The Perks of Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer

No one wants to have to use a personal injury lawyer, but when the time comes to find one, they can be your best ally. As frustrating and disheartening as dealing with an injury can be, finding a good personal injury lawyer can help alleviate stress and get you the money you need to pay bills. Whether you are in a legal battle with your employer or you were in an accident and are in a legal battle with the other person's insurance company, a lawyer on your side is necessary to ensure that you do not fall into any pitfalls, and that you win your settlement.

Personal injury does not just mean when you are injured by another person as it can include damage to your property and even psychological damage that is caused by pretty much any other entity including the government. Most class action lawsuits against large companies are put together by personal injury lawyers. These lawyers have an intimate knowledge of tort law which covers civil wrongdoing. Whether civil damage or harm was caused by wrongdoing or negligence, when a lawsuit is filed the plaintiff's lawyer must prove that the action or inaction caused legal harm to their client. Tort law does not carry the burden of beyond reasonable doubt, rather a preponderance of evidence is required for a judge to rule. This preponderance of evidence only requires a 50% chance that the proposition is true; meaning that the plaintiff will win their case if it is more probable that their case is true than the defendant. Therefore, it is a bit easier for a personal injury lawyer to argue that their client was civilly harmed if they can argue in such a way that the defendant holds the majority of blame for the wrong done to the plaintiff.

The majority of cases handled by personal injury lawyers are settled outside of court as the proceedings for going to court at costly for everyone involved. This is also based on the lawyer building a good case for the preponderance of evidence. It is almost like a game of cat and mouse between lawyers or their firms, but once one of the lawyers is able to show that their client will win, the other firm either drops their case or settles.

A personal injury lawyer also has several different methods of payment that can be beneficial to their clients. For some, payment is only required if they win their case, while others require a retainer or hourly rate. This all depends on the lawyer or their firm as some of the large law firms for personal injury handle so many cases that they are able to only require compensation for a winning trial or settlement. This is especially true with a large class action lawsuit where the winnings of the plaintiffs stand to be exceptionally large amounts of money.

One of the most popular criticisms of personal injury lawyers is the term "ambulance chaser" which refers to a personal injury lawyer who seems to show up at the scene of any accident looking for someone to blame. While this criticism has led to research into tort reform and its effect on rising healthcare costs, no correlation was found. In fact, tort reform advocates have since backed off their claims about the supposed correlation.

A personal injury lawyer can be your best friend when you find yourself in a bad situation that has been caused by someone else's actions or negligence, and their knowledge of the law helps you receive the compensation you deserve.