Do I need a personal injury attorney to handle my case?
Anyone who is involved in a personal injury case needs a lawyer. No matter how hard it is for lawyers to explain the law to their clients, no matter how artificial their jargon is for communicating among themselves and arguing to judges, lawyers know how to dig for facts, and they know which facts count. Clients do not have those skills. Nobody can acquire them until he has been actively involved in years of personal injury litigation.
One example as stated by attorney Vernon Miller explains that there are many misconceptions about personal injury law, not the least of which is the proposition that ours is a government of law and not of men. All governments function through people who make decisions and operate the institutions through which decisions are enforced. Who are these people? Voters, bureaucrats, governors, and sheriffs, and within the spectrum of litigation, legislators, judges, and jurors. Sometimes the decision of a bureaucrat, a governor, or a sheriff, even a decision of the voters, may become vital in a personal injury lawsuit. Perhaps the most important “decision makers” are the judges. Sometimes judges are more than umpires; they act like lawmakers or administrators. Judges do not approach their decisions from scratch. Meaning that they do not have unbridled authority to rule on issues according to his or her personal wisdom. Judges respond within the limits of their professional conscience. Their wisdom is impersonal, even if it is not always objective. That kind of judging is the good side of our legal system.
In any event, the manner in which a personal injury case is handled clearly depends on far more than the judges and law makers who have helped shape the boundaries of litigation. Nonetheless, a firm understanding of this aspect of personal injury litigation is also crucial in being an effective litigator. Naturally this can only be fully understood after years in the profession.
