You’ll come to know about the multiple hats worn by a personal injury lawyer when you actually find yourself searching for one. As long as personal injury cases are concerned, it can become a confusing task to decide whether or not to hire a PI lawyer or handle the case on your own.
Being a type of civil litigator, injury attorneys at Sattiraju & Tharney assist their clients who have gone through psychological, physical, and emotional injury due to the negligence or carelessness of another individual or an entity. Keep reading to know more about personal injury lawyers.
Types of cases handled by PI lawyers
The different types of cases handled by PI lawyers are mentioned below:
- Transport accidents
- Animal bite accidents
- Car accidents
- Aviation accidents
- Boating accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Burn injuries
- Defective products
- Construction accidents
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Insurance claims
- Nursing home abuse
- Medical malpractice
- Spinal cord injuries
- Slip and fall accidents
- Wrongful death claim
- Negligence at child daycare
Personal Injury Lawyers – What exactly do they do?
If you have ever worked with any lawyer, you’d know that a personal injury lawyer will perform the jobs that a lawyer does. He will draft your pleadings, research the case, get case briefs from you, and design a solid case on your behalf. They are specialists in tort law and they advocate for the clients both before the trial and during the trial. Here are a few tasks done by a PI lawyer:
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He investigates claims
PI lawyers are usually paid on the basis of contingency fees and hence these fees are paid only when there is a favorable settlement. This clearly means that the personal injury lawyer will be paid only when he is able to recoup the compensation from the at-fault party. Before that, all costs have to be financed by the lawyer himself. Hence, they are very careful in investigating claims and picking up only the cases where they have a high chance of winning.
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He gathers evidence
The main job of a personal injury lawyer starts off with assembling all details, facts, and evidence of the case. All facts related to the extent and nature of the injury will be assembled by the PI lawyer. Tasks also include:
- Clicking pictures of damaged property
- Keeping a tab on witnesses
- Gathering medical bills, reports, and medical records
- Collecting reports of property damage
- Procuring police reports and witness statements
- He prepares the pleadings of the case
What will happen if the insurance company denies paying for the damages caused? Well, this is when the PI lawyer will prepare a solid complaint against the defending party. The complaint should comprise the intricate details of the accident and the legal arguments regarding the defendant should be held responsible for the incident. The defendant is given 30 days to file his reply.
Therefore, if you are still not sure about whether or not to appoint a legal professional to look after your case, ask yourself to know whether you can perform the above-listed tasks. If you think you can’t, get the help of a lawyer.