10 Most Common Types Of Personal Injury Cases

At Rector Stuzynski LLC, We Get You MORE

Exceptional Results Require Outstanding Attorneys

$4 Million +

Motor Vehicle Accident

$1.5 Million

Rear-End Car Accident

$1 Million

Motorcycle Accident

Millions Of Dollars Recovered Every Year For Our Satisfied Clients

Awards & Associations

What Turns An Accident A Personal Injury Case?

Accidents happen all the time and in many different ways, but the part that turns these accidents into a personal injury lawsuit is called negligence. When a person abandons their duty of care and acts recklessly and in turn causes an accident, their actions make them liable for any injuries they end up causing to the other parties that are involved. These injuries happened due to the actions of the at fault party and their negligence. Due to this, the at fault party must be held accountable for their actions in an effort to serve justice to those injured parties.

Some of the time the injuries caused can be lifelong and severely hinder that person’s ability to live a normal life. This could be anything such as a back injury, neck injury, broken bones that don’t heal properly, spine injuries, brain injuries, punctured lungs, internal organ injuries and much more.

In some situations, these injuries lead to death, which becomes a wrongful death lawsuit and the family of the deceased will be entitled to collect damages for the loss of their family member. In any case, it is hard to put a dollar amount on what these injuries cost the person over their lifetime as well as their short term suffering. The injured party will be entitled to compensation for their injuries, including medical bills, pain and suffering, emotional trauma and effects on their quality of life. If there are any lost wages due to being injured and not being able to work, they are also entitled to compensation for those wages.

Many cases get settled instead of going to trial, so knowing what questions to ask before accepting a settlement is extremely important and we strongly advise you enlist an attorney for help with your case, no matter what side you are on. There are so many details that need to be understood that an attorney can make a world of difference.

When the at fault party was willfully reckless and intended to do harm, they may be held responsible for extra compensation for what is called punitive damages. This is a way of punishing the negligent party for their actions. This is not always the case though and many cases do not include punitive damages.

Now that we have discussed what makes a personal injury claim a legitimate lawsuit, let’s look at some of the most common personal injury cases that arise from accidents.

The Most Common Types of Personal Injury Lawsuits

Auto Accident Injuries

The most common type of personal injury case that our law firm comes across is no surprise. Motor vehicle accidents happen hundreds of times every single day across the United States. Colorado is no different and with all of the crazy weather and mountain roads, our state is more likely to have a higher level of car accidents than many other states.

From hit and runs to minor traffic accidents and multiple vehicle pile ups, there are an endless amount of ways for car accidents to occur and many of them lead to serious injuries for the parties involved. Some of the most common injuries resulting from car accidents are back injuries, neck injuries, broken bones, bruising from impacts and whiplash. Many of these can leave the victim with pain and debilitating conditions that last a lifetime, so it is important to take these situations very seriously and drive cautiously, because other people’s livelihood depends on it.

Some common causes for auto accidents are running red lights or stop signs, not using blinkers, pulling out in front of another car or truck, not looking before changing lanes, turning in front of oncoming traffic, rear end accidents, side swipe accidents and out of control vehicles from icy or dangerous road conditions.

Motorcycle Accident Injuries

Motorcycles are fun to ride, especially through the winding mountain roads we have here in Colorado, but their lack of safety features makes them a very dangerous mode of transportation. Motorcycles aren’t nearly as common as cars on the road, so many drivers aren’t actively looking for motorcycle riders all the time. The small stature of motorcycles also makes them harder to see, especially during rainy conditions which is a very dangerous time for one to be on a motorcycle.

The injuries that happen as a result of motorcycle accidents are typically very severe in nature, with a large percentage of these accidents ending in death of the motorcycle rider. They don’t have a protective barrier like cars do, nor do they have airbags or seat belts to keep the rider safe. The only thing these riders have to protect them is their helmet, jacket, gloves, boots and pants. These items don’t protect the rider from impacts very well at all, so collisions with other vehicles lead to very serious injuries.

Some common causes of motorcycle accidents are cars turning left in front of the motorcycle, side swipe accidents, road rage, not looking before changing lanes and running red lights and or stop signs. Always make sure to watch out for motorcycles on the roads because one small mistake could end the rider’s life. So look twice and save a life!

Workplace Injuries

Workplace injuries are all too common in the personal injury law space unfortunately. Workers get injured from many different types of things, depending on where they work and the conditions they are subject to in their work environment. Many employers don’t provide the necessary safety equipment that is required by law for their employees which can cause dangerous situations and lead to injuries that may affect the workers ability to earn a living after an injury occurs.

Some of the most common industries where these injuries occur is roofing, road construction, building framers, electrician work, jobs involving chemicals and poor air quality, mining and much more. If you work in any of these industries and your employer is not providing the proper safety equipment and procedures, you may want to rethink working for that company before something bad happens.

In the event of an unnecessary injury happening, the employer will be held liable for compensating the injured worker if the injury was due to not following safety guidelines. This could be from falling off of a roof or new building during construction, road workers getting hit by cars, improper ventilation in areas of unhealthy air quality, use of harmful chemicals when farming, not using harnesses when working on high up structures and much more.

Every industry presents their own unique ways that the workers could be injured, so make sure your employer is abiding by industry safety standards if you are working in a potentially dangerous job position.

Assault, Battery & Willful Violence

Anger can get the best of anybody, but when an individual or group of individuals looks to harm another person as a way of revenge or even just in a fit of rage and causes injury to the victim, they can be held responsible by compensating that person for their injuries.

Some common types of willful violence leading to a personal injury lawsuit are getting into fights, road rage, pursuit of revenge, arguments that turn into violence and more. Most of these incidents are a result of anger from one person to another and many times can lead to horrific injuries.

One of the worst, but very easy things to happen in these situations is a person falling down and hitting their head on asphalt, concrete or metal and suffering brain injuries that can all too often lead to death or lifelong debilitating brain injuries. Something as small as pushing a person can quickly turn into a major legal issue if these types of injuries are suffered. Always make sure to keep your temper in check so you don’t become the person on either side of this dangerous fence.

Defamation: Libel And Slander

Defamation is where someone publicly speaks or writes about another person in a way that ends up causing harm to their reputation or their brand’s reputation. This can lead to loss of income, loss of respect from other people and very commonly these things can never be reversed. People talk and many times people only hear the bad of a situation, not the other side of the story or what may have caused the story to arise in the first place.

When one person speaks wrongly about another person and harms their reputation, these damages to their person or brand reputation can be irreversible. The loss of that reputation is then compensated for by the person who caused the damage if the courts decide that they were in the wrong.

These compensation packages can get very large if it is a brand or public figure that has been the victim of defamation. In many cases, the person may have to even pay for the fees that the victim spent on their own lawyers to fight the defamation case or any other related case that required legal representation and they were officially acquitted of.

Make sure to watch your mouth when speaking about other people, especially if you don’t have all of the facts. Even if you do have all of the facts, it is still a dangerous situation to be publicly speaking about another person or brand in a harmful manner. It’s best to just avoid this situation entirely.

Slip And Fall Accidents

Slip and fall accidents typically happen from ice on walkways or steps, recently mopped areas that aren’t marked or even slippery kitchen floors that are covered in grease from the grills nearby. When proper safety measures aren’t put into place, people can slip and fall and get injured. This can lead to broken wrists, broken ankles, broken legs or even worse, a head/brain injury if they hit their head on a hard surface.

Always make sure to keep areas with frequent traffic clear of ice, water and other slippery substances to ensure the safety of everyone that may come through that area. This includes sidewalks in front of your home after snowfall. Sidewalks are considered public spaces and it is your duty as the resident to keep the sidewalk in front of your home clear of snow and ice so that other people can walk safely down the street to get to their destination.

Premises Liability

Icy walkways like we just spoke about, are a major part of premises liability along with many other dangerous situations. Premises liability is something that homeowners and commercial property owners need to keep a close eye on to ensure no-one gets injured on their property.

This means structural issues need to be addressed asap, especially if there are workers inside of the building with defects. Poorly constructed exteriors or worn out materials also become a danger to others, such as gutters hanging off the building, ice dams falling on people, worn out fence and railing barriers, handrails that sway, poorly installed HVAC systems that could fall on customers and potholes in the parking lot that someone could trip over and much more.

If you are a property owner, make sure to keep your property in good condition so you can avoid being hit with a personal injury lawsuit if your property is not up to par.

Wrongful Death

Wrongful death is the most extreme form of a personal injury lawsuit, because it means that the person who suffered injuries due to another persons negligence has died from their injuries. This persons life has been cut short and the family of the deceased shall be compensated for their loss.

If the person who died had a high income or multiple people that depended on them financially, the compensation amounts for that case can go up into the millions very quickly which could mean the defendant paying restitution for the rest of their life to the family of the deceased.

It is hard to put a price on the life of a person, but an experienced personal injury attorney can determine the dollar amount that many parts of that persons life are worth to the family that is left behind. Their mental anguish or pain and suffering is also included in compensation when these cases arise, so there are many different areas that the compensation package will continue to increase.

Some of the most common types of wrongful death cases are auto accidents, motorcycle accidents, medical malpractice, workplace injuries and assault and battery.

Medical Malpractice

Elderly people are at high risk of death when they are not properly cared for, but healthy people are also at risk if surgery or other procedures are not performed as required by law. This could be things such as improper sterilization before a surgery, leaving surgical tools inside a persons body, malnutrition of elders, not providing a proper amount of supervision to persons with dangerous conditions, dehydration from not providing enough water to patients and many more situations that should never happen with proper care for the patient.

These things are very common in nursing homes that are understaffed or hospitals that are run without regard to proper safety guidelines. If you work for a place that a lack of care is a common thing, you should consider finding another place to work for and possibly reporting that company to the necessary authorities.

Product Liability

Products are made all the time that were not properly manufactured, the design is dangerous, don’t come with proper safety warnings or weren’t built up to code and this can lead to serious injury or even death in some cases. Safety standards should always be taken into account when manufacturing a product, but unfortunately many companies cut corners to maximize profits and this can leave the end user in serious danger.

Some common issues that we have seen are fire safety issues or lack of fire preventing features, tire explosions due to improper manufacturing, product failures due to improper stress testing, missing safety warnings for children and much more. If you manufacture a product, you have a major responsibility to ensure your product is safe for all types of users in all types of environments. Without proper safety warnings, you could end up being on the wrong side of a personal injury lawsuit very quickly.

Call A Personal Injury Lawyer For Help With Your Case

Whether you are the victim or the defendant in a personal injury lawsuit, you are going to need an experienced injury attorney to help you fight your case. It is strongly recommended that you enlist an attorney with a long history of exceptional results so that you can be sure you are getting the best possible representation in court. Failure to do so could leave you in a much worse financial situation than if you had the help of a qualified injury attorney.

At Rector Stuzynski LLC, we have been fighting and winning personal injury cases for decades and have an extremely knowledgeable team of lawyers ready to help you get the best possible results for your case. Don’t let an amateur handle your case, get the best personal injury lawyers in Colorado Springs on your side and come out of this situation on top. We offer free consultations 24/7 over the phone and always welcome you to stop by our offices and speak with us in person.

Areas We Serve

We serve clients injured anywhere throughout the state of Colorado, but we focus on residents of these areas: Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Fountain, Briargate, Monument, Black Forest, Pueblo, Canon City, Larkspur, Security-Widefield, Peyton, Castle Rock, Teller County, El Paso County, Elbert County, Park County, Douglas County and beyond.