Personal Injury lawsuits are the most common civil cases. They involve legal lawsuits stemming from individuals who have suffered an unexpected injury, resolved through case management of personal injury workflows that lead to settlements or arbitration. The CDC reports that such unintentional injuries are:
- The fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S..
- Affecting over 200,000 people.
- Following directly behind COVID-19, the third-leading cause of death in 2020.
Personal injury cases are typically filed against the entity or person that caused the harm, most often as a result of negligence, reckless conduct, or misconduct. Most of these cases involve road accidents, work accidents, falls, or injuries arising from neglect or misconduct in medical or dental care. In many cases, such personal injury cases afford the injured party monetary compensation in the form of a settlement or judgment.
- In a personal injury lawsuit, the individual harmed is represented in a civil case where a complaint or claim is filed, and financial compensation for damages is sought.
- The most common personal injury cases involve motor vehicle accidents, accidents at work, accidents while walking, unintentional falls, unintentional poisoning, or injuries arising from faulty medical or dental care.
Read on to learn more about the most common personal injury cases and helpful information for case management automation of personal injury workflows.
What are the most prevalent personal injury lawsuits?
Personal injury lawsuits, the most common type of civil suit, arise when an individual suffers an accident or incident of unintentional harm and decides to file a civil complaint against the party responsible. While work accidents and motor vehicle accidents are extremely prevalent in the U.S., so are cases of unintentional falls and unintentional poisoning. In 2020 alone, the CDC reported more than twice the number of U.S. deaths due to unintentional poisoning (87,404 deaths) than from motor vehicle traffic deaths (40,698 deaths).
Also, in 2020, the AFL-CIO reported more than 3.1 million work-related injuries and illnesses in the U.S., with an estimated 120,000 worker deaths from occupational diseases that year. These AFL-CIO studies estimate that approximately 340 workers died every day in 2020 due to hazardous working conditions. However, they also believe under-reporting is widespread, with likely 5.4 to 8.1 million work-related injuries and illnesses occurring annually.
- While motor vehicle accidents are extremely prevalent among personal injury statistics, far more common are unintentional poisoning deaths as well as work-related incidents.
- The AFL-CIO reported 3.2 million work-related injuries and illnesses in 2020, though they believe actual cases of such work-related injuries to be between 5.4 to 8.1 million.
How are personal injury lawsuits managed?
In many cases, attorneys representing injured clients will do so on a ‘contingent fee basis,’ making the legal fees for the injured party payable once the case is settled in favor of the client. After proving the defendant’s liability, the settlement amount will depend on a judicial review of the extent of damages and other case specifics. Since a large number of personal injury cases can be compensated for by insurance programs, such civil suits are often resolved through ‘no-fault compensation.’
Throughout the life of any one injury case, there is a vast wealth of medical documentation, deadlines, limitations, key corroboration, and communication that must be documented and stored. According to WA Law Society experts, communication errors have led to 40% of the complaints filed against attorneys of smaller law firms. Legal teams, large and small, can better manage routine actions and tasks by automating complex legal task management.
- Personal injury lawsuits are often filed and litigated on a contingent fee basis, thus helping the injured party from undue financial hardship.
- Insurance and other similar liability programs can often offer the injured party financial compensation arbitrated through no-fault compensation.
- Automated personal injury case management is key to managing the wealth of documents and deadlines necessary for the effective resolution and management of such cases.
Most important, in terms of timely and thorough case management, is establishing internal law firm process workflow standards and services.
What tools can lawyers use for personal injury case management?
Personal Injury cases depend on various factors: medical evaluations, laboratory analyses, autopsy reports, and much more. Since the numerous details, documents, and deadlines can span years, Personal Injury Workflow Software for law firms is highly useful. Such electronic tools can help standardize personal injury intake, control workflow, and even automate calendars and deadlines to reduce human error.
CloudLex specializes in matter management software for personal injury attorneys, with solutions that streamline case management. Unlike most legal software, CloudLex focuses solely on personal injury. Our unified platform can integrate accountability, communications, collaboration, and insights across the firm—from case intake to settlement. This lets firms automate the mundane tasks of collecting, archival, and managing personal injury case documents.
Request a demo from CloudLex to see how our personal injury workflow software can help your legal team succeed.
