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Things a Legal Malpractice Attorney does:
Have you or a loved one become injured either in an accident or by way of the willful neglect of others? Sometimes problems can be worked out through insurance or through a small claims case. If it is extremely minor it’s a good idea to forget about it and get on with your life because it may cause you more headache than it is worth .
But perhaps you really could use someone to take your side. Someone that will fight for your cause. A person who can really fight on your side. Then you really should have a Santa Cruz County personal injury lawyer that will fight for your rights, both financial and personal, so you can roll back to your life prior to when the injury occurred.
Being injured by a crime, accident, or negligence is not fun. It’s a very trying time, and being objective is nearly impossible. But keeping calm and logically oriented can be the difference between getting the best compensation or leaving the case feeling horrible.
A successful Santa Cruz County personal injury attorney can act as an advocate between you and the near-impossible situation, making it much easier to navigate the ins and outs of the legal system. If you are like most people, you may not even understand the full breadth of what’s happening until speaking with a legal professional. A legal adviser can help you see all of this in a more objective light, determine the claim and how they can help with your case, and help you move forward with any potential claim.
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What is a Santa Cruz County Legal Malpractice Attorney?
Well, personal injury lawyers (PILs) fall within the broader spectrum of civil lawyers. Civil lawyers are usually retained to recover cash or other financial instruments from a person or legal entity for another person or legal entity.
This means that when a person brings a civil action suit against another person, a civil attorney is usually hired to start the lawsuit and another civil lawyer is hired by the person or entity being accused. In the case of bodily injury, the injured party can retain a personal injury professional when said case involves reimbursement or payment of expenses coming from the injury such as medical reimbursements, mental health problems caused by the injury, and legal costs, etc.
After the PIL has been retained, they will gather everything for the case that they are legally able to get. They will speak with all witnesses that are available, get any and all documents related to the case, and use all their potential resources to make sure all of their is accurate.
Then they will first attempt to negotiate the settlement of the case. If negotiation fails, the lawyer can file a lawsuit in response, depending on the potential for a win. But what cases can a personal injury lawyer take on?
The PIL usually handles a wide number of cases that can be separated into two primary categories. The first field includes negligence and accident cases such as medical malpractice, legal malpractice, vehicle accidents, child neglect, and wrongful death cases. In most of these cases, someone is injured (or worse) due to the uncaring state or incompetence of someone.
The other main study of a PIL is the intentional injustice case. An intentional tort occurs when one person purposefully injures another person. This type of act occurs in a violent crime, assault and battery cases, slander, theft, and other such situations. Considering everything mentioned here, the potential reasons for a personal injury case is nearly endless.
In addition, and completely different from nearly all other areas of the legal world, personal injury professionals almost always work on a contingency fee basis. This means that they are not paid unless the person or entity that they are representing has beaten the case. It means that there is no upfront payment, for consultation or any other service. Their fee is based only upon financial compensation received by their client.
What Could the Result Be in a Personal Injury Case?
Of course, sometimes even these final steps of the process aren’t so simple. The injured party could counteroffer if they feel they are not receiving enough compensation. It is when these offers do not get agreed upon or an offer is unacceptable that a claim will end up in front of a judge.
However, it is unusual for a personal injury case to get to the trial phase. And this is for a lot of reasons:
First, a settlement initiates a situation where the defendant can control risks and avoid unnecessary legal fees. If the liable party is completely aware that they are at fault for the incident that led to the claim, they probably do not want the case to get in front of a sympathetic jury that could give much larger damages.
Secondly, a settlement can help keep the case on the down low. This is especially important for publicly known people. A large trial brings public attention. And even a small trial can provoke unwanted attention. A settlement allows all of those involved to negotiate terms, including those terms regarding non-disclosure.
Thirdly, a settlement can speed things up. Lengthy trials can take an eternity, lasting for many months or longer. In addition, if the other party appeals, the outcome can remain in court for an additional length of time. The plaintiff may want financial compensation in the near term rather than having to wait. Or they may just not want to go through the ridiculously long process of putting on a case, presenting evidence, and doing whatever it takes to beat the claim.
And lastly, settlement allows the plaintiff a guaranteed win. A trial is more of a ‘the higher the risk the more the reward’ type of situation, which is not always the best situation for either. The plaintiff may in many cases rather settle for a little less in a guaranteed win. This, versus demanding the highest dollar amount but also risking either losing the claim completely or having a judge or jury give a much lesser amount due to unknown circumstances pretrial.
What are the PIL Duties?
First they will take care of locating evidence and finding the responsible party, whether it be an insurance company, individual, or other legal entity.
Once the attorney has built a case, they draft and send an official letter of demand to the defendant. This letter includes a complete detail of what occurred, of injuries suffered, and the amount of financial compensation requested.
Next, the lawyer may try to negotiate a settlement, and depending on the outcome of the negotiation, chooses whether or not to bring the case in front of a judge. This is determined by how much the defendant agrees to the terms of the settlement.
Choose the Successful Legal Malpractice Attorney in Santa Cruz County
Here at DeLozier Law, we have over 4 decades of experience in successful personal injury law. Our clients are extremely pleased with us because we helped them get the settlement they deserved. We offer a free consultation so you can see if we can help you with your claim, too. Give us a call today at 602-989-1759!