Personal injury law is based on two principles: negligence and intentional acts. Negligence involves an individual causing harm that does not intend to cause injury. Car accidents (if a person is not breaking the law), slip and fall accidents and medical malpractice accidents are generally considered negligence. Intentional acts causing injury are also known as torts. Tort law covers personal injury cases such as assault, battery, child abuse and defamation of character.

If a person is injured at work, he or she can typically claim worker’s compensation. An injured person may collect additional compensation if a third party caused the injury. For example, if a person is injured by a piece of machinery operated by a different company or a subcontractor, the injured person may be able to recover worker’s compensation in addition to compensation from the machine operator and/or the company.