How Injury Law Goes Beyond Simple Accidents
If you imagine the typical case for hiring an injury attorney, you probably picture something involving an accident. The classic slip-and-fall case where a wet floor or sidewalk in disrepair hurts somebody is a job for a personal injury attorney. However, there are many more scenarios where you may want to file a claim. If you were the victim in one of the following four kinds of incidents, you may seek compensation.
Assaults
A physical assault is the furthest thing from an accident on the spectrum of causes of injuries. The fact a person intended to harm another, though, doesn't mean the issue is a purely criminal matter. You have the right to demand compensation from a person who attacked and injured you. Under the theory of negligence security, you may even seek compensation from a property owner that knowingly created or ignored the unsafe circumstances.
Gross Negligence
When does someone's prior knowledge of a problem render whatever accidents might follow not really accidents? The law understands that not all accidents are the same. If a store owner ignores an icy patch in front of their business for several hours, that's not the same as ignoring a broken stairwell for months or years.
Gross negligence addresses the question of when an accident ceases to be just a thing that happens. A party is grossly negligent when they are aware of a potentially injurious problem and continue to ignore it at length. An injury attorney may seek punitive damages against a grossly negligent party, especially if the case goes to trial.
Wanton Disregard
Another scenario involves situations where someone should have exercised caution at the moment but did not. Suppose a tenant is helping a landlord fix a heater, and the tenant is hurt in the process or afterwards. The landlord may be responsible for the tenant's safety in this case and the injured party may be compensable if the tenant is hurt.
Defamation
It might seem odd that defamation is legally a personal injury. However, the law sees a party's reputation as an extension of their personhood. Consequently, you do have the right to pursue damages from anyone who negligently injured your reputation without regard to facts or possible harm. Even when the facts are on the defendant's side, some non-public figures may still recover compensation if the defamatory act served no credible public good.
For more information, contact a local attorney.