If you own a television or have a stereo in your car, you have likely heard advertising for a personal injury lawyer. However, many people are confused on exactly what a personal injury lawyer does and which types of cases they take. As such, we'll define the job of the personal injury lawyer, so that you can know if this is the type of attorney that you should be seeking.
A personal injury attorney represents persons or organizations that have been injured by another person, group, company or even government agency or organization, where the injury occurred as a result of wrong doing or negligence on the part of that person, group company or government entity. A common example is someone who was injured by a drunk driver. The drunk driver was negligent in getting behind the wheel of the car while intoxicated, and therefore, by law can be liable for physical or psychological damage to the injured person or persons.
A personal injury lawyer is an expert on a specific part of the law called tort law, which is a section of the law that deals with civil injustices or damages to someone's person, property or personal reputation. This can also include someone who has had their rights infringed upon. The personal injury lawyer normally takes cases that involve medical malpractice, car accident injuries, injuries sustained on the job and injuries caused by defective products. In each of these cases, you can see that there is usually negligence on the part of the other party, whether it be a driver not paying attention to the road, or a company that sold a product without testing it properly or sending it out when it was unsafe and could potentially cause injury.
A personal injury lawyer's job is to represent you in taking this case to court, and seeking damages against the person, company or organization that wronged you. In many cases the other party may choose to settle out of court, This could be because they don't want a public court case that may end up in the media, or because it will cost them less to settle the lawsuit than to take it to trial. In some cases, personal injury lawsuits go to trial and the decision as to whether the plaintiff will receive compensation from the defendant and how much they will receive, if any, rests with a jury.