The question I am often asked is, "What the most challenging case that a lawyer can pursue in the area of general practice?" My answer to that would be the area of personal injury law. As an attorney who has consistenly practiced in the area of personal injury law, often times I receive a phone call from a victim who is concerned, scared, and who has numerous questions regarding the area of tort law, and how one is to receive compensation for their injuries.

The compensation for injuries can include, but are not limited to, the payment of medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, future medical bills, permanent disability or scarrng, permanent wage loss or disability, and loss of consortium with one's spouse or family.

The law of personal injury includes injury suffered by a person. Personal injury is part of the law of torts, the legal term that encompasses all kinds of injury to people and their property. State law usually governs personal injury lawsuits, but in certain circumstances, Federal Law may also apply. For example, personal injuries suffered on Federal property maybe be covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act, or liability for injuries suffered in an airplane crash may be governed by international treaties.

Personal injury includes bodily injury, property damage, and economic injury. The concept of bodily injury to a person is very broad, depending on the law in the state in which an incident occurred. Bodily injury may include not only ordinary physical injury, such as a broken leg, but also mental or emotional injury, such as emotional upset caused by witnessing a personal injury done to a close family member, and injury to property which includes loss or damage to a property such as a house, car, or other treasured property items.

Economic injury includes loss of pay, and other types of money damages. The law of personal injury is concerned with determining who may be liable or who has liability for causing the injury, and how much they should be required to pay for the damages which result in such injury. The are many broad principles that apply to the laws of torts in general and to personal injury in particular. The law of personal injury in particular recognizes different levels of responsibility or degrees of fault on the part of the person who causes an injury. Generally, the degrees of fault are negligence, intentional fault, and strict liability.

The degree of fault involved in this situation in which an injury has occurred has an effect as to whether or not the person at fault is required to pay damages for the injury, and in some cases the amount of damages they may be required to pay. Another way of stating this idea is that the law may provide different standards of care in different situations.

For example, a greater standard of care is usually required in situations involving children or people who are disabled. Generally speaking, in a lawsuit, it is the jury who decides whether a person has met the standard of care that applies to a situation. As a lawyer, I am often asked, "What constitutes, or what is the element that brings about a bodily injury claim?" My answer to that is, negligence. Negligence means carelessness or the failure to use due care. If you are careless, and your carelessness causes injury to another person to whom you have "duty of care", you may liable to pay any damages which may result from the injury caused by your carelessness. A person may be considered "careless" or "negligent" if they do not use the kind of "due care" that is appropriate to the particular situation in question. Usually the law requires that individuals exercise the same kind of due care that a reasonable person would exercise under saying circumstances. This is called reasonable man or reasonable person standard.

The law of personal injury is concerned with compensating the injured person for damages they suffered as a result of personal injury. To bring a lawsuit for personal injury, the law requires the person bringing the suit to allege that the person sued committed a wrongful act and that they suffered damages from a wrongful act.

Damages which result from a wrongful act, actual damages, may include medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. In a wrongful death lawsuit, your surviving relatives can sue for the loss of your expected support.

Also, punitive damages may be awarded by a jury in addition to actual damages. Punitive damages are usually only permitted if the person who caused the actual damages did so with some degree of intent to cause harm or with an indifference to the possibility of causing harm. The purpose of punitive damages is to punish the person who caused the actual damages, and help ensure that they do not engage in the same conduct again.

It is very important to remember that there is a specific time period in which certain personal injury claims must be filed in a court of law, or they may be forever barred. It is imperative that you contact an attorney as soon as possible so that these determinations can be made, and your rights will be protected.

A commonly asked question concerns what area of personal injury law The Blackwell Law Firm takes interest and practices in. We pride ourselves on delivering quality legal services in the area of personal injury law. Through investigation and research, the Blackwell Law Firm has been actively involved in the investigation, presentation, and study of the following cases:

• auto accidents
• asbestos related exposure cases
• assault and battery cases
• crime victim cases
• medical injury and liability cases
• faulty or dangerous product cases
• contaminated food cases
• birth trauma
• obstetrical negligence cases
• pharmaceutical errors cases
• slip and fall
• dangerous and defective railway cases
• injury to railway workers -workers compensation issues
• social security/disability cases
• head injury or brain trauma
• missed diagnosis or failure to diagnose cases
• psychiatric or mal-practice cases
• construction site injuries
• fire loss and property damage
• nursing home negligence and abuse
• heavy truck accidents

Are you a victim of a personal injury incident? We provide assistance to people who have been hurt and need help. I would request that you contact us at your earliest opportunity, because I do believe that we can help you. There is no cost for initial consultation. Normally representation is based on a contingency fee agreement , which means quite simply that if we do not recover compensation on your behalf, you owe us nothing for attorney fees, but only for our costs and expenses of investigation of your claim.