When a workplace injury or vehicle accident occurs, many people choose to seek damages for their injury and “pain and suffering.” In the legal world, “pain and suffering” refers to the physical and emotional stress stemming from the injury. It’s a vague concept that can be hard to quantify.

Most often categorized under General Damages or as a part of the “compensatory” non-economic damages, pain and suffering can result in money damages awarded in a trial or through mediations, arbitration, or insurance settlements.

Every year, common work injuries prevent employees from clocking their normal hours. The U.S. Bureau of Labor reports that there are over a million work-related injuries or illnesses each year. That’s nearly one injury for every hundred full-time workers.

Common work injuries are most often due to overexertion or a slip and fall. These accidents are usually fairly mild, but the corresponding injuries can keep workers out of the workplace for days, weeks, or months. This has a negative impact on businesses, their employees, and their employees’ livelihoods.

While post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) seem fairly different, they share many similarities, and this can make the proper diagnosis challenging. It's not uncommon for individuals to be diagnosed with both, and that can make it difficult to properly recognize, treat, and determine the life-altering effects of each disease. Being diagnosed with PTSD and TBI challenges an individual’s ability to navigate life the same way that they did before the injury.

Common car accidents cause injuries to more than three million Americans every year.  Although not every car accident is fatal, most include damage to your vehicle and potential injuries. While common car accidents can be avoided by certain safety precautions, they still happen.

Most car accidents fall into several common categories. If you experience one of the following common car accidents, be sure to notify the police and explore your legal options.

Car accidents and serious personal injuries are shocking tragedies that can completely derail your life. Accidents like these are disorienting, and the aftereffects can be just as confusing. You may be overwhelmed with questions like “what’s the next course of action?” and “how much will this cost me?”. Among these inquiries, the most common question on a victim’s mind is “how do I go about hiring an attorney?”. When liability for the accident falls upon someone else, you’ll probably be looking for a plaintiff’s car accident lawyer.

One important question commonly asked by Floridians involved in automobile accidents is--are there alternatives to going to court in Florida after a car accident? Going to court can be a tedious, time-consuming, and financially draining process. One solution to avoid going to court is mediation. In instances where a lawsuit is established after an auto accident, cases are required to go to mediation before entering an official trial. Thankfully, however, many auto cases are settled before a lawsuit is even brought up.

(Continuing the series about injuries common in workers compensation and personal injury cases.)

A Pain in the Neck

Neck injuries are one of the most common injuries among Americans, and the rate at which they occur in automobile and workplace accidents rises every year. While primarily known to take place during car accidents, neck injuries can also be the result of overexertion, falling, increased stress, and sport-related accidents. Along with neck injuries, however, comes a variety of symptoms, treatments, and opportunities for compensation. 

Ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft have skyrocketed into popularity over the last few years. Boasting low prices, increased accessibility, and unrivaled efficiency on a national scale, ridesharing apps have even become a threat to traditional taxi cab businesses. By allowing amateur drivers to use their own personal vehicles for commercial use, these applications have provided thousands of job opportunities as well as a readily available transportation alternative for consumers.

Workers’ compensation in Florida provides two categories of benefits: Indemnity and medical. Within the medical benefit category, injured workers are governed by the limitations set forth in Florida Statute 440.  

A lower back injury is one of the most common preventable injuries. Injuries of this type occur most frequently during workplace accidents, falls, auto accidents, and sporting activities. If you have experienced any of these incidents and are suffering from a lower back injury, you should promptly contact a personal injury attorney. Instances of injury could mean potential compensation, especially if you’ve been the victim of an automobile accident or hurt on the job.