Imagine this scenario: A man is walking home from an exhausting day at work. He stopped at the crossing, waiting for the pedestrian light to turn green before walking towards the other side of the road. As the stoplight turned red, he confidently walked along the pedestrian lane when he got struck by a speeding car. He sustained a major injury in the accident, which leaves him unable to work. The man decided to seek legal counsel for pedestrian accidents to win a personal injury claim.
The situation above is an example of a road accident. Whatever action a victim might take can make a difference in the amount of compensation they will receive. The role of a personal injury lawyer comes in as they serve as civil litigators who stand for their clients after acquiring physical or psychological injury that resulted from careless acts or negligence by another person or entity.
Whether you are seeking a personal injury lawyer or you want to be one, this article will discuss the roles of a personal injury lawyer. Learn about its basic responsibilities and the required credentials of this legal profession.
Background
Personal injury lawyers specialize in an area called tort law. This field of law concentrates on injuries, civic or private works, and monetary or non-monetary damages. This includes actions of bad faith, defamation, or breach of contract to property, rights, or reputation.
While personal injury lawyers have licenses to pursue different fields of law, they often handle cases that fall within work injuries, defective products, road accidents, and accidents caused by falls and slips. These lawyers help clients claim compensation for damages or losses acquired. These damages include pain, suffering, inability to do regular duties, and the loss of capacity to earn. Other losses may also include attorney fees, legal costs, loss of companionship, emotional distress, and other expenses that may arise.
A personal injury lawyer must ensure that clients remain safe from being victims of the legal system and insurance agencies. They also serve as trial lawyers, but most of their cases are already settled before proceeding to a full trial.
Duties
Personal injury lawyers take on several responsibilities when defending clients. These duties involve the rules established by associations that legalized the lawyers and professional and ethical codes of conduct. As soon as the state bar association awards them the license to practice law, these lawyers can now argue cases, prepare legal documents, submit complaints in court, and offer legal advice to clients of personal injury.
Personal injury lawyers have the sole duty to defend clients by interviewing and assessing their cases. They start by determining the relevant issues related to the client’s case and research about the problem to build a strong case.
The most important duty of a personal injury lawyer is to ensure that the client will get the justice and compensation they deserve after acquiring damages. The lawyer can achieve this through legal advice, counseling, oral arguments, and advocacy. A case may proceed to trial when there is no amicable settlement between two parties.
The law requires personal injury lawyers to adhere to the principles established by the legal ethics when dealing with clients. Although legal guidelines may differ from each state, a lawyer must evaluate legal issues while ensuring due diligence in any legal action they perform. At all costs, they must practice allegiance and confidentiality to protect the best interests of the client.
Credentials
To become a personal injury lawyer, the applicant must pass the written bar exam and ethics exam. Examinations may vary depending on each state. Most of the states require law applicants to finish their law or college degree from an accredited institution. Meanwhile, non-accredited law schools have specific requirements to follow before the state permits them to offer legal education courses.
Most states require applicants to take the prerequisite examinations, such as the state bar exams, Multistate expert Responsibility Exam, Multistate Essay Examination, and Multistate Bar Examination. Some states may also include a Multistate Performance Test.
The qualified applicants admitted to the bar must ensure that they stay informed about the recent developments in their respective fields while finishing their degree. Universities designed legal education courses to ensure lawyers are up-to-date on law-related developments by completing the number of hours required per state.
Whether your personal injury case heads to trial or reaches an amicable settlement, your chosen personal injury lawyer will ensure that you obtain the best result. So if you or a loved one gets involved in an accident, make sure to hire a personal injury lawyer to keep informed about the available options in receiving compensation.