what a personal injury attorney is and what they do

by Natalie Grant IV 6 min read

A Personal Injury Lawyer is an attorney that specializes in the representation of people who are injured by a third party. These attorneys practice in the area of tort law

Tort

A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. It can include the intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, financial losses, injuries, invasion of privacy, and many other things.

, which is the area of law where the injured party has been harmed. In most cases, personal injury attorneys are involved in the accident that caused their injuries.

A personal injury lawyer is a type of civil litigator who provides legal representation to plaintiffs who are alleging physical or psychological injury as the result of the negligent or careless acts of another person, entity, or organization.Oct 2, 2018

Full Answer

When should you hire a personal injury attorney?

Jan 18, 2022 · Personal injury lawyers are licensed professionals who pursue financial compensation on the behalf of injured individuals. Injury attorneys are civil lawyers, meaning they don’t work on criminal cases. They must be licensed in each state and may be qualified to practice personal injury law in multiple states.

Should you hire a personal injury attorney?

Personal injury attorneys specialize in tort law, which covers all civil litigation for injuries or wrongdoings resulting from negligence. The main goal of personal injury lawyers who practice tort law is to make their client (the injured “plaintiff”) whole again and discourage others from committing a similar offense.

Who are the best PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS?

Feb 20, 2022 · To learn more about personal injury lawyers, read on. Below, we’ll discuss the different types of attorneys and their services. Get the facts about Personal Injury Lawyers Near Me you can try this out. personal injury attorneys represent their clients on a contingency basis, meaning their fee is a percentage of the amount they recover for the ...

When you should contact a personal injury lawyer?

Jan 31, 2022 · Personal Injury Lawyers: An Overview. A personal injury lawyer is a professional who provides legal services to individuals who have been injured due to an accident. They’re a type of civil litigator who represent clients suffering from either physical or psychological injury as they assist them with claims.

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What a personal injury lawyer can do for you?

A personal injury lawyer helps individuals who have sustained injuries in accidents to recover financial compensation. These funds are often needed to pay for medical treatment, make up for lost wages, pain and suffering, and provide compensation for injuries suffered.

What does personal injury law involve?

Personal injury and clinical negligence law involve helping clients get compensation for injuries suffered in accidents in public or at the workplace and injuries caused by medical negligence.

What is personal injury evaluation?

Personal injury evaluations are forensic evaluations, meaning that there is a legal component to the evaluation. ... The goal of a forensic evaluation in a personal injury case is to do a pre and post-injury comparison to examine the impact of an event on a person's functioning and how this will impact them in the future.

Does personal injury include illness?

Personal injury cases may also include toxic torts, in which a contaminant transmitted by air or water causes illness, injury, or death. Other tort claims may be pursued in conjunction with personal injury claims. The most common personal injury claim involves injury from a motor vehicle accident.

Claims Investigation

Personal injury lawyers typically work on a contingency fee, meaning they only collect when they have secured a settlement or verdict. As such, the attorney has a vested interest in meticulously working your case. An attorney will not routinely take on a case that they do not believe will result in a win.

Evidence Gathering

A personal injury attorney gathers evidence to support the plaintiff’s claims, including collecting the police or incident report, witnesses and statements, photographs of the damage, and any other evidence such as camera footage.

Insurance Company Negotiations

Insurance companies have teams of lawyers working for them, and the average American doesn’t have experience negotiating with teams of lawyers. Personal injury lawyers negotiate with insurance companies every day, and they can review the policy details to understand the maximum compensation available for the victim.

Demand Letters

After a thorough review of the case and the insurance coverages, a personal injury attorney will often send a demand letter outlining the facts of the accident and demanding a certain amount of money for damages caused by the defendant.

Discovery

If the case proceeds, the personal injury attorney will begin the discovery phase. In this phase of the process, the attorney will seek information from the defendant, including depositions of witnesses and experts.

Representing Clients at Trial

Most cases are settled out of court, but if the case proceeds to court the lawyer will represent you in court hearings. Courts have very specific customs and procedures that your attorney will be able to handle for you and ensure that each step is carefully followed.

Contacting a Personal Injury Attorney

A personal injury lawyer can help you through each step of the legal process for filing your personal injury claim.

Attorney-Led Investigations

To win a personal injury case means proving that an individual’s or a company’s negligence caused harm to someone. But, proving negligence is not always a simple task. This is one of the reasons why personal injury lawyers conduct investigations.

Using Evidence to Prove Negligence

A personal injury lawyer’s job is to help an injured party link the evidence with negligence. Doing this can show that a defendant failed to exercise reasonable care and this failure caused harm or injury in some way.

Confronting Negligent Parties

It is not unusual for negligent parties to become confrontational and reject an injured party’s request for compensation.

Going to Court

At-fault parties and their insurance representatives are not always willing to negotiate fair settlements for those who were injured through no fault of their own. So, in an impasse, a personal injury lawyer may file a lawsuit against the defendants on behalf of the injured client.

Getting Compensation for Injured Clients

A personal injury lawyer uses the evidence collected to determine how much a case is worth. This helps a lawyer know how much compensation to ask for on behalf of an injured client. After all, what could be more important for an injury victim than to get compensation from the party who caused the injury in the first place?

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Claims Investigation

  • Personal injury lawyers typically work on a contingency fee, meaning they only collect when they have secured a settlement or verdict. As such, the attorney has a vested interest in meticulously working your case. An attorney will not routinely take on a case that they do not believe will result in a win.
See more on saladinolaw.com

Evidence Gathering

  • A personal injury attorney gathers evidence to support the plaintiff’s claims, including collecting the police or incident report, witnesses and statements, photographs of the damage, and any other evidence such as camera footage. Evidence may also include medical reports, medical records, medical bills, employment records, and property damage reports. This evidence will be …
See more on saladinolaw.com

Insurance Company Negotiations

  • Insurance companies have teams of lawyers working for them, and the average American doesn’t have experience negotiating with teams of lawyers. Personal injury lawyers negotiate with insurance companies every day, and they can review the policy details to understand the maximum compensation available for the victim. Additionally, keeping communications betwee…
See more on saladinolaw.com

Demand Letters

  • After a thorough review of the case and the insurance coverages, a personal injury attorney will often send a demand letter outlining the facts of the accident and demanding a certain amount of money for damages caused by the defendant.
See more on saladinolaw.com

Preparing Pleadings/Filing The Lawsuit

  • If the insurance company does not respond to the demand letter or refuses to offer a fair settlement, the personal injury attorney may prepare and file the lawsuit and legal arguments for why the defendant is responsible for the accident and the amount the plaintiff is seeking in damages.
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Discovery

  • If the case proceeds, the personal injury attorney will begin the discovery phase. In this phase of the process, the attorney will seek information from the defendant, including depositions of witnesses and experts.
See more on saladinolaw.com

Representing Clients at Trial

  • Most cases are settled out of court, but if the case proceeds to court the lawyer will represent you in court hearings. Courts have very specific customs and procedures that your attorney will be able to handle for you and ensure that each step is carefully followed.
See more on saladinolaw.com

Contacting A Personal Injury Attorney

  • A personal injury lawyer can help you through each step of the legal process for filing your personal injury claim. If you have been injured in a car accident and wonder whether you should accept a settlement offer from an insurance company, contact Saladino & Schaaf today or call us at 270-444-0406 (Paducah, KY) or 270-753-1529 (Murray, KY) to schedule a free consultation wit…
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