What is personal injury law?

What it covers

Motor vehicle collisions, falls on badly kept property, defective products, medical errors, workplace accidents involving a third party, dog bites, nursing-home neglect, assaults, and wrongful death claims brought by a family. The legal test differs by category, but the structure is the same: someone is liable, their conduct caused the injury, and the injury produced damages that can be measured.

The legal theories behind the claims

• Negligence — the great majority of cases: a driver, store owner or doctor failed to take reasonable care.
• Strict liability — defective products and, in many states, dog bites, where fault does not have to be shown.
• Intentional torts — assault and battery, where the civil claim runs alongside any criminal case.

Injuries at work are a special case. An employee hurt on the job usually cannot sue the employer and receives workers' compensation instead — but can still bring a personal injury claim against a third party, such as the driver who hit a delivery truck or the maker of a defective machine.

How the money is counted

• Economic damages — bills already paid, treatment still to come, wages lost, reduced earning capacity, property damage. Documents carry these.
• Non-economic damages — pain, disfigurement, anxiety, loss of the things you used to be able to do. Testimony and medical records carry these.
• Punitive damages — rare, reserved for reckless or deliberate conduct such as drunk driving, and capped in many states.

A spouse may have a separate claim for loss of consortium, and health insurers or Medicare that paid your bills often have a lien that must be repaid out of any settlement — something to account for before agreeing to a number.

How cases are actually paid for

Most US personal injury lawyers work on contingency: no hourly fee, a percentage of the recovery instead, commonly a third before suit is filed and more if the case is litigated. Ask two questions before signing — what the percentage is at each stage, and whether case costs such as expert fees and filing fees come out before or after the fee is calculated. On a $90,000 settlement with $10,000 in costs, that choice alone can move more than $3,000.

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How a claim moves

Treatment comes first, and so does evidence: photos, video, witness names, the police or incident report. Once the treating doctors can say what is permanent, the lawyer sends the insurer a demand package — records, bills, wage proof and a figure. Negotiation follows. If it stalls, a lawsuit is filed, both sides exchange evidence in discovery and take depositions, and most cases settle then, often at a mediation. Only a small share go to trial.

Most cases never reach a jury

Settling earlier is faster and safer. Settling before the medical picture is clear is the mistake that cannot be undone, because a release closes the claim even if the injury turns out worse than expected. Be wary of a quick offer from an insurer in the first weeks, especially if it comes with a release to sign.

The deadline

Every state sets its own statute of limitations, commonly two or three years from the injury, and some are as short as one year. Claims against a city, county or state agency often require a formal notice within 60 to 180 days. Miss the deadline and the strongest case in the world is over.

Mistakes that shrink claims

• Waiting days or weeks to see a doctor, which lets the insurer argue the injury came from something else.
• Skipping appointments or physical therapy.
• Giving a recorded statement to the other driver's insurer before getting advice.
• Posting about the accident, or about active weekends, on social media.
• Signing medical authorizations that give the insurer your entire health history.

When to call a lawyer

Minor bumps with no treatment can often be handled directly with the insurer. Call a lawyer when there is a fracture, surgery, a head injury, time off work, a dispute about fault, a commercial vehicle, or an insurer that stops returning calls.