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Personal Injury
"Personal
Injury" is a very broad term that relates to any injury (physical,
emotional or economic) caused by the carelessness or recklessness of another
individual or company.
Personal injuries may include the following:
- injuries caused by a plane, train or car collision
- injuries caused by a faulty product
- injuries caused by a doctor, hospital or nursing home
that fails to provide appropriate care
- injuries caused by a property owner that fails to
eliminate or provide warning about a dangerous condition on her premises
- injuries caused by a neighbor's dog and
- injuries caused by fraternity or sorority hazing
When a person or company fails to comply with a
federal, state or municipal statute or fails to act as a reasonable person or
company would act in the same or similar circumstances, that individual or
company may be responsible for the personal injuries that come about as a
result of that failure. Personal Injury Law allows the injured person to
initiate a private cause of action (a civil action) to obtain compensation
and/or redress for the injury that resulted from misconduct. Not every accident
or injury is recoverable in a court of law. You may wish to consult with a
lawyer to determine whether to pursue a particular cause of action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is a "slip/trip and fall"?
A:
A slip/trip and fall describes a situation in
which a person suffers an injury on someone else's property as a result of a
defect, slippery substance or other dangerous condition. These injuries
commonly occur at supermarkets, for example.
Q: Is someone always responsible for a
"slip/trip and fall" injury?
A:
No. The general rule is that a property owner or
operator has a duty to keep his/her/its premises in reasonably safe condition
- or to warn visitors of a dangerous condition that the owner/operator either
caused, knows about or should know about. However, property owners/operators
are afforded a reasonable amount of time to discover and to either eliminate
or to warn visitors about dangerous conditions that exist on their premises.
For Example:
John Smith slips in a puddle of soup
that was spilled by the woman preceding him in line. Assuming that the
restaurant owner/operator could not have reasonably had the opportunity to
discover and to either clean the soup up or to warn John about the soup, the
restaurant owner/operator would likely not be liable.
If on the other hand, the restaurant owner/operator had
a reasonable opportunity to discover and to either eliminate or at least warn
visitors about this dangerous condition, then the owner/operator would likely
be responsible.
Q: What must be proven in order to
prevail in a dog bite action?
A:
Keep in mind that the laws may differ from state
to state. In Ohio, with few exceptions, the law is that an owner, keeper or
harborer of a dog is responsible for any injury, death or loss that is caused
by that dog. This means that in Ohio, it is typically only necessary to prove
that the defendant owned or was keeping the dog and that the dog caused the
injuries in question.
Q: How does the wrongdoer afford to
compensate the injured party?
A:
Typically, all or part of the injured person(s)
compensation comes from an insurance company that has charged premiums to the
wrongdoer. In some situations, a wrongdoer will be self insured and will pay
any settlement or award directly. Where the wrongdoer has no insurance or
insufficient insurance and cannot satisfy an award or settlement personally,
the injured person's own insurance, or the insurance company of his/her
employer, may provide relief.
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