When you have been hurt in some way, there are sometimes costs involved. For example, if you break your arm because of an accident at work, then you have to pay for the doctors to check out your arm, x-ray your arm, and put your broken arm in a cast. If you can't work for several days or several weeks because of this broken arm, then you might also lose out on wages that you could have made if your arm wasn't broken.

Accidents happen, but sometimes certain injuries qualify for a personal injury lawsuit so you can get monetary compensation for what you have gone through. 

There are many reasons for someone to file a personal injury lawsuit. These reasons can be due to physical reasons like a broken arm, but they can be filed in cases of harm done to someone emotionally or mentally as well. 

When Can You File a Personal Injury Lawsuit? 

If you have ever heard of the term "statute of limitations" then you know that statute of limitations refers to laws that set how long someone has to file a lawsuit after the incident occurred. There is statute of limitations that also dictate how long someone has to file a personal injury lawsuit. 

This time frame begins on the date of the incident or on the date the harm or injury was discovered and goes until the day a lawsuit is officially filed. Any time after the lawsuit is filed does not count toward this statute of limitations time frame. How long this time frame goes on depends on state and federal laws, and on what happened. 

The statute of limitations for a personal injury claim varies between each state varies. Some states have a statute of limitations for this type of lawsuit that lasts only a year, while other states allow up to six years. 

Generally, the statute of limitations to file a personal injury lawsuit in the state of Utah is four years or two years in a medical malpractice case. So, residents of Utah have four years to decide to file a personal injury lawsuit before the statute of limitations are expired. 

Reasons to File a Personal Injury Litigation

There are many different reasons to file a personal injury lawsuit. There are also different kinds of personal injury litigations that you might file depending on your situation. 

Types of Personal Injury Examples 

Personal injuries can include physical, mental, and emotional damages. Below are just a few examples of things that could qualify as a personal injury claim. 

  • Car accident 
  • Workplace injury 
  • Assault 
  • Defected products 
  • Medical malpractice 
  • Nursing home abuse 
  • Defamation 
  • Emotional distress 
  • False imprisonment 
  • Invasion of privacy

Types of Personal Injury Claims 

There are three different kinds of personal injury claims someone could make: negligence, strict liability, or intentional wrongs. If you are filing a personal injury lawsuit, then your case might fall under one of these three categories. 

negligence definition

Negligence Personal Injury Claim

A negligence personal injury claim is one of the most common types of personal injury claims. A negligence case means that an individual failed to exercise reasonable diligence, prudence, or caution in a situation.

For example, if you got hurt because you walked on a broken staircase, but there were no signs anywhere to indicate it was not safe, it is reasonable that you would assume the stairs were safe when there was no indication otherwise. It is reasonable to expect that the parties in charge of the stairs would have put up a sign not to walk on the stairs, knowing the stairs were broken and not safe.

This example is a case of negligence. The parties in charge of the stairs behaved negligently when they did not put up a sign to indicate the stairs were not safe and someone got hurt because of it. This person can then file a negligence lawsuit in this situation. 

strict liability definition

Strict Liability Personal Injury Claim 

A strict liability personal injury claim is when a defendant (the person who allegedly caused the harm) is held liable for their actions. This is regardless of the defendant's initial intentions or mental state when they performed the action.

These cases are when the defendant in a case may not have been negligent, but they are still held accountable for what happened. So, they are not at fault for behaving without proper prudence and caution, but they are still at fault for what happened. 

intentional wrong definition

Intentional Wrong Personal Injury Claim

An intentional wrong personal injury claim is when a defendant (the person who allegedly caused the harm) is held accountable for something they intentionally did wrong. So, the defendant was not negligent but rather, the defendant was purposeful in their wrong actions.

These cases include claims like assault and battery cases where someone intentionally inflicted harm on another person.

In Conclusion,

Personal injuries can occur in many forms. There are physical damages that are possible and there are even nonphysical damages that are possible like emotional or mental harm. If you have been harmed in any way, you can always seek out the counsel of a lawyer that specializes in personal injury cases to see if you have a case.