Personal Injury Attorneys Can Help
A personal injury lawyer is a civil litigator who specializes in tort law. Tort law covers any kind of private or civil case where you are injured. This includes physical injuries, but also defamation cases as well as breaches of contract. A personal injury lawyer helps you receive compensation for your loss, as well as ensuring the responsible party is not able to commit the same offense to someone else. Some of the ways a personal injury lawyer can help you include receiving compensation if you are unable to work because of your injury, covering medical expenses incurred because of your injury and paying additional fees to account for your pain and suffering.
How a Personal Injury Attorney Can Help You
If you are seeking compensation for your injuries, you are highly recommended to hire a personal injury attorney. Winning a personal injury case without a lawyer is difficult, and even if you are confident you can win, there is a good chance you will receive significantly less than you deserve. One of the first ways a personal injury can help you is by assessing the full extent of the damage.
When you are suing someone for an injury, there are many expenses you can charge you might not otherwise think about. Many of these expenses are either easy to overlook, or hard to properly calculate. For example, you might know how much to request based on medical expenses, but you can also sue for property damage or lost wages due to being unable to work. If you are not currently working, a good personal injury lawyer can also argue you deserve additional compensation to represent the fact you cannot search for work while injured.
Many of these additional fees are abstract concepts, but a personal injury lawyer can help you come up with a fair price. Your lawyer will also represent you in court when the opposition tries to argue your claim. This is especially important if you are challenging a corporation, which has the resources to buy some of the best legal representation.
When to Hire a Personal Injury Attorney
There are many different types of cases relating to personal injury. For most, the first example that comes to mind in personal injury cases involves someone being physically injured in an accident. Some mistakenly believe personal injury only applies when a person is severely injured, but this is not the case. For example, if you were in a car accident and had to go to the hospital, but were discharged the same day and told you did not have any serious injuries, you can still hire a personal injury attorney.
Personal injury also refers to product liability cases. If you were injured because a device malfunctioned or lacked proper safety procedures, you can request compensation from the manufacturer. This also applies to being sold expired food or medication.
Personal injury does not always refer to physical injuries. If a former employer is spreading lies about you, you can take them to court. In this instance, your employer is causing you injury because he or she is hurting your character, making it difficult for you to find new employment. In these circumstances, you can not only sue for potential lost wages, but also for damages as a result of stress from having to deal with your damaged reputation.
Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney
You do not want to hire the first personal injury lawyer you find. Personal injury cases can often drag on and require multiple appearances with the opposition’s legal team. For the best results, you must hire a lawyer you are comfortable working with, and who has enough time to fully dedicate to your case. When you are looking for a personal attorney lawyer, there are several questions to ask to help you narrow down your selection.
One of the first questions to ask regards rate. A legitimate personal injury lawyer will not charge you for a consultation. Lawyers make their money from winning cases. If your potential lawyer charges an upfront fee, this suggests he or she is not confident in his or her ability to win the case. It is most common for a personal injury lawyer to set up a contingent fee. With a contingent fee, your lawyer is paid a portion of what you win. If you do not win the case, you do not pay anything. It is also important to ask whether the contingent fee covers all of the costs, or if you must pay an additional fee afterwards for case expenses, court fees or report costs.
It is also important to ask whether the lawyer plans to handle the case personally, or if he or she is going to appoint someone else. This is more common in larger law firms, but it is still worth confirming even with a smaller group. You can also ask about previous cases the lawyer handled to get a better idea of his or her experience. This is also an opportunity to ask how long those cases took and how much they paid out. Finally, ask what the lawyer needs of you for the case to succeed.
Searching for a personal injury lawyer can be tricky. A common option is to search for an attorney online, or get one recommended from a friend or family member. Before you commit to meeting an attorney, make sure he or she is accredited in the state. You can check the state bar or Department of Law in your state. If you contact a law firm and they are unable to take your case or do not specialize in personal injury law, you can ask the firm for a recommendation.