What Does a Personal Injury Attorney Do?
May 15, 2017
It is very important to understand the role of an injury attorney, especially if a person goes through some kind of incident leading to damage to their person. In a situation where a person has been in an incident that has caused personal injury, a personal injury lawyer can help with several issues.
Medical Care
First, the personal injury attorney's job is to make sure that their client gets adequate medical care, both now and in the future. Very often, victims believe that once the injuries have been treated, in the immediate aftermath of the accident, that they are good to go. This can be deceptive.
Very often, there are conditions that occur several months, or even years, after the accident. If the client is not careful, they can end up with significant medical bills that they have to pay themselves.
Protect the Client
Second, the personal injury lawyers job is also to make sure that the client is not railroaded by big corporations, the other party or insurance agencies. These entities all have a stake in paying as little as possible for their negligence.
A personal injury lawyer's job is to protect the client and ensure that the client gets as much financial compensation for their injuries that the law allows.
Prove Negligence
Third, the lawyer's job is to prove negligence on the part of either party or parties, in order to show that the damage to the victim was in fact due to the negligence of other people. This is a critical component in order to receive damages from a jury. Proving negligence can be tricky in some situations, and the other side will be doing their best to avoid taking responsibility. It will be necessary for the lawyer to:
Collect evidence
Interview eye-witnesses
Collaborate stories and timelines
Review evidence
Issue a demand letter
Conduct depositions
Present a complete case
Negotiate
Fourth, a personal injury attorney also has a responsibility to negotiate with the other side. Very often, particularly in personal injury cases involving large corporations, the other side will come to the table with a low-ball offer in order to make the problem simply "go away."
The attorney representing the victim has a duty to make sure that the victim does not get railroaded into accepting a low-ball offer that will not take care of their medical injuries. The lowball offer will usually not even provide them with adequate financial compensation and leave them even more victimized.
Go to Trial
Finally, in many cases, the other side will come to a reasonable settlement offer. Thus, it is up to the victim to then choose to accept or decline the offer. If the offer is not reasonable, the option is going to court to face a judge and jury in order to get compensation.
In this case, it is up to the personal injury attorney to build a comprehensive case, present the evidence, make the argument and convince a jury that the other side needs to pay for the victim's injuries. The attorney will also attempt to convince the jury that the other side needs to cover damages, as well as, the potential of awarding punitive damages too.
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Note: This is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.