What Areas Do Personal Injury Lawyers Specialize In?

As personal injury cases continue to get more and more specialized, practitioners are increasingly sticking to certain niches and sub-niches that they are most comfortable with, to add the most value to clients. 

While many attorneys in this field still practice across a broad spectrum of cases, the technical understanding and experience required for complex cases makes such specializations a necessity.

Someone handling medical malpractice cases must be well versed with healthcare law, along with the workings of hospitals and medical professionals to provide successful outcomes and compensation for victims. 

Similarly, a good understanding of traffic laws, along with experience in investigating, and working with insurance companies remains essential for vehicle accidents or product liability cases. 

The future of personal injury law remains specialized, and so far, here are some popular specialties that we see off-late.

Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice essentially refers to negligence or error on the part of a healthcare service provider that leads to the injury or death of a patient. Such cases are fairly common, with over 250,000 excess deaths attributed to medical errors each year. 

Such cases often take various forms, from a misdiagnosis, to surgical errors, and at times gross negligence on the part of a practitioner. As a result, it is absolutely essential for attorneys to be well aware of the nuances of medicine to best guide victims in pursuit of a reasonable settlement.

Vehicle Accidents

As the name suggests, vehicle accident lawyers represent victims of car, truck, motorcycle, or pedestrian accidents. 

The cases can involve one or more vehicles, pedestrians, public property, and more. The resulting damages could range from mere scrapes and bruises, to life-threatening injuries and disabilities, making a specialization all the more essential.

Given the vast ranges and types of vehicle accidents, personal injury lawyers in this segment are further specialized. For example, cases involving trucks are mostly handled by an experienced truck accident lawyer, with a good knowledge of makes, models, driving conditions, and more.

Slip & Fall Accidents

Safety violations and hazardous conditions on private, commercial, or public property can lead to injuries, often categorized under a broad category of slip and fall accidents. This can range from anything from slippery surfaces to poorly maintained stairways, and even the lack of proper labeling and warning signs at relevant places.

A lawyer well-versed with such cases can perfectly understand and articulate the sequence of events that led to the accident, helping victims receive the right compensation for their pain and suffering.

Product Liability

Cases involving injuries or fatalities resulting from flawed products come under the purview of product liability law. 

Given the sheer number of consumer products that dominate the American market, there are plenty of cases to go around, giving rise to the sub-specialty of personal injury lawyers who deal entirely with such cases.

This can be a simple case involving one or a handful of plaintiffs, or a class-action suit involving 1,000s of victims, and multi-million dollar settlements.

Wrongful Death

This refers to a personal injury case that results in the death of the victim, as a result of the negligence of another party. The case is fought on behalf of the victim’s family or estate, who will be the primary recipients of any compensation.

Family members who can receive compensation include the spouse, children, or parents of the deceased, in the absence of which it can be awarded to any other blood relative, or adopted sibling.

Final Words

In conclusion, personal injury lawyers work across a wide range of cases involving injuries and harm resulting from the wrongful actions or negligence of others. The segment is further subdivided into different specialities, with practitioners having thorough knowledge and experience to deal with certain types of cases, in order to best serve and represent their clients.