Injuries: Understanding Personal Injury Claims (2025)

After suffering injuries because of someone else’s negligent or wrongful conduct, you may not be keen on getting involved in a legal action. For many people, however, filing a personal injury lawsuit can be the only chance they have to recover losses.

To help yourself through this process, it’s important to understand what injuries are according to the law, how to prove the other party is liable, and what legal recourse you have. Here’s what you need to know about injury law to take the right steps after suffering losses.

Injuries: What They Are Under the Law

A legal injury refers to any form of harm that one party causes to another. Most people think that only physical injuries count, but that’s not the case.

An injury also refers to psychological and reputational harm, as well as to any conduct that impacts your rights. These injuries can give rise to civil tort claims or criminal prosecution, and sometimes to both.

Injuries that can lead to personal injury claims include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Bone fractures
• Back and spinal cord injuries
• Soft tissue injuries
• Head and facial injuries
• Internal injuries
• Psychological injuries
• Reputational injuries
• Financial injuries

Injuries can be intentional or unintentional, or they can fall under the purview of strict liability. Assault or fraud, for example, are acts in which the defendant knew what they were doing and what the possible consequences would be, making them intentional.

An accident, like a traffic collision that occurs because someone was distracted behind the wheel, typically leads to unintentional injuries. These claims instead rely on demonstrating that negligence took place.

If you suffer losses because of a product that didn’t function correctly, including medications that caused harm, the claim would likely rely on strict liability. A strict liability tort holds the defendant responsible even if they weren’t negligent.

Aside from product liability claims, another instance when this legal theory might apply is when dealing with dog bites in certain states.

Proving Intent or Negligence Caused the Injuries

To demonstrate that the defendant acted intentionally, it’s necessary to prove they meant to act as they did. If you suffered an injury because the defendant hit you, this may be a simple requirement to meet because the defendant consciously made a fist and assaulted you.

There are instances that are more complex, however. For example, if someone planned a prank that caused you to suffer an asthma attack that sent you to the hospital, can you still claim intent? In most cases, you can. Although the defendant didn’t mean to cause harm, they maintained an intent to play the prank. That’s generally enough.

In claims involving accidents, you must prove negligence. This requires establishing that the other party owed you a duty of care that they breached and that their conduct led you to suffer losses for which you can be compensated.

An example would be if you slipped and fell at the grocery store because of unmarked wet floors. The grocery store owner or manager could be held liable if they knew or should have known the floors were wet and made no effort to remedy the problem or to put up a warning sign.

As a property owner, they owe a duty of care to every potential customer who walks into the store. They breached that responsibility by not warning them of the danger or removing it. If you end up in the hospital with a serious back injury from the fall, a spinal cord injury lawyer can often prove negligence and get you compensation.

Comparative Negligence

In some instances, there may be multiple parties who are liable for the injuries you suffered. You might even hold a degree of fault yourself.

If that’s the case, then comparative negligence comes into play. This is a concept that reduces the amount of compensation the plaintiff receives if they’re partially responsible for the losses they suffered. If the court finds that you hold 40% of fault in a car accident, for instance, then your compensation will be reduced by that amount.

Comparative negligence varies from state to state. Some allow you to be up to 99% at fault for the injuries and still receive compensation, while others require that your fault percentage be no larger than 50% or 51%. A small number of states have contributory negligence laws that don’t allow you to recover losses if you contributed to the accident in any way.

Beginning the Claims Process With Experienced Representation

If you’ve suffered injuries because of someone else’s negligent or wrongful conduct, it’s important to seek assistance from accident lawyers as soon as possible. It’s not easy to manage the complexities of personal injury claims, especially when dealing with physical and mental trauma. By trusting experienced lawyers with your claim, you can have a better chance of recovering losses.

At ConsumerShield, we can connect you with qualified legal representation in your area so that you can receive the support you deserve with your case. Contact us to learn how we can help you protect your rights today.

Common Types of Injury Claims

Some of the most common types of injury claims include:

Premises Liability Injury

You can sustain injuries as a result of unsafe premises when an owner has been negligent in maintaining a property.

Medical Malpractice Injury

If a medical professional offered substandard care and you’ve suffered an injury, you could hold them responsible.

Personal Injury

The first step to getting justice after an injury is finding out your legal options and understanding what’s considered a personal injury under the law.

Workers’ Compensation Injury

Your employer is likely required to offer workers’ compensation. It’s important to understand what’s covered and how you file a claim.

Uber Sexual Assault Lawsuit

If you’ve been sexually assaulted in an Uber or any other rideshare vehicle, you have the right to file a lawsuit.

Clergy Sexual Abuse Lawsuit

If you have been sexually abused by clergy, you may have the option of filing a lawsuit to pursue compensation.