or a loved one sustain serious injuries due to another’s negligent or wrongful actions in Pennsylvania? Don’t let the medical bills pile up while you wait for the negligent party or their insurance company to do the right thing. Right now, you need an aggressive personal injury attorney on your side, fighting to get you the compensation you need, want, and deserve. The skilled attorneys at Purchase George & Murphey P.C. represent clients injured because of others negligent or wrongful actions in Erie, North East, Meadville, Titusville, and throughout Pennsylvania. Call (814) 273-2010 or fill out our online contact form to schedule a free consultation about your case. We have an office conveniently located at 2525 W. 26th Street, Erie, PA 16506, as well as offices in North East, PA and Meadville, PA.

The articles on this blog are for informative purposes only and are no substitute for legal advice or an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, please contact our law firm directly.