Personal Injury Statistics & Facts Everyone Should Know

When you have been involved in an auto accident, suffered a slip and fall accident, or been bitten by a dog, all of these situations mean you will have suffered potentially serious injuries. As a result, you may be considering filing a personal injury lawsuit to help you gain compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. But before you do, here are some fascinating facts and statistics of which you should be aware.

Most Cases Never Go to Trial

Unlike what you may have seen on television, the vast majority of personal injury cases never see the inside of a courtroom. In fact, the U.S. Department of Justice notes that only about 16,400 cases, which comprises only four percent of all personal injury cases, ever make it to trial. Thus, even though more than 400,000 personal injury lawsuits are filed annually, chances are your case will be settled out of court, which is why it is imperative you have an experienced attorney handling your case.

What is the Most Common Personal Injury Case?

According to the numbers, motor vehicle accidents are by far the most common type of personal injury case, accounting for 52% of all lawsuits. As for other common cases, these include medical malpractice, which accounts for 15%, product liability cases that comprise five percent, and various other types of cases that make up the remaining 28%. Since there can be such a variety of situations that warrant the filing of a personal injury lawsuit, never hesitate to speak to a qualified attorney about your situation to discuss if you have a viable case that should move forward.

Are Personal Injury Lawsuits Successful?

If you are wondering if personal injury lawsuits are ultimately successful in helping victims win compensation for their injuries, the answer is somewhat yes and no. For example, if you are injured in a car accident, you will have a 61% success rate in winning your case. However, when it comes to medical malpractice, the success rate falls to only 19%. While this is a dramatic drop, it is a bit misleading. If you have a medical malpractice case, you and your attorney will need to produce strong evidence of medical negligence, which can often be difficult but not impossible. As for other types of cases, premises liability and product liability lawsuits both have success rates approaching 40%.

How Much Compensation is Awarded to Victims?

If you are an accident victim in a personal injury case, the good news is that should your case prove to be successful, you can expect to gain significant compensation in some cases. While the average amount awarded to plaintiffs is $31,000, the average compensation for a products liability case is almost $750,000, while medical malpractice accident victims can expect an average award of nearly $700,000. Strangely enough, while auto accident cases are the most common types of personal injury cases and have high success rates for victims, the average amount of compensation given to victims is only $16,000. Yet whatever type of situation that resulted in you being injured by the negligence and carelessness of others, always discuss it in more detail with a personal injury attorney you know and trust.

Millions of Accidents and Injuries

As if you don't already have enough to worry about, you'll be glad to know that millions and millions of accidents happen each day in the United States. As recently as 2017, almost 170,000 Americans died from various types of accidents. And if you are getting behind the wheel of your car, know that 6 million auto accidents happen each year, which averages out to almost 17,000 per day. Of these millions of accidents, 3 million people will be injured, with 2 million sustaining injuries that are permanent and life-changing, such as traumatic brain injuries, amputations, or paralysis.

Hurt While at Work

Once you arrive at work, you may think you have little to worry about. However, in 2018 there were almost 5,300 work-related fatalities in the United States, which was an increase of two percent from the previous year. Also, if you have a job that involves driving, these types of accidents account for over 40% of all workers' compensation claims. In addition, many workers suffer slip and fall accidents on the job each year, which result in more than 1 million ER visits annually.

Why You Need an Excellent Personal Injury Attorney

Since personal injury cases can run the gamut from a serious car crash to a dog bite, it is vital you consult with Glotzer & Leib attorneys immediately following your accident. To win your case, it will take a combination of gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and negotiating with insurance companies for your case to be successful. By hiring experienced lawyers as quickly as possible after your accident, you can be given sound advice on what to do, what not to do, and how your case could play out.

With almost 5 million people being bitten by dogs each year, a person being accidentally poisoned every 15 seconds, and one in three senior citizens suffering slip and fall accidents, there is unfortunately a more than reasonable chance that at some point you may become an accident victim yourself. If this should happen, knowing what to do and how a seasoned attorney can help will make all the difference in helping you gain the compensation you need and deserve.