Malman Law
Legal News

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Injury Statistics

Illinois Injury Statistics – How Many Personal Injury Claims are Filed Per Year?

According to injury statistics, injuries are among the leading causes of death in Illinois and the United States as a whole. In fact unintentional injury is the number one cause of death in individuals under the age of 44, and in the top five causes of death for individuals in all other age groups.

It is hard to determine the number of personal injury claims based on injury statistics because not all injuries are reported in a timely fashion, or at all. However, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, there are over 32 million ER visits per year due to injuries, nearly 180,000 of which result in death.

Of these millions of injuries, what number become personal injury claims? How does a Chicago injury lawyer determine if an injury may be eligible for a personal injury claim? Simply put, most personal injury claims arise when an individual believes that their injury was caused by the negligence of another party. Here are a few examples of the most popular types of personal injury claims, based on injury statistics:

Motor Vehicle Accidents: When an individual is injured in an automobile accident that is not their fault, they may need assistance from a Chicago injury lawyer to file a personal injury claim with their insurance company. They may also consider suing the other party.

Accidents in the Workplace: There is an entire industry focused around accidents in the workplace – preventing them and addressing them as they come up. Worker’s compensation is in place for accidents in the workplace, but sometimes a Chicago injury lawyer is necessary to assist with the process of filing for worker’s compensation benefits, particularly if an employee feels like they are not getting the benefits they are entitled to.

Medical Malpractice: As noted above, injury statistics show that several millions of people seek medical attention every year for injuries and other conditions. Unfortunately, sometimes medical professionals make mistakes and errors in judgment that lead to worsening conditions and sometimes even death.

There are several other types of personal injury claims, the above are just the most common. If you or a loved one have been involved in an accident that was the result of negligence on the part of another individual, you should contact a Chicago injury lawyer. They can assist you in filing a personal injury claim and advise you what your next steps should be to ensure that you don’t become just another of millions of injury statistics.