Personal injury law sometimes gets a bad rap, but that should not let that color your conception of the personal injury legal process. Though there are ambulance chaser attorneys who sue people based on limited evidence, merely to get a settlement by any means possible, there are much more personal injury lawsuits that are entirely legitimate. Imagine, for example, that you are injured in a person’s shop because merchandise fell from a high shelf that should have been secured, and you have to absorb medical bills, there is every reason that you should seek legal counsel.
In the scope of personal injury law, the above example is fairly minor. A personal injury lawyer such as Cummings & Lewis sometimes take cases that involve car crashes or workplace injury that can result in lost wages and diminished quality of life. In some cases, a person may not be able to go back to work in the same capacity at all, while at the same time having to absorb costly medical bills, and for these litigants, there is no recourse except to try to achieve some legal restitution. Hiring an experienced personal injury attorney is a key element of reaching a settlement in your favor.
Types of Personal Injury Law
People are often surprised by just how many types of cases fall under the heading Personal Injury. The basic rules of personal injury are pretty simple: if you have been injured and someone else is at fault then this can qualify for a lawsuit. However, the severity of the injury is also important through the emotional injury is factored into a lawsuit as well.
Personal injury comes in many types:
Negligence: This is a broad term that applies to a great many personal injury cases, such as dog bites, falls on a person’s property, toxic molds, burns, and other such cases that are the result of an accident that could have been prevented.
Abuse: In other cases, there is an outright battery, as is the case with nursing home abuse.
Product Liability: In some product liability settlements, the case may be a part of a class action suit, if there are many people who have suffered a similar injury or wrongful death, but there are single-litigant product liability cases as well. Defective drugs also fall under product liability and are very often a part of a class action suit.
Auto Accidents: This is one of the biggest factions of personal injury law, as car accidents are a leading cause of accidents and death every year. Auto accidents apply to all types of vehicles: buses, boats, delivery trucks, and cars.
Medical Malpractice: It is important to find an attorney who specializes in medical malpractice cases, as not every personal injury attorney will have experience with this type of law.
Workman’s Comp: Similarly, a work-related injury is a different type of law than product liability, though there are certain personal injury attorneys who handle all types of the above cases.
Experience is a key factor when deciding on a personal injury attorney, as you want to know that you’re getting the most professional legal representation available. Additionally, a good bedside manner is enormously important, as you may be dealing with injuries, in addition to a dire economic situation, so you want to be sure that your personal injury attorney is a good personal advocate as well.