In recent times, personal injury law has been criticised from both within and outside the law industry. But like it or not, this law is a niche area that has cemented its importance and prominence in Australian courts and the legal world. This law deals with injury to the body, mind or emotions and is most commonly used to refer to a type of lawsuit that claims a plaintiff’s injury was caused by the negligence of another.
Personal injury law has been the subject of much criticism for a few main reasons, most notably for the so-called ‘compensation culture’ it is believed to have created. Compensation culture refers to a growing belief that one who has experienced or suffered personal injury is able to seek compensation through legal action from someone connected with the injury. As such, personal injury law and compensation culture has made it legally possible and often lucrative to shift the blame or accountability of an injury to someone else.
The lawyers in this area of law have also got swept up in the criticism of this area of the law, often being referred to as ‘ambulance chasers’ who plant the seed of litigation in injured persons.
There is, however, another side to personal-injury law, and those interested in jobs in this area should not be deterred. Defending those who have been injured at the expense of another person or corporation is also an important piece of the law puzzle.
What kind of injury law jobs are available? As with other types of law, there are a number of options facing those looking to get involved with this law, including solo practices or small, mid or large sized law firms.
Different areas of personal injury law. This law can be broken down into a number of smaller areas of specialisation. Some personal lawyers, for example, choose to specialise in accidents, medical malpractice, product liability or wrongful death among others. Some will deal with work place injury or areas of employment law. Jobs as non-specialised personal injury lawyers will allow you to work on a variety of cases if you don’t want to commit to a particular area.
WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER HIRING A PERSONAL INJURY LAWYER
When an attempt to file a case for personal injury is made without legal representation, the plaintiff should take into consideration that the defendant he is making the claim against will have experienced attorneys working and fighting on their behalf. The Insurance Research Council conducted a study in 1999 that indicated the average person will receive a settlement three and a half times larger when represented by a personal injury attorney than when presented without representation.The litigation process is often too complicated to handle alone. If a person seeking to file a claim is not knowledgeable of the law or if the case takes an unexpected turn and gets out of hand, he may consider hiring a personal injury lawyer that can evaluate every aspect of his claim and fight for all justifiable financial compensation owed to the victim.
