Education

A personal injury is any injury that was caused by someone else’s wrongful actions. Those wrongful actions can be crimes, but more often, they are actions caused by negligence, a legal term for failure to take reasonable actions to protect others from foreseeable harm. For example, a driver who causes an accident by playing with a cell phone would be guilty of negligence. So would a school that fails to provide enough emergency exits to safely evacuate during a fire. Personal injuries include physical injuries, the physical pain and emotional trauma they cause, and all of the financial costs of the wrongful behavior.

Prescription and over-the-counter medications are supposed to help us live healthier lives. However, more and more reports show that some drugs actually harm patients’ health, or raise the risk of a potentially deadly health problem. Like all manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies are legally required not to offer us products that are dangerous, or lack sufficient warning about the potential dangers of using them correctly. That’s especially true when they know about the problem, but cover it up or even commission tainted studies to make the drug seem safer. In a dangerous drug lawsuit, you and victims like you can join together to hold these companies responsible.

Studies show airplanes and helicopters crash far less often than cars. But when they do, dozens of lives can be lost in an instant. In fact, numbers from the National Transportation Safety Board show that the number-one cause of aviation accidents is human error. That includes accidents with commercial airplanes as well as the more common crashes involving small aircraft. In all of those cases, better decision-making could have saved lives. If you’ve lost someone to this type of negligence, you should talk to an aviation lawyer as soon as possible about holding those decision-makers legally responsible for their actions.

Bankruptcy lawyers help individuals and businesses file for bankruptcy -- but that’s not all they do. In addition to helping with the actual paperwork and providing representation in court, bankruptcy attorneys help their clients decide whether bankruptcy is the best choice for them, and if so, what kind of bankruptcy they should use. They also advise clients on the consequences of a bankruptcy for other financial matters, such as taxes or child support payments. And many consumer bankruptcy attorneys also handle related legal matters, such as settling debt without bankruptcy, negotiating mortgage modifications or suing over predatory lending.

Business attorneys serve clients from small businesses to multinational corporations. At the local level, business lawyers help entrepreneurs choose the right business structures, follow regulations and strike deals, such as a lease for office space. For slightly larger businesses, attorneys can also give advice on mergers and acquisitions, managing money and people and entering the stock market. For very large businesses, business lawyers can help with SEC compliance and taxation issues along with these other tasks. And businesses litigators represent companies of all sizes in lawsuits affecting their work.

Civil rights law protects individuals from discrimination and unfair treatment in public life. Both the federal government and the states have laws protecting individuals’ rights from interference by the government and businesses. For example, freedom of speech, freedom to own a firearm and freedom from job discrimination based on race are all protected by civil rights laws. Frequently, civil rights lawyers work to make broad changes to the law that will protect many people in a group. But if an individual comes forward with a valid claim, a civil rights lawyer will work to enforce that person’s rights, inside or outside of court.

Being accused of a crime can turn your life upside down. Being convicted can take away the things that matter most -- your career, your family and your freedom. To protect them, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney. Hiring a defense lawyer evens the playing field between you and the government, ensuring that someone who has your interests in mind is involved in every step of the proceedings. Even if you choose to plead guilty, your attorney can make sure you get the fairest, most lenient sentence possible. If you would rather fight your charges, a defense lawyer will comb through the evidence against you to find weaknesses and mistakes that undermine the prosecution’s case.

Under state law, all manufacturers of consumer products like toys, food and clothing must make sure their products are safe to use. If there’s a foreseeable danger from using the product, they have a duty to warn customers properly about that danger. When they fail in that duty and someone gets hurt, victims have the right to hold them responsible for the results. That’s true even if the manufacturer didn’t know about the problem. In a defective product lawsuit, victims may claim all of the costs of their injuries, including past and future medical bills and lost income, as well as compensation for their injuries, pain and suffering.

Elder law is actually a group of interconnected legal issues focused on senior citizens. Elder attorneys handle the many legal issues affecting older people, including wills and trusts, age discrimination, federal benefits programs, disability law and elder abuse, neglect or exploitation. Elder attorneys can help prevent serious problems by taking care of end-of-life issues such as a living will or a trust that helps family members avoid probate. If problems do arise, elder attorneys help resolve them through administrative proceedings, family court cases or civil lawsuits.

Entertainment attorneys handle a variety of legal tasks related to the business side of entertainment. Entertainment lawyers make a living negotiating the contracts that get movies, shows and albums made. These include deals between entertainment companies, financing deals with banks, and contracts with stars and support businesses. Frequently, they also handle the licensing and protection of intellectual property. For some industries, entertainment attorneys help clients comply with federal regulations on the use of public airwaves. And of course, entertainment litigators resolve disputes through negotiation or lawsuits.

Environmental attorneys help people and communities who have been hurt by pollution and abuse of the environment where they live. Typically, these plaintiffs are victims of large-scale contamination by nearby industries of the water they drink, the air they breathe or the land they live on. The results can affect entire communities, leading to abnormal concentrations of disease, the destruction of farmland, problems with natural resources or other devastating problems. Because these injuries tend to affect everyone living near the source of the pollution, environmental attorneys typically represent many people at one time in class-action lawsuits.

Family law is the branch of the law that protects families and children during times of change. Family courts handle cases of divorce, child custody, elder guardianship and adoption, among others. In cases involving children and dependent adults, almost all family courts in the United States are legally required to make their decisions in the best interests of the dependent, which is not always the same as their families’ wishes. In disputes not involving children, the job of family courts is to resolve the matter as fairly as possible, according to state law. A family law attorney represents the interests of people involved in these complex and emotional cases.

Immigration attorneys represent people seeking to live and work legally in the United States, or companies seeking to sponsor foreign workers. Immigrants and visitors do not always need a lawyer, but legal representation can greatly reduce the time needed to secure high-demand visas, such as H1-B visas for visiting skilled workers, or green cards for lawful permanent residents. Immigration attorneys also represent people who are in legal trouble because of their immigration status, or in legal trouble that threatens their right to stay in the United States. Experts strongly recommend that people facing deportation or removal hearings retain an immigration lawyer.

Intellectual property law protects ideas, creative work and other property that cannot be touched, but is still very important to its owner. Intellectual property includes patents, trademarks and copyrights, as well as information that may not be formally protected, such as a company’s trade secrets. Intellectual property attorneys help their clients apply for legal protection for their ideas and marks. If that protection is not available, they can also help clients protect their intellectual property through contracts. And if a dispute arises over use of intellectual property, intellectual property litigators can defend clients’ interests in court.

During the dawn of the industrial age, Congress recognized that those who work at sea are at special risk of injuries at work. In response, it passed the Jones Act, which allows injured workers, or the families of workers killed on the job, to sue an employer at fault for the injury. It applies to all maritime workers who spend 30 percent or more of their time at sea, including oil platform workers. Unlike conventional workers’ compensation, Jones Act lawsuits require workers to prove fault for their injuries. But they are also eligible to claim damages for their physical pain and emotional suffering, in addition to the full costs of medical treatment and time off work.

Medical malpractice is any mistake by a doctor so severe that it falls below the community’s standards of care. Not every bad outcome is medical malpractice, but when a decision was grossly negligent or unprofessional, victims should consider talking to a medical malpractice attorney. Experts estimate that failure to diagnose, incorrect medications, hospital-borne infections and other mistakes cause 98,000 deaths every year, to say nothing of the injuries and financial costs they cause. In a lawsuit, victims of medical malpractice can claim compensation for all of these losses.

Mesothelioma is a cancer of the abdomen with a median survival rate typically measured in months. The only known cause is exposure to asbestos, a substance that was widely used in industry through most of the twentieth century, despite its well-known dangers. Asbestos use is now strictly regulated, but because the disease takes ten to fifty years to incubate, people who worked with it decades ago are still being diagnosed today. Patients with work-related exposure to asbestos can still sue their former employers, or the suppliers of the asbestos, with the help of an experienced mesothelioma attorney.

Nursing homes exist to care for people who are so sick or disabled that they can no longer live independently. Unfortunately, those conditions can create opportunities for dishonorable people to take advantage of patients who cannot speak up or fight back. Physical abuse, financial exploitation, neglect and worse have all been reported at nursing homes. In some cases, the abuse can send the victim’s health into a decline, causing avoidable hospitalization or even a premature death. Even if administrators or criminal prosecutors are investigating, victims and their families can take action through a nursing home negligence lawsuit.

Real estate law covers every aspect of buying, owning and selling land and buildings. Owners and developers hire real estate lawyers to help them get the right permits to build on their land, meet legal requirements like environmental studies, and later sell the improved property. Individuals hire attorneys to protect themselves when they buy and sell homes and take out loans. Landlords may consult real estate attorneys to help them meet their obligations or legally change an important aspect of the property. And people involved in a dispute over land issues hire real estate litigators to help with a lawsuit seeking to prove their rights.

Securities fraud is the act of providing false information to investors, who are fooled by the fraud into making bad investment decisions. The Enron scandal was a type of securities fraud, perpetrated by highly placed people inside the company. However, securities fraud can also be committed by stockbrokers, accountants or other third parties. Securities fraud attorneys help investors sue the wrongdoers for the return of their illegal and unjustified profits. These are legally and financially complex cases, so experts recommend that victims get help from experienced securities fraud attorneys to win all of the money to which they are legally entitled.

The Social Security Disability program is supposed to help people who can no longer support themselves because of serious health problems. However, a large number of applicants each year are wrongly rejected -- in fact, the majority of claims are denied. Appealing that rejection can take months or years, and during that time, applicants must make ends meet on their own. Social Security Disability attorneys help applicants get these needed benefits more quickly, by representing them throughout the application and appeals process, up to and including a federal lawsuit, if necessary.

Tax attorneys help their clients with all aspects of taxation. Most often, tax attorneys help clients identify ways to minimize their taxable income while still achieving their financial and business goals, or advise them on the tax consequences of a financial change. While most people don’t need an attorney to do their taxes, some tax attorneys do this work for large companies or high-net-worth individuals. And some tax attorneys specialize in defending people accused of tax crimes, which are serious federal crimes that carry prison time. If you’re facing a tax-related criminal charge, you should talk to an experienced tax attorney right away.

“Toxic torts” is a nickname for litigation claiming that chemical exposure caused a serious disease in the person suing. The toxic exposure may come from environmental pollution by a nearby business; contaminated food or medicine; exposure to an unsafe chemical at work; or consumer products. Because these issues tend to affect large groups of neighbors or consumers, toxic torts are usually class actions involving many people with the same complaints. Typically, toxic tort attorneys must do months of investigation and research to connect the disease suffered by the plaintiffs to the contamination.

A wills and estates attorney handles the complicated process of sorting out legal and financial issues at the end of a life. Attorneys help people protect their families and their assets by writing wills and setting up trusts that simplify inheritance issues. After a death, a wills and estates attorney helps family members carry out instructions in a will, if there is one, and handle any legal challenges that arise. If there is no will, they help families enter the legal process for sorting out money and debts fairly. These attorneys also help executors or personal representatives carry out their legal responsibilities, which can be time-consuming and complicated for a non-lawyer.

When people are hurt on the job, they can be taken out of the workforce for months while they recover. During that time, they and their families may struggle to make ends meet, especially if the accident meant high medical bills to pay. Most workers can pay these costs by claiming workers’ compensation benefits through their employers’ insurance. However, because workers’ compensation claims can be expensive, some employers and insurers are willing to break the law to avoid paying. When this is the case, workers should always consult an experienced workplace accident attorney to protect their rights and make sure they get the benefits they need.