2 Most common causes of personal injury claims and their main features
Personal injury claims are among the most recurrent legal proceedings in our country. According to the Department of Justice, more than 400,000 personal injury claims are processed annually. Most of them are resolved immediately, however, for a claim to be successful there are a number of details to be considered
The reality is that although they are common, many people are still not aware of the situations in which they would be in a position to claim compensation nor of the steps to be followed in such cases and, so we will list below the most frequent ones and what to do in order to obtain compensation.
- Car accidents.
These are the situations that trigger the most personal injury claims. Cars are the most used vehicles, so it is not surprising that they are also the most involved in accidents. Traffic congestion and the organization of traffic within cities directly influences the number of accidents per year, according to data provided by accident lawyers in Philly, one of the cities that issues the most claims for this type of accidents every day.
In case of a traffic accident, the person involved should hire a specialized lawyer to help him/her formulate the claim, which will be addressed to the insurance of the vehicle, the personal insurance or the insurance company of a third party involved (if any). The maximum time to file the claim is three years starting from the time of the accident, and the time to go to a medical institution to certify the injuries is 72 hours after the accident. At the time of collecting the compensation, in case of settlement, the maximum time will not exceed two months.
2. Dog bite.
As in the previous case, the number of dogs living as pets in cities makes this type of incident quite frequent. In a dog bite situation, the affected person can also count on the assistance of an expert lawyer in similar cases, should file a claim against the owner of the dog and expect a compensation that will be received within a period of one or two months. The time limit to file a claim, as with car accidents, is a maximum of three years from the time of the dog attack.
In cases of serious bites this compensation will be higher for pain and suffering and alteration of the quality of life. The compensation will also cover medical bills and the time the affected person has to stop working. Other cases that increase the amount of compensation are either that the dog belongs to a breed that many States have classified as dangerous or has been involved in similar incidents in the past. The costs of compensation must be paid by the owner of the animal or by the animal’s insurance (in case the dog has been insured).