Personal Injury Claims & Lawsuits In Delaware

Common Types of Personal Injury Claims Filed in Delaware

Your options for filing a lawsuit and negotiating a settlement after suffering an injury may depend on the type of accident. Understanding your options with each is key.

Motor Vehicle Accident

Delaware requires vehicle owners to carry liability insurance. Victims with serious injuries can file claims with auto insurers.

If the insurer accepts liability, it negotiates a settlement. If the insurer denies the claim, the accident victim can file a lawsuit as plaintiff naming the at-fault driver as defendant.

While Delaware provides general court statistics about the number of cases filed and resolved, it does not detail winning percentages. Nationally, however, motor vehicle accident victims have a 64% chance of winning a lawsuit.

General Injury

In most cases, Delaware law provides a remedy for injury-related losses when you can prove that another party caused them. Even though the party responsible for the injury will be the defendant in any lawsuit, victims start by negotiating with their insurer. Plaintiffs can expect a 50% chance of winning a general injury lawsuit in most states.

Workers' Compensation

Delaware requires nearly all companies with at least one employee to buy workers’ compensation insurance. After a work-related injury, workers can file claims for medical and wage-replacement benefits. If the employer’s workers’ comp insurer denies a case, the employee can request an Industrial Accident Board hearing against the insurer.

Most workers’ comp cases never require negotiation or a hearing because the system is designed to favor granting claims for on-the-job accidents. As a result, the odds of successfully obtaining benefits are relatively high. However, the state does not publish exact numbers.

Sexual Assault

Sexual assault usually constitutes an intentional tort under Delaware law. Although insurance typically does not cover intentional actions, no matter how harrowing, it may cover negligence by an employer, school, church or other entity that allowed the attack. Thus, many of these cases begin by negotiating with the negligent entity’s insurer for compensation.

Where a lawsuit is required, survivors can act as plaintiffs against a range of defendants, including perpetrators and any negligent facilitators and enablers. Across the nation, victims have about a 52% chance of winning an intentional tort claim.

Dog Bite

Dog bites fall under strict liability in Delaware. This means the owner or keeper of the dog is generally liable regardless of the reasonableness of their actions. These cases often begin with negotiating with the liability insurer for the owner or keeper.

If a lawsuit is needed, the victim may sue the party responsible for the dog. Dog bite victims have a 75% chance of success nationwide.

Slip and Fall

Slip and fall accidents fall under a field of injury law called premises liability. When a property owner, manager or tenant fails to keep their premises reasonably free of hazards, an injured plaintiff can sue them.

These cases often fall under a property liability policy, so the victim typically tries to negotiate a settlement with the insurer before filing a lawsuit. After filing, victims have a 39% success rate nationally.

Medical Malpractice

Doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers must provide services with reasonable competence and skill. Injured patients can pursue claims with a negligent provider’s malpractice insurer and attempt to negotiate a settlement.

If settlement negotiations fail, the patient can file a lawsuit as plaintiff against the provider and any entity responsible for supervising them. Plaintiffs win 21% to 30% of medical malpractice cases on average throughout the country.

Filing a Personal Injury Claim

Start by contacting a lawyer to explore your filing options. It’s important to act quickly after an accident because victims only have two years to file most injury lawsuits under Delaware law. You may have up to three years to file a medical malpractice lawsuit if the injury was not readily discoverable.

Lawsuits are often used to spur settlements with insurers when negotiations bog down. Roughly 60% to 70% of cases will settle without litigation, though.

A few keys to negotiating effectively with insurers include documenting the injury thoroughly and understanding the full extent of your losses. This can help you avoid accepting an unfair offer.

Typical Personal Injury Settlement Amounts in Delaware

Delaware does not publish settlement numbers. Moreover, settlements depend on the type of personal injury claims & lawsuits in Delaware.

Malpractice cases often involve high settlements because of high policy limits. Conversely, the minimum auto insurance policy in Delaware is $25,000, capping the settlement in many car accident cases.

Most personal injury claims & lawsuits in Delaware settle before trial for an amount based on the extent of the injuries and the insurance coverage available.

When You Need to File a Lawsuit

Only about 15% to 20% of cases involve a lawsuit, and only 3% to 5% reach trial. However, a lawsuit may be needed when an insurer denies a claim based on a disagreement over coverage, liability, or losses.

When a lawsuit is necessary, the plaintiff will prepare a complaint and file it with the Superior Court. The parties gather evidence and conduct depositions. This process often reveals the strength of the plaintiff’s case and persuades the insurer to settle.

Get Matched With a Personal Injury Lawyer in Delaware

Hiring a lawyer nearby is vital when it comes to pursuing personal injury claims & lawsuits in Delaware. A local personal injury lawyer knows state statutes and specific court rules in your jurisdiction, giving you the best chance of success.

ConsumerShield connects injured people with vetted attorneys throughout the state. Fill out our easy contact form to get access to qualified legal help today.