Personal injury and negligence are two terms that often go hand in hand in the field of law. Personal injury compensation is compensation for which an injured party can qualify under certain circumstances. The circumstances for such a qualification revolve around the idea of neglect. No personal injury can occur without the element of neglect. Therefore, injured persons must establish neglect with the help of an experienced attorney to win a personal injury case.

The Meaning of Personal Injury

The personal injury umbrella can describe a number of incidents, accidents and mishaps. More than 100 subdivisions of personal injury incidents exist in the field of law. Some of the most common personal injury cases are cases that involve:

  • Car accident injuries
  • Animal Bites
  • Slips and falls
  • Medical malpractice
  • Wrongful death

A personal injury is any injury that one party or organization causes another party because of neglect. An automobile accident can be a personal injury if the driver is guilty of drunk driving, distracted driving or reckless driving. An animal bite can be a personal injury if the owner allows the animal to run freely knowing that it had a tendency toward violence. A slip and fall incident can be a personal injury if a worker forgets to notify patrons of a dangerous situation.

Any member of the medical field can be negligent enough for the situation to fall under medical malpractice. A nurse can administer the wrong medication. A doctor can misdiagnose a patient. A surgeon can leave something inside of patient. When a death occurs because of a negligent act, the death falls under the umbrella of wrongful death. The family members of the deceased persons are then eligible to receive compensation for the personal injury.

What Is Negligence?

Negligence can be displayed in three ways: ignorance, dangerous actions and lack of actions. Ignorance is sometimes inexcusable when it leads to someone’s injury. For example, an improperly trained employee may stock items in a dangerous manner, which could then cause a consumer to receive a head injury. The victim can sue the employee or the entire establishment for personal injury despite the person’s ignorance of proper stocking procedures.

Dangerous actions are actions such as speeding and drinking that blatantly endanger other people’s lives . A lack of action is a situation in which a person does not follow proper protocol such as ensuring that everyone follows the safety rules at work. All previously mentioned situations can be counted as negligence by the courts.

Percentage of Fault

The distribution of compensation in a personal injury case is sometimes determined by percentage of fault. A person who is more than 50 percent at fault for an injury will not quality for compensation. On the other hand, the courts will divide the compensation if the person is less than 50 percent responsible for the injury. An example of a percentage of fault situation is an automobile accident in which vehicle A’s driver runs a red light and vehicle B’s driver is distracted. The person in vehicle B may only receive partial compensation because the accident could have been avoided had he or she not been distracted. An injured party will want to speak with an experienced attorney in great depth about negligence and personal injury laws.