Choosing whether or not to move forward with a lawsuit is a big decision, and it can be intimidating. However, it’s important to remember that the law exists to protect you and uphold your rights. If someone else’s unlawful or negligent behavior has caused you to suffer a loss, you may have a right to compensation.
Here, we’ve looked at the top 10 reasons to sue when you’ve had an accident in Pennsylvania.
Concerns about money are among the main reasons why people put off visiting lawyers. However, most personal injury firms offer free initial consultations, and ours is no exception. If you want to learn more about pursuing compensation without committing to anything, schedule a visit today.
Once you get past the consultation phase, there’s more good news when it comes to money. Most firms (including the Cochran Firm in Philadelphia) will carry out personal injury litigation on a no-win/no-fee basis.
So, unless we secure a verdict or settlement on your behalf, we won’t charge you anything. If you receive a payout, we’ll charge a percentage of it as our fee; this number will be based on various features of your case, such as whether or not it goes to trial.
It’s no secret that medical care can get extremely expensive in the United States. According to HealthCare.gov, the average cost of a 3-day stay in a hospital in the U.S. is $30,000; if you sustain serious injuries, the overall expenses you incur could be much greater.
If you suffer harm due to someone else’s negligence, you shouldn’t have to shoulder these massive bills alone. A personal injury lawsuit may be the only way for you to get the compensation you need.
Sadly, for many accident victims, the financial troubles don’t finish with medical bills. If your accident-related injuries prevent you from going back to work, you could be left without an income.
Personal injury lawsuits can provide a solution to this as well. If you succeed with legal action, the at-fault party may be required to pay a percentage of your lost earnings for the duration of your disability.
You should note that if your injury came about because of work, you should be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. However, as discussed later in this post, securing these benefits isn’t always straightforward.
Physical injuries aren’t the only potential source of compensation in personal injury cases. If you suffer damage to your property (such as your car, your home, or another valuable item), you’re entitled to pursue a payout for this as well.
The emotional difficulties that follow a bad accident can be as debilitating as physical harm. Conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can require years of therapy and may even impact your ability to work.
Compensation for losses that cannot be easily measured in financial terms is known as non-economic damages, or “pain and suffering” damages. Because there are no medical bills, wage slips, or other such direct indicators of how much this compensation should amount to, the subjective judgment of the court plays a major role in calculating it.
Workers’ compensation is designed to protect employees from unexpected injuries in the workplace. If you sustain a work-related injury or illness, workers’ compensation should cover a percentage of your lost earnings and your medical bills.
Crucially, though, your condition must be work-related if you’re to qualify for these benefits. Employers and workers’ compensation insurance providers often deny claims on the basis that injuries and illnesses may have non-work-related origins.
If this happens, you may have no option but to file a lawsuit. This type of legal action can get highly technical, as it tends to require the input of medical experts regarding the nature and cause of your health condition. If you get involved in a dispute like this, you’ll need a workers’ compensation lawyer who has experience with high-value cases and a network of quality consultants to rely upon.
That’s exactly what you’ll find at the Cochran Firm in Philadelphia.
As well as the direct compensation you receive for your economic and non-economic losses, you might also be entitled to an additional payment. Punitive damages seek to punish defendants, rather than compensate plaintiffs. Courts award them in more serious cases to discourage egregious conduct by the defendant and others in future cases.
You should note, though, that punitive damages are the exception, not the rule. Pennsylvania case law states that conduct that is merely negligent is not sufficient for an award of punitive damages; the defendant must engage in willful misconduct or behave with a reckless disregard for the rights of others.
We do realize that lawsuits can be a stressful and daunting process, but there’s no need to worry. Your lawyer will be able to talk you through the entire process and help you with the paperwork.
The most important thing is to consult with a lawyer as soon as possible after your accident, and to be completely honest. Keep in mind that there is usually a two-year time limit (known as a statute of limitations) for filing a lawsuit in Pennsylvania.
Leave financial considerations aside for one moment. Do you really want to let a negligent person or entity get away with injuring you, damaging your property, and causing you all the associated stress and hardship?
Don’t take it lying down. Consult with a personal injury lawyer and plan your pursuit of justice.
You may find yourself with legal recourse against a hospital if its care fell short in any of these ways:
Hospitals have a duty to provide competent medical care. When they slip up, a surgeon accidentally leaves an instrument behind, or a doctor misreads your tests, you could pursue a medical malpractice claim. Even a slight delay in diagnosing a serious illness or a mix-up in your prescriptions can spiral into real harm.
Anesthesia isn’t routine; it demands vigilant monitoring. If you wake up with unexpected complications because they dosed you improperly or failed to check your vital signs, that’s grounds for action. Similarly, operating on the wrong body part or performing an unintended procedure crosses the line from honest error into negligence.
Bringing a child into the world should be a celebrated moment, not a traumatic one. If the delivery team misses warning signs like distress in the baby’s heart rate or ignores best practices during labor, and that oversight injures the mother or newborn, you can hold the hospital accountable.
Staph, MRSA, C. thrive in healthcare settings unless strict sterilization and hygiene protocols are followed. If you pick up an infection because a ward wasn’t appropriately cleaned or staff skipped hand-washing, that lapse can support a lawsuit.
A triage nurse who overlooks your warning signs, a specialist who won’t see you for days, a doctor who dismisses your pain, all of these scenarios can qualify as negligent delay. When time-sensitive conditions worsen because of inaction, you deserve compensation for the added harm.
If a hospital cuts corners on hiring or stretches its nurses and technicians too thin, mistakes become more likely. When understaffing or a lack of training contributes to errors, like misadministered treatments or uncontrolled patient falls, you have a case for negligence.
Hospital corridors, waiting rooms, and patient floors must be safe. Spills left unattended, broken handrails, malfunctioning beds, and anything that leads to a preventable fall or injury can be challenged in court.
Before any procedure, big or small, doctors are required to explain the risks, benefits, and alternatives. If you agree to surgery or a high-risk treatment without understanding what could go wrong, and then suffer unforeseen complications, you can argue you never truly consented.
Healthcare is a fundamental right. If you’re denied care, delayed, or treated differently because of your race, gender, disability, or other protected status, that breach of civil rights can form the basis of a lawsuit.
Tragically, sometimes negligent care ends in death. In those cases, surviving family members can file a wrongful death claim to seek damages for funeral costs, lost companionship, and emotional suffering.
Are you looking for the right lawyer for your case? The Cochran Firm Philadelphia office would love to hear from you. Simply call 800-969-4400 or visit our website to schedule your appointment.
Our practice handles cases in the following areas: auto accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, police misconduct, product liability, premises liability, birth injury, and more.
