In Pennsylvania, a personal injury lawsuit can stem from a variety of events. You may have to file a personal injury case because a bus driver injured you in a crash or because your physician committed malpractice by failing to diagnose you with a serious illness. If you or a family member was injured because of another person’s negligent actions, you should speak with an experienced Norristown personal injury lawyer today.
The lawyers at the Reiff Law Firm know how difficult it can be to deal with a serious injury that was caused by another person. We will work to hold the negligent parties accountable for their actions and help you fight for the compensation you deserve. To schedule your free consultation, call us at (215) 709-6940.
Types of Personal Injury Lawsuits in Norristown, PA
“Personal injury” refers to a broad area of law that encompasses many types of cases. Some of the most common types of personal injury cases that we handle involve injuries on other peoples’ properties and injuries from car accidents. Many types of personal injury cases require the care and attention of an experienced injury lawyer to properly advocate for the victim’s rights and help get them the compensation they need. Our Norristown personal injury lawyers handle all of the following types of cases and more:
Car Accidents
Everyone understands the basics of a car accident case, but many people do not understand their rights under Pennsylvania insurance laws or how fault is determined in a car accident. First off, car insurance policies in Pennsylvania will be “limited-tort” policies if they give no-fault coverage to the policyholder. These plans pay damages without needing to prove fault, but they might limit your right to sue. Instead, “full-tort” policies allow victims to sue in any car accident case – but lawsuits are still allowed in many serious cases even with limited-tort policies.
When you sue, you can often get higher damages. This happens because additional areas of compensation are opened, such as pain and suffering damages. However, you need to prove that the other driver was at fault to get compensation. Our lawyers can look at traffic laws and reasonable driving standards to help prove that the other driver was responsible for your accident.
Commercial Trucking Accidents
Commercial vehicle accidents can be complex because the accident might be caused by an individual driver, but you might be able to file the claim against the trucking company they work for, as well. Truckers are required to follow certain safety standards; for example, they must have good eyesight and hearing, a clean driving record, no recent convictions for serious traffic crimes like vehicular manslaughter. Truck drivers and trucking companies are also required to keep time logs and follow certain hourly limitations on driving to prevent exhaustion. They also cannot overload trucks or put dangerous vehicles on the road. If any of these issues led to your truck accident, the trucking company might share fault alongside the individual driver who caused the crash.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is another area of personal injury law. If a physician fails to provide you with treatment and diagnosis that meets certain industry standards, they could be responsible for any harms their negligent care causes you. Surgical errors can cause death or permanent injury. Misdiagnosis can lead to untreated injuries and more difficult treatment and recovery. Anesthesia errors, birth injuries, informed consent issues, and hospital injuries can also fall under the umbrella of “medical malpractice.” These injury cases can often lead to substantial compensation for victims and their families.
Construction Injuries
Construction workers frequently work in hazardous conditions and must exercise care to avoid being injured. Their employers must also provide them with safety gear, training, and tools to help avoid injuries at work. Machinery accidents, electrical accidents, and scaffolding accidents are common occurrences that may cause construction workers to suffer from serious injuries in Norristown. If you or a loved one was hurt while working at a construction site or as a bystander near a construction site, our lawyers might be able to help you with your case.
Slip and Falls and Premises Liability
Dangerous property can cause injuries to passers-by, guests, customers, and other visitors to the premises. Snow and ice on a sidewalk provide one of the most common examples of conditions that can cause a slip and fall accident. Property owners can often be held liable for these kinds of dangerous conditions, and victims can often sue for their injuries if they suffer broken bones, serious bruising, or head, neck, and back injuries in slip and falls.
Other conditions on someone’s property can also put you at a serious risk of injury. Exposed wiring can cause electrocution or fire hazards; unsafe staircases or railings could collapse, causing serious injury; and dark or unkept walkways could cause people to trip and fall. Property owners can often be held accountable for these kinds of dangerous premises.
Dangerous and Defective Products
People who use or purchase products and follow the directions should never be injured by their use. Some products are inherently dangerous, like saws, chainsaws, and lawnmowers. Still, many of these products have safety features installed and warnings to help prevent injuries. If a product you purchased was too dangerous and did not include the proper warnings or safety features necessary to prevent injury, you might be able to hold the product manufacturer accountable.
Moreover, many products suffer from manufacturing defects that make that specific product unsafe. Missing screws, problems with manufacturing machinery, substitutions in materials, and other deviations from the design could make a product unsafe and cause serious injuries to its end users. Manufacturers and sellers can also be held accountable for many of these issues.
Auto Defects
As with other manufacturing defects, many automobiles and auto parts suffer from design or manufacturing defects. Famous recalls and dangerous issues have been found in certain cars concerning exploding gas tanks, faulty ignition switches, exploding airbags, defective seatbelts, and more. Our lawyers can help if you were injured by a defective auto part, if an auto defect caused you to crash your car, or if someone else’s auto defect caused them to crash into your car.
Public Transportation, Train, and SEPTA Accidents
Norristown is the end of the line for multiple train and SEPTA lines, and it also has SEPTA bus service and other train services. SEPTA, AMTRAK, and other public transit providers are responsible for safe travel and safe stations. People who are injured because of unsafe conditions from ice and snow or other hazards on SEPTA platforms might be entitled to sue. Similarly, people involved in accidents involving SEPTA vehicles, assault by SEPTA workers, or falls into track areas might be entitled to seek compensation for their injuries. If a loved one was killed in a SEPTA accident, you might be entitled to more substantial compensation.
Uber and Lyft Accidents
Uber and Lyft have essentially replaced taxi services throughout the area. However, taxicab drivers are usually employees of the taxi company, and the taxi company can often be held responsible for a negligent driver. Uber and Lyft drivers are independent contractors, which can make it impossible in most cases to sue Uber or Lyft for their driver’s accidents or assault by an Uber or Lyft driver. However, the driver can still be sued directly, and Uber and Lyft carry insurance policies that usually pay for damages to injured victims or supplement the driver’s own coverage. Talk to a lawyer about suing for an Uber or Lyft accident in the Norristown area.
Filing a Personal Injury Claim Quickly in Norristown, PA
If you wish to file a personal injury case, whether in Norristown or another part of Pennsylvania, you should act quickly. Gathering evidence to support your claim is an important reason to file your claim as soon as possible. You will want to ensure that witnesses have a fresh memory of what happened and that you can get a hold of video evidence before it is erased and evidence of physical damage before it is repaired. Waiting too long to file a personal injury claim means witnesses could have trouble recalling the details of your accident and other evidence could be lost or destroyed.
Another reason to file your case quickly is that there is a deadline to file. Many other states allow victims three years to file their personal injury cases. However, Pennsylvania requires that most plaintiffs file their injury cases within 2 years of the accident. The deadline to file might be different for some medical malpractice cases, and some other details might help you extend the filing deadline. For instance, minors injured in accidents might be able to wait until they turn 20 to file their case because the statute of limitations clock is paused or “tolled” until they turn 18.
Talk to a lawyer about filing your case. Our Norristown personal injury lawyers can help you get the evidence you need, prepare legal documents, and file your claim under the applicable state and local procedural rules to fight to get you the compensation you need.
Our Norristown Personal Injury Attorneys Can Fight for Compensation
If you or a family member suffered a serious injury because of another person’s negligence, you should consult with an experienced Norristown personal injury lawyer. The legal team at the Reiff Law Firm possesses over 35 years of experience handling complex accident and malpractice cases. We will use this experience to help you build your personal injury case against the person or company that injured you. To schedule a free consultation, call us at (215) 709-6940.
