PERSONAL INJURY LAW

Personal injury law involves legal representation for those who have been injured, physically or psychologically, as a result of the negligence of another person or entity.  Those who practice personal injury law must be knowledgeable and have experience with regard to the wide area of law that includes civil wrongs and damages to a person’s property, reputation, or rights.

The term "trial lawyers" often refer to personal injury lawyers, but the fact of the matter is that most cases handled by personal injury lawyers settle before going to trial and a good personal injury lawyer must be well-versed in the art of settlement negotiations as much, if not more so, than at trial practice itself.

A personal injury lawyer has numerous responsibilities in serving his clients including both professional and ethical rules and codes of conduct.  Upon interviewing prospective clients and evaluating their cases to determine the legal matters involved, a good personal injury lawyer will identify the distinct issues rooted within the plaintiff’s larger problem, and must extensively research every issue to build a strong case. The ultimate professional responsibility of a personal injury lawyer is to help plaintiffs obtain the justice and compensation they deserve for their losses and suffering through advocacy, oral arguments, client counseling, and legal advice.

As with any other area of the law, personal injury lawyers must also adhere to strict standards of legal ethics when dealing with clients and must knowledgeably evaluate legal matters and exercise competence in any legal matter undertaken. Moreover, personal injury lawyers owe their clients a duty of loyalty and confidentiality and must work to protect their clients’ best interests.

Compensation

Typically lawyers’ fees are based on a number of factors, which may include the time and energy spent on a case, the outcome of a case, the difficulty of a claim, the experience and prominence of the lawyer, and the costs associated with the case. There are several standard payment options a personal injury lawyer may offer his/her clients. These options include contingency fees, hourly rates, flat fees, and retainers with contingency fees being far and away the most widely used method in personal injury law.

A contingency fee is a prior arrangement between lawyer and client in which the lawyer receives a set percentage of the amount of recovery awarded to the plaintiff in a case. In most cases, monetary recovery is obtained through settlement, mediation, arbitration or trial. Generally, when a lawyer takes a case on a contingency fee, a client has no obligation to pay his lawyer a fee unless the case is successfully resolved.