Personal injury attorneys are essential in providing legal representation to victims of an accident, purposeful harm, or neglect. You may be entitled to compensation depending on the cause and nature of your injury.
We’ll help you discern whether a personal injury lawyer or car injury attorney can benefit you, what you can expect them to do, and how the personal injury lawsuit process works.
What Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Do?
A personal injury lawyer is a civil litigator, representing clients in court to prove that the injuries or wrongs done to the plaintiff are a consequence of the defendant’s negligence. A personal injury lawyer’s arguments seek monetary or nonmonetary compensation for damages to the person’s well-being.
These damages might include defamation, acts of bad faith, and contract breaches. Personal injury lawyers are experts in tort law, the law of wrongful injuries, exposing liability, and protecting the victim’s right to compensation.
Imagine you slip and fall at work due to the neglect of the employer—poor lighting conditions, wet floors, defective projects. A personal injury lawyer will assess your situation, determine whether you’re due compensation under tort law, and represent you in court to prove liability and seek compensation.
This is undoubtedly an oversimplified scenario since each tort law case is different. Personal injury lawyers approach litigation case-by-case but ensuring you get your dues is the gist of what a personal injury lawyer does.
Who Needs a Personal Injury Lawyer?
Anyone who’s been wrongfully injured due to the neglect of another person, company, or entity should seek a personal injury lawyer.
These are some critical situations where a personal injury lawyer is necessary:
- You’ve suffered severe injuries affecting your ability to work or conduct daily activities caused by another person.
- Your injuries are sustained and require permanent care.
- A defective part caused your injury.
- Alcohol was in part responsible for the incident and accountable for the injury.
- You’ve suffered emotional or mental distress due to the incident.
- A doctor’s medical incompetence caused or worsened your injuries.
- You are not getting compensation for missed work during your recovery period.
- The insurance company refuses to pay a claim.
- Liability is unclear.
As you’re probably starting to realize, the word “injury” has myriad connotations in the world of tort law.
If you are involved in a situation where someone else’s carelessness has caused you physical or mental harm, a personal injury lawyer is a resource on which you can rely.
After all, the last thing you want to do after an accident is battle your employer, aggressive lawyers, and insurance adjusters, who may be trying to downplay your injuries to make you settle for less compensation.
Why Rely on a Personal Injury Lawyer?
If you believe you are due compensation, you will want to enlist the help of a personal injury lawyer rather than trying to represent yourself. Representing yourself without the help of a qualified lawyer puts the burden of proof on you, the victim, including gathering evidence, making a case, and estimating damages.
Suppose there are flaws in your liability claims, mistakes in your documents, missteps in court, or conflicting statements from you as the plaintiff. In that case, a competent lawyer can dismantle the case, leaving you with nothing.
Remember, the defendant’s insurance company will do everything in its power to blame you, downplay the damages, or try to get you to settle for a pittance of what they justly owe you. Most individuals will be left floundering without a legal leg to stand on without a personal injury lawyer.
Personal injury lawyers live and breathe tort law, can rebuff adjuster attempts to downplay damages, and prevent you from incriminating yourself.
Protection from Insurers
Insurance companies will always attempt to devalue or deny damages claims. A personal injury lawyer is familiar with their antics and has the necessary knowledge of tort law to protect your interests in seeking compensation.
Insurers may do the following to devalue your claim:
- Making formal statements – If you make a formal statement to an insurer about your injury, their adjustor can manipulate your wording to use it against you.
- Downplay the severity of injuries – Insurers will always try to make your injuries seem less than they are to avoid paying out high settlements.
- Delaying a claim – A tactic to wear the person down, insurers will provide a low offer and then process the claim as slowly as possible in hopes of forcing a settlement.
A personal injury lawyer can protect you from incriminating yourself while defending you from the insurer’s deceptive practices.
Evidence Collection
Your lawyer will gather evidence for you to determine liability. In cases where liability is hard to pin down, personal injury lawyers can collect a slew of valuable data—testimonies, video footage, photos, and police reports—to get the law on your side.
Each case requires different evidence, and a personal injury lawyer will help you get precisely what you need to determine who’s responsible and what the responsible party owes you- whether that be in the form of financial compensation, reimbursement for a visit to an accident care and treatment center, or even medical and auto bills for injuries and damage.
Complete Representation
A personal injury lawyer is your representative both in and out of court. Many documents and paperwork are involved in a claim, and filling something out correctly could result in a judge throwing a case out the window.
Personal injury lawyers are equipped with the knowledge of the claims process, handling the appropriate paperwork, making settlements, and matching the aggression of the defense lawyer in court, if the claim goes that far.
Injury lawyers protect you from being a victim of loopholes, whether through wrongful proceedings or self-incrimination, helping you get what you deserve for your injuries.
The Bottom Line
By law, you may be eligible for compensation for your injuries. If you have suffered harm due to someone else’s neglect, contacting a personal injury lawyer is wise.
As your legal advisor, they will ensure your claim is processed correctly, ward off attempts to reduce the value of your claim, and defend you in court if necessary. With a skilled lawyer, you can enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing you are in capable hands and likely to get the reparations you deserve.
