If you've been injured due to the fault of another party, then you might be entitled to compensation. However, it can be difficult to determine what injuries constitute a valid basis for a personal injury claim. To help you out, here's an explanation of the major types of personal injury lawsuits, along with an overview of what a personal injury lawyer does.

First of all, what is a personal injury lawyer?

A personal injury lawyer specializes in tort law and winning compensation for individuals who suffered from negligence or undue harm at the hands of another party. Specifically, there are three main categories of injuries that qualify as grounds for a personal injury lawsuit.

Intentional Injuries

The most obvious category is intentional injuries, where another party harmed you on purpose. In order for you to receive damages, the injury has have caused you suffering. If the injury prevented you from working, then you can also pursue damages for lost wages on top of any medical bills.

If you were attacked by another individual, then you have the opportunity to pursue both criminal charges and a civil lawsuit. In the criminal charges, you will take a more passive role as the government prosecutes the case on your behalf. In the civil lawsuit, you will need to hire a lawyer and then work closely with that lawyer in order to prove your case and win compensation.

Negligent Harm

On the other hand, if you are accidentally injured, then you can pursue a personal injury lawsuit on grounds of negligence. In order for you to prove negligence, you need to prove that the other party was able to take reasonable measures that would have prevented the injury, yet failed to do so.

For instance, if you were injured at work because you entered a dangerous area that was not clearly marked and you were not properly informed, then you might be able to win a personal injury lawsuit on the grounds of negligence. Some high profile lawsuits have occurred surrounding medical negligence, where a doctor failed to take the proper precautions, which ultimately resulted in harm to the patient.

Strict Liability Damages

Finally, if you were injured due to a defective product, you might be able to sue the manufacturer for liability. In order to prove this, you need to have used the product correctly yet suffered injury due to a defect.

For instance, if you buy a toy that happens to be coated in a type of paint that contains toxic chemicals and someone gets sick as a result of that, you could have a case.

For more information on personal injury lawsuits, contact a company like the Law Office of Michael Braun.