Over 40 million lawsuits are filed in the United States every year. That massive number makes this country one of the most litigious in the whole world.
While all lawsuits that are filed are done so due to grievances that a plaintiff feels theyâve incurred, what those grievances are vary immensely.
If youâre anything like us, youâre probably wondering what exactly is it that people are doing to one another that makes them want to sue?
In an effort to satiate your curiosity, below, we discuss 8 of the most common types of lawsuits that appear in small claims court. Hopefully, by briefing yourself one why people tend to sue one another, youâll be able to navigate your life in a way that keeps you from being dragged in front of a judge.
1. Equal Pay for Equal Work
One of the most common umbrellas for small claims court lawsuits are employee versus employer cases. Within that umbrella, equal pay for equal work reigns supreme.
There is a lot of talk in political circles today about women making less money than men for doing the same job. If as a plaintiff, youâre able to prove this reality while also explaining away potential variables (skill dependencies, educational backgrounds, salary negotiations, etc.) you could be compensated heavily by the courts.
2. Pregnancy Discrimination
Believe or not, even in todayâs day in age, employers are careful when it comes to hiring women. A big part of the reason why is that they worry about them becoming pregnant.
Pregnancies tend to require a leave of absence which causes employers the need to, in many cases, back-fill positions and also pay their pregnant employees while theyâre away from work.
By law, employers canât be proactive in avoiding this occurrence by not hiring women due to pregnancy potential or by firing them for getting pregnant.
3. Civil Rights Violations
Many types of lawsuits that we see in small claims courts come down to employers discriminating against protected classes that go far beyond being a man or a woman.
Other protected civil rights classes include age, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation.
Every year, thousands of people feel like they were let go from their job or passed up for an opportunity due to discrimination stemming from protected civil rights classes. When these happenings take place, people sue the groups that they feel are at fault and many times, walk away with a favorable judgment.
4. Breach of Contract
Our next types of lawsuits example is a breach of contract. If you have an arrangement with another person, say, a contractor who offers to re-roof your house for a certain amount of money and they donât do what they say theyâre going to do, you can take them to court.
Being able to sue for breach of contract is one of the prime reasons why having a contract in place for any formal arrangement that you have with anybody is important.
Without a proper document to prove what was agreed to, contract lawsuits can become extremely difficult.
5. Property Damage
Anything that you own is considered your property. If somebody purposefully or accidentally damages one of your belongings, so long as it meets your stateâs value thresholds, you can sue for damages in small claims court.
To be clear, property isnât just referring to your home. If someone accidentally crashed their car into a tree on your front lawn, you could sue them for its cost. If someone accidentally threw a baseball into your television screen, you could sue them for a replacement.
You get the picture!
6. Personal Injury
Throw a stone in a downtown area and chances are youâll chip the window of a personal injury laws firm. The reason why these law firms are so plentiful is that there is a lot of money to be made when people get hurt.
Everything from slip and falls to wrongful deaths could net you a lot of compensation if you learn more about your options and take perpetrators to small claims court.
Itâs very important that you are well-insured to make sure that if you ever become a defendant in a personal injury lawsuit, that it doesnât affect you financially.
7. Security Deposit Forfeiture
Weâve all been in this position⌠We move into an apartment, stay for a year, move out and then your landlord keeps your security deposit for a bunch of problems that they claim you caused but you claim were already there.
These cases make up a huge amount of the congestion that courts experience given that outlandishly high number of renters in America today.
8. Professional Malpractice
False diagnosis from doctors. Faulty legal advice from lawyersâŚ
If you pay a professional for their expertise and they do a job thatâs so bad that it affected the outcome of your life, you can take them to court.
Medical malpractice is especially common in courts given how complicated certain illnesses can be to diagnose and the damage that a misdiagnosis can cause a patient.
Wrapping Up Common Types of Lawsuits That Are Seen in Small Claims Court
As you can see, there is no shortage of diversity when it comes to the types of lawsuits that make their way into our courts every year.
So donât ever feel bad if youâre injured or mistreated and feel the need to sue. Chances are, people in your position would do the same thing, and you hesitating to contact a lawyer and take action could mean losing out on a ton of money.
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