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?
Also known as tort law, personal injury law refers to the many legal options an injured party can turn to when seeking compensation for damages. These damages generally need to result from wrongful conduct to become eligible for compensation. Wrongful conduct may include not just intentional and reckless endangerment but even unintentional harm caused by negligence. Note that the specifics of personal injury law vary on a state-by-state basis.
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 health care 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 work 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 there are others who 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. There are some attorneys who 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?
It goes without saying that 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 500s
- Experienced in the specific personal injury area you need legal counsel
How Do I Find an Experienced Personal Injury Lawyer?
The good news is that there are several personal injury lawyers in your area that may meet your needs. If you have family members and friends who have filed a personal injury case before, they might be able to recommend a personal injury attorney. When accepting recommendations from people you know, ensure the attorney has handled cases in the practice area of your own. The attorney who handled your friend’s car crash case might feel ready to take on your birth injuries case, but he might not be a good match.
The best way to ensure you work with a lawyer who ticks everything off on your list is to work with a professional matching service. Referral companies may simply post a list of attorneys you can reach out to, but a matching service considers the details of your case and the expertise of the attorneys it has on file. It then matches you with the attorney(s) it believes can best serve your interests.
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!
