What Does a Personal Injury Attorney Do?

Personal injury attorneys specialize in tort law. Torts involve any private or civil wrong, such as negligence (auto accidents and traumatic brain injuries), defective products, false imprisonment or detention and libel and defamation.

At a free case consultation in New York, a personal injury attorney will explain how state laws pertain to your specific case. Most torts involve proving someone caused harm.

Defending Your Claim

Evidence can be key in establishing liability in cases ranging from car accidents and workplace incidents to medical malpractice and more. Your attorney can use accident reports, safety records, eyewitness statements and other documents as part of their case analysis to support your claim and claim.

Personal injury cases typically follow a preponderance of evidence standard, in which the plaintiff must prove that their version of events is more probable than that of the defendant. Your lawyer can outline this burden and how you can meet it.

Your lawyer can also review the law to identify all parties you can sue under vicarious liability laws, such as when receiving substandard medical care at a clinic. Under vicarious liability law, any third party such as health insurers or outside parties could attempt to claim against your settlement money; they can also help negotiate unpaid medical bills so as to minimize what must come out of it.

Filing a Lawsuit

If negotiations between you and the defendant or their insurance company have not resulted in an agreeable settlement, your lawyer may file a lawsuit on your behalf to prove that they were at fault and therefore liable under law for your losses. In order to be successful with their argument they will need to demonstrate how the defendant caused those damages in question.

As one example of vicarious liability in medical malpractice suits, it could be possible to file suit not only against the doctor who performed the incorrect procedure but also the clinic that employed them based on vicarious liability laws. A similar principle might also apply when product liability lawsuits involve employers being responsible for any torts committed during employee employment.

Your lawyer will commence an investigation of your case, which may include interviewing witnesses and experts, reviewing medical records and invoices, correspondence with insurance companies or third parties as well as documents documenting losses you have sustained.

Preparing for a Settlement or Trial

New York law also allows personal injury victims to recover compensation for pain and suffering caused by their injuries, which includes physical aches and discomfort, insomnia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as loss of enjoyment of life and more.

Skilled personal injury attorneys like Ross Cellino will be able to negotiate an appropriate compensation amount for pain and suffering and assess any future medical expenses caused by your accident and injury.

If you were injured in an accident and cannot work due to being out, a lawyer can help secure compensation for missed paychecks and property damage caused by the incident. They may also pursue punitive damages.

Negotiating with Insurance Companies

Dealing with an accident and its injuries can be stressful and disorienting, placing victims in an exposed state after an incident and potentially misunderstand what insurance representatives are telling them or agree to things they shouldn’t agree to. Working with an attorney will help prevent this and ensure maximum compensation is awarded to victims for their losses.

Before entering into negotiations with the party at fault or their insurance, your lawyer can help determine the value of your case and negotiate accordingly. They’ll also ensure you present all relevant evidence, such as medical bills or costs associated with the injury, in support of it.

Insurance companies are in business to make money, so they may try their hardest to offer you less than what is owed to you. An experienced personal injury attorney will know how to recognize these tactics and can safeguard your legal rights as you work towards reaching a fair settlement.

If your personal injury case includes using an expert witness, please see the information below to learn what ethical considerations these experts take.