How To Find a Personal Injury Lawyer
After suffering a personal injury, your priority is getting better. As medical bills and lost wages from missed days at work start to take a toll, however, you may begin to wonder if you are eligible for compensation under tort laws. An experienced personal injury lawyer can review your case and let you know if and how to proceed. Your lawyer can collect evidence, negotiate with relevant parties on your behalf, and represent you in court. The hard part is finding a personal injury attorney who takes the job seriously and puts you first.
What Is Personal Injury Law?
Personal injury law, or tort law, covers the legal routes an injured person can pursue to seek compensation for damages. To qualify, these damages typically must stem from wrongful actions, which can include intentional harm, reckless behavior, or even unintentional harm caused by negligence. Keep in mind that the details of personal injury law differ from state to state.
What Are Some Types of Personal Injury Lawyers?
Most attorneys in the field refer to themselves simply as personal injury lawyers. However, some specialize in the various areas of personal injury for which you can bring a suit against a responsible party. These are the most common ones you may encounter:
Medical Malpractice
Attorneys in this area tend to handle personal injury cases that arise in the healthcare industry. Some further subdivide their practice areas into specific medical malpractice cases, such as birth injuries and surgical errors. If you can find an attorney who narrows his or her specialty down to your exact case, this may work best in your favor.
Slip-and-Fall Injuries
When injuries happen at a place of business, the type of attorney taking on the case depends on the working relationship of the victim(s) or lack thereof. For instance, say Jack and Jill visit a local bank together. Jack works at the bank and Jill only needs to get a book Jack borrowed from her. Jack and Jill both slip and fall on the wet floors and suffer injuries. Here are the three types of attorneys who can take on the case:
- Jack may hire a workers’ compensation lawyer to secure benefits while he recovers at home.
- Jill may hire a personal injury attorney who takes on slip-and-fall cases.
- The bank could hire a premises liability attorney to defend its interests in court.
Note that when slip-and-fall injuries occur on private property, the owner of the property may become responsible, even when it is not a business. For instance, if the mailman slips and falls on a homeowner’s property, the owner may become liable for compensation.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents are among the most common cases that personal injury lawyers take on. Most only handle crashes that happen on roadways, but others branch into accidents involving airplanes, cruise ships, boats, and commercial truckers. Some attorneys also choose to represent pedestrians and cyclists.
Animal Attacks
Almost any animal kept in a home can become violent and attack someone else. This includes cats, snakes, and rodents. However, most attorneys who handle animal attacks tend to refer to the practice area as “dog bites.” If you suffer personal injuries from a different type of pet someone was responsible for, it is sometimes worth reaching out to these lawyers anyway to see if they will handle the case.
Product Defects
Most companies aim to offer products and services that are safe, if not for altruistic reasons then for liability concerns. However, many companies miss the mark and produce vehicles, medication, entertainment devices, and technology that can put consumers at risk. Attorneys in this area can help you get compensation for injuries suffered.
Class Action
Almost any type of personal injury could become a class-action case. Some attorneys only take on class-action lawsuits. These cases usually involve groups of 10 or more people bringing litigation against a responsible party for a shared grievance.
What Should I Look For in a Good Personal Injury Lawyer?
You should seek an experienced attorney with a high success rate. However, this may not be enough to ensure you get the best possible service. Here are some additional characteristics you should look for:
- Willing to visit you at home or the hospital, if you are injured and still recovering
- Willing to work on a contingency basis, if you are struggling with medical bills
- Able to personally handle your case instead of passing it on to paralegals
- Willing and able to conduct a private investigation into the details of what happened
- Willing to go up against large corporations, if your case involves insurance companies, health organizations, or Fortune 500
- Experienced in the specific personal injury area you need legal counsel
How Do I Find an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer?
Fortunately, you have options when searching for a personal injury lawyer who fits your needs. Start by asking family and friends who have filed personal injury cases for recommendations, but make sure any lawyer they suggest has experience relevant to your situation. For example, the attorney who handled your friend’s car accident may not be the best choice for a birth injury case.
Another effective approach is to use a professional matching service. While referral sites provide lists of local attorneys, a matching service considers the specifics of your case and the expertise of the attorneys in its network. This process helps connect you with a lawyer who is well-suited to handle your unique legal needs.
Does this sound like the best way for you to find an experienced personal injury lawyer for your case? Submit a request online or call us today at (866) 345-6784 to get in touch with an experienced lawyer in your area!
About the Author
Aaron is a professional legal writer with a B.S. in English Education from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. He has written, published, and edited thousands of legal articles for RequestLegalHelp, which has connected over 5 million people to legal help in the United States.
With over five years of experience writing thousands of legal articles for law firms across the U.S. and Canada, Aaron specializes in covering federal, state, and city-level legal issues ranging from auto accidents to wrongful terminations. Contact Aaron at [email protected] for article suggestions, collaborations, or inquiries.
