What do personal injury lawyers do? What kinds of cases do they handle? What type of compensation can you obtain with their help? Keep reading to learn more about personal injury lawyers and how they can help you win a case. 

Types of Personal Injury Cases

There are different types of personal injury cases, but they typically involve negligent acts by others. Personal injury cases handle various automotive accidents, such as those involving trucks and motorcycles. They may also include other types, such as bike, aviation, mass transportation, boating, and pedestrian accidents. 

In addition, personal injury lawyers can take on cases regarding premises liability like slip accidents, fall accidents, negligent security, animal attacks, and animal bites. Professional personal injury lawyers can also handle some instances of nursing home neglect and abuse as well as construction accidents. 

Types of Compensation

Different types of compensation are available depending on what kind of personal injury occurred. Compensation for personal injuries can include loss of income, emotional distress, medical expenses, loss of companionship, loss of consortium, loss of earning capacity, and mental anguish and pain.

Personal Injury Lawyers and What They Do

The specific actions personal injury lawyers take when dealing with legal cases heavily depend on what kind of a case it is, where they are processing the case, and the specialty area. The following are steps and actions personal injury lawyers take to help you receive adequate compensation for your injury.

Gather the Evidence

First and foremost, the lawyer needs to gather enough relevant evidence to support your claim. This often involves procuring some type of incident or police report. Then, the lawyer may even track down any witnesses of this injury to get their statements. 

Sometimes, they even hire photographers to take pictures of these accident reports. Other forms of evidence, such as camera footage, property damage, and so on, may also be considered.

The lawyer skilfully uses the evidence they gathered to establish liability of the person who caused the accident and to what extent the damages of the plaintiff go. They usually use medical records, medical reports, bills, employment reports and documents, and property damage reports to establish liability. 

Negotiate With Insurance Companies

Personal injury lawyers work at jobs that require them to be skillful at negotiating. They are used to this challenging and tiresome task. In cases of personal harm, they will likely have to deal with insurance companies to help you obtain the desired compensation.

To do that, they have the right to review the policy details and estimate how much your insurance company should cover based on the extent of your injury and the circumstances of your case. Personal injury lawyers also know how to handle difficult communication with the insurance company and ensure that your claims are not jeopardized.

Send Demand Letters

After your lawyer examines and investigates your claim, they will most likely send a demand letter to an insurance company. In this demand letter, they will state the facts surrounding the accident and demand a specific amount of damages for the injury caused by the defendant. 

Explain Your rights

Your personal injury lawyer will also help you gain a better understanding of what your rights in this case are. They will thoroughly explain your rights and how various legal issues may affect them. Since different states have different laws, it’s crucial that you hire a lawyer who works in your state or is highly familiar with its regulations. 

For example, if you live in New York and that is where the case is being processed, you should contact a personal injury lawyer in NYC. They will be able to explain to you how your rights in this particular state will help you reach the compensation you deserve.

Provide Advice

A personal injury lawyer is also like a tour guide. They will walk you through the whole process and explain how things will work out step by step. After carefully examining your case, they will think of a plan and approach they will take to help you win the case. It’s in their best interest that you also know what’s happening in every stage of this process. 

So, your lawyer will do their best to explain how they will use your claims and evidence to back you up in court. They will communicate their plans to you, provide you with advice, and work with you to come up with a solution that meets your needs.

Prepare Pleadings

If the insurance company rejects the offer for a fair settlement, your personal injury lawyer will prepare a complaint. This complaint is meant to set the legal argument against the defendant. It is supposed to showcase how and why the defendant is responsible for your injury. In addition, the complaint sets an amount in damages that you, as the client, request. 

Conduct Discovery

The lawyer will also initiate discovery processes if necessary. As a part of this process, your lawyer will send interrogatories to the defendant to gather relevant information. Additionally, this process can include deposing witnesses, experts, and parties.

Connect With Medical Providers

Another great benefit of having a personal injury lawyer on your side is that most of them usually have business connections with medical professionals. They can ask them to provide medical services for a lien on future settlements.

Assess the Damages

People usually only think about the immediate impact an accident makes and leaves behind. We rarely consider other factors, such as harassing phone calls from bill collectors, for example. Injured parties often also have to compensate for being off work for a few days or weeks. 

On top of that, they also sometimes need to repair damaged vehicles. All of this takes a lot of time, effort, and money and can additionally affect the physical and mental state of a person who has been severely injured.

As you can see, the impact of such injuries goes way beyond just the immediate effect. Most personal injury lawyers are ready to immediately look further down the road and examine how your injury will affect you in the long run. 

They are used to dealing with these types of cases and are good at identifying and estimating a more accurate set of long-term impacts caused by your injury. This can be seen through the loss of earning capacity, for example.

Represent You in Court

While most personal injury cases don’t go to trial, and most cases are settled before the lawsuit even gets a chance to be filed, there’s a chance you might see a judge. This mostly happens when the insurance company denies the claim.

In that case, the only way to receive the compensation you deserve is to go through with the trial. This process is not easy to handle, and that is why your personal injury lawyer is there to represent you in court and ensure you receive adequate compensation. 

Conclusion

Overall, personal injury lawyers handle a lot of different personal injury cases. Their job involves various tasks and requires them to be highly professional, organized, and skilled in what they do. With an experienced personal injury lawyer, you can rest assured knowing you’re in good hands and your injury will be adequately compensated.