Top 10 Tasks Of Personal Injury Lawyers

You may know that you should call a personal injury lawyer if you get hurt... but do you know exactly what personal injury lawyers do and in what situations they can help? Read on to find out the top 10 tasks of personal injury lawyers.

1. Personal injury lawyers file lawsuits when someone is injured by intentional behavior such as assault or battery: While most people think that personal injury relates to accidental injury, you can also sue if someone hurts you on purpose. This is separate from any criminal action that is brought against the injuring party.
2. Personal injury lawyers file lawsuits when someone is hurt by a car accident- Drivers have a legal duty to act with reasonable care. If they don't, and you get injured, a personal injury lawyer can represent you to obtain compensation for your injuries and your pain and suffering.
3. Personal injury lawyers file lawsuits when someone is hurt by unsafe conditions in a store- This most commonly occurs in the form of a "slip and fall." When a store invites you into the premises to buy things or do business, you become an invitee. This means the store has a legal duty to make sure that the premises is free of any hazards that can hurt you. If they don't, a personal injury attorney can help you bring a negligence lawsuit against them.
4. Personal injury lawyers file lawsuits if someone gets hurt in any public place- Just as in a store, any place where you are invited in to do business is obligated to make that location safe. So, if you get hurt in an office building, a restaurant or any other type of public building, you may be entitled to damages from the building's owner.
5. Personal injury lawyers file lawsuits if someone is hurt while visiting a private home While your friends and family don't have the same high standard of care that a public store does, you still are protected under the law when you visit someone's home. If you are invited to someone's house, you are a licensee- which means you are allowed to be there- and they have to make sure the premises is reasonably safe or warn you about any dangers. Again, failure to fulfill this duty can entitle you to monetary compensation in a lawsuit.
6. Personal injury lawyers file lawsuits when someone is hurt by a defective or unsafe product- All products are required under the law to be safe for the purpose for which they are intended. If they aren't, you can sue. In many cases, you don't even have to prove that the company was negligent in creating the defective or unsafe product. This rule, called strict liability, essentially means that all you have to do is prove that you used the product normally and that it injured you in some way.
7. Personal injury lawyers file lawsuits when someone is hurt by a defective drug- These types of lawsuits are also common, and are often in the form of class action lawsuits since usually when a defective drug is released multiple people become ill. Like other products, drugs that are released must be safe. If they aren't, the consequences can be deadly. When an unsafe drug injures you or kills a family member, the drug company is legally liable for damages.
8. Personal injury attorneys file lawsuits when someone is hurt by medical malpractice- Doctors are supposed to help you, but if they don't, you may be able to sue them as well. The standard that applies is whether a reasonable doctor would have provided better care. A personal injury attorney can help you determine whether the doctor in your situation fell short of this standard and is thus legally liable for damages.
9. Personal injury attorneys file lawsuits when someone is injured by bad food in a restaurant- Because restaurants offer food, that is their product and they are liable for damages that arise from it. If you suffer food poisoning or become seriously ill and have monetary or other damages as a result, a personal injury attorney can help you sue the restaurant to recover for your medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.
10. Personal injury attorneys file lawsuits whenever negligence causes injury- While most personal injury lawsuits can be classified into a specific category, such as car accidents or medical malpractice, everyone in every situation has a legal duty to act reasonably and not injure others. As a result, anyone who breaches that duty in any way- from carelessly throwing a rock out a window to transporting fireworks in a haphazard manner which then go off, is legally liable.