The Basics: Personal Injury

Personal injury is a legal term that refers to an emotional or physical injury to an individual due to the negligence of another. If the negligence of the other party can be proven, monetary compensation is in order. These types of cases include road traffic accidents, accidents at work, tripping accidents, accidents at a store or place of business, product defects and even medical and dental accidents.

This system of taking legal action for personal injury and receiving compensation is controversial because it was created to take legislation our of the picture. Individuals have the freedom to fie a lawsuit for any reason under a civil common law claim as a non-legislative means for compensation. The process is complex and the rewards can be unexpected or completely non-existent. Attorneys representing plaintiffs in this types of case usually work in a contingency agreement depending on the outcome of the case.

Tort reform advocates, people who want to reduce these rights of individuals to file suit, are pushing for limits on the ability to file claims and capping the compensatory rewards. Consumer advocates criticize tort reform as biased to corporate welfare.