What Are Injury Lawyers?

A personal injury lawyer is a common term for an attorney who practices personal injury law exclusively. Genuine injury attorneys will strictly handle those lawsuits dealing with personal injury law. Be wary of "personal injury lawyers" that also practice divorce, wills, and criminal law. You will find that they do not fully and truly qualify as top personal injury attorneys.

Generally speaking, the best injury lawyers can handle any motor vehicle accident case against a difficult insurance company. Whether it involves a car, truck, bus, boat, motorcycle, or wrongful death, they can handle it. They also handle cases involving negligence. These can be because of doctors or hospitals. These also include injuries obtained while on the job and damage to medications.

When someone suffers a traumatic injury, an accident injury attorney is usually one of the first people to call. For a complete list of the types of cases that personal injury lawyers handle, click on our Practice Areas page.

One of the key hallmarks of the best personal injury lawyers is curiosity. Accident injury lawyers typically have an insatiable curiosity about their clients and the incident they are involved with. They are also very interested in psychology, medicine, theater, and the laws surrounding each.

Some people can spend their lives studying just one topic and be content. On the other hand, Injury lawyers find contentment in challenging their intellect. They do this by having a good understanding of many different areas. This is necessary for injury attorneys to succeed on behalf of their clients.

Like other lawyers, accident injury attorneys need to take and pass the bar in their state of practice. Of course, this comes after completing a J.D. degree from an accredited law school. However, passing the bar is simply the start of an injury lawyer's training.

These lawyers need to be well-grounded in medicine and anatomy. They often take advanced courses in medicine, physiology, and anatomy. They need to become experts in biomechanics. Auto accident injury lawyers also need to stay updated with current procedures and practices. This requires continuous training in these fields. They need to have the drive to acquire knowledge and use it.

They should also be well-grounded in the "hard knocks" school and have a natural feel for their clients. A significant factor is discerning whether or not the clients or experts will be persuasive before a jury.

Client interaction. An injury attorney often deals with people in pain or who have suffered severe physical and emotional losses. Clients have constantly stressed out, and a cycle of pain, anxiety and depression result in not being at their best. A lawyer and their personal injury law firm must be a steady presence. They are responsible for guiding their client through the legal process caringly and successfully. They should be empathetic and understanding. The injury attorney needs to take the time to know the client and the client's friends and family. Without knowledge of the client and their personality and long-term losses, there is no way the lawyer can successfully hope to resolve a personal injury lawsuit.

Liability. An injury attorney needs to be familiar with accident reconstruction. They have access to re-constructionist and traffic engineers when legal responsibility is contested. If it is a motor vehicle accident, you will most likely meet with a re-constructionist. An injury lawyer should visit every accident scene, interview witnesses, and see if the police report has the facts correct (they often do not!)

Here's a quick video describing how event reconstruction is achieved:

Causation. In addition to interviewing clients and witnesses, the injury attorney needs to possess good common sense as they have the burden to prove that a client's injuries were caused by the accident. In a legal sense, causation means "more probable than not." Often, medical personnel thinks of causation as they were taught in medical school as "scientific certainty." This is not the legal standard, and the auto accident injury lawyer must communicate the difference adequately to the medical personnel.

Damages. If the client's personal injury claim goes before a jury, the injury attorney will ask the panel to "fix what can be fixed, help what can be helped, and make up for what cannot be fixed or helped." The treating doctors will testify what caused the client's injuries with the accident injury lawyers prompting. They will also attest to the reasonableness of the medical bills. If future medical bills are likely, he will hire a Life Care Planner (a nurse with advanced training in medical economics) to explain the expected value of those future bills. An excellent personal injury lawyer will also hire an economist to reduce future bills to present value.

Curious about what our life care planners can do? Check out this video:

If the client has lost wages or will lose earnings in the future, the injury attorney will retain a vocational rehabilitation specialist to discuss how the client's earning capacity has been impacted and limits their future earnings.

Finally, accident injury lawyers will ask the jury to do what they can to make the client whole. To compensate for the client's pain and suffering and likely suffer in the future.

Even if you decide not to work with our accident injury law firm at this time, please take a moment to watch this helpful YouTube video on how to choose a top-rated attorney to handle your case.

If you have been injured in an accident because of someone else's negligence, you need an injury attorney that is willing to work hard for you and your case. Look for a personal injury attorney who offers free consultations, works on a contingency fee basis, and has the experience, skills, and resources your case needs. Schedule a free case evaluation with one of our accident injury attorneys today at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400. Our firm's founder and attorney, Ed Smith, has worked exclusively in personal injury law since 1982.

We are members of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the National Association of Distinguished Counsel.

Before hiring a personal injury lawyer, it is best to look at their client reviews and a list of past case results. See our client ratings on Avvo, Google, Yelp, and past cases on our Verdicts and Settlements page.

Editor's Note: This page has been updated for accuracy and relevancy [cha 1.24.22]

Additional Resources: