Most times, your decisions to take extra precautions and be careful over things might utterly be ruined by someone else negligence and causing you injury damage, or loss in the process. And, in situations like this, you might be hiring a personal injury lawyer. Take, for example, you have been driving safely and within the appropriate speed limits and obeying all the traffic rules and regulations. Yet, a reckless driver comes from nowhere and rams into your car, causing you injury and damage. In the event that the driver insists on disregarding your claims for such liability he caused, you will employ the services of a personal injury lawyer to claim damages on your behalf.
Who is a personal injury lawyer?
A personal injury lawyer is a lawyer that provides legal services for people that got injured due to the negligence of another person. The negligence might not be from an individual, it may be from a factory, a company, an office, a group, or even the government.
Furthermore, personal injury lawyers are known as trial lawyers too. Regardless of the fact that personal injury cases mostly do not make it to trial in court.
Basically, this set of lawyers practices the law of tort. Now, a tort is considered mostly as an act of civil wrong which also can be settled privately without getting to trial. Though some offenses might be cut in between tort law and criminal law. However, in the case of personal injury claims, a lawyer who practices under tort law seeks private civil resolve for clients by making sure they receive compensation for their injury or loss.
Causes and types of personal injury
Ultimately, the injury may not even be physical, it may be psychological or in any other form.
More so, the injury may arise from
- Automobile accidents
- Bike accidents
- Aviation accidents
- Boating accidents
- Animal attacks
- Slip and fall
- Burns
- Pedestrian accidents
- Medical negligence or poor health handling.
- Bad products
- Bicycle accidents
Also, injuries may occur as a result of poor management or negligent in workplaces like
- Offices
- Construction sites
- Factories
- Breach of security
All these falls under the personal injury cases.
The role of a personal injury lawyer
These kinds of lawyers have almost the same job description as litigators or litigation lawyers. Briefly, litigation lawyers specialize in resolving disputes between two people. It might be between a company and a company, or a company and an individual, or even two or more individuals.
Meanwhile, a personal injury lawyer provides legal services for someone injured or suffered losses because of another’s negligence or even a thought-out act. Personal lawyers play the role of
- Gathering evidence from the cause of injury
- Communicating and protecting clients from the insurance company involved
- Representing clients in court
- Giving professional legal advice to clients
- Drafting pleadings
- Calculating damages
- Gathering incurred bills and expenses resulting from the injury or loss.
- Investigating claims.
How will a personal injury lawyer help your claims
Firstly, your personal injury lawyer must know the whole story and how you sustained your injury. And while most cases can be settled in a civil way, some may result in trials. So, your lawyer will have to go to trial to defend your claims.
The lawyer will use the evidence he gathered from witnesses, police reports, CCTV footage, and other means. While at it, he might request medical bills from your treatment, and any other cost of damage you suffered like loss of job or property damage.
All these will help to get you some good compensation for the injury or losses you came into. That is if he or she is convinced enough to take up your case.
In continuation, after your lawyer listens to your part, he takes his own actions according to the law. Your lawyer only charges an attorney fee after the jury’s verdict.
Talks with the insurance company
Now, in cases of injury, the insurance company that provides coverage for the accused will get involved with the case. The lawyer will initiate a negotiation with the company to find out what must be done to pay for the injured. As it stands, personal injury lawyers are in a better position to handle all negotiations and communications. These lawyers know how to review the insurance policy and get the best compensation from the insurance company.
Benefits of hiring a personal injury lawyer
In the event of injury or loss due to negligence from someone else, you just can not handle the process of seeking compensation. This is why you need a professional personal injury lawyer to handle and protect your rights. So, when you make the move of involving a professional, you stand to benefit because
They make better compensation decisions
Obviously, you don’t understand what exactly to ask for as compensation. The legal practitioner is an expert in these things and knows how to ask for them.
They understand the act of negotiation
Also, the insurance company from the accused will not hand over your claims to you on a platter. They will use every method to persuade you to drop some of your claims. Your lawyer has been in the business and knows what to expect from these companies. So, the negotiation becomes between your lawyer and the insurance company. With your lawyer’s experience, you stand a chance of getting a worthwhile compensation from the insurance company.
Legal protection
Moreover, in some cases, the accused will decide to contest your claims and insist on a court case. A personal injury lawyer provides legal protection for the injured in the court and speaks on their behalf. Also, protects them from the sneaky side of the insurance company involved, and takes up all communications with them. This way, the lawyer protects his client from being recorded unknowingly and other forms of entrapment. More so, the lawyer serves as the channel through which the injury victim receives the compensation payment.
In summary, accidents always leave their victims in a state of brokenness, injury, and loss. And, a victim deserves some sought of compensation. Especially when the accident was a result of negligence from someone else. Personal injury lawyers help victims make the unfortunate incident a little bit comforting.
