A personal injury lawyer is a lawyer who provides legal services to those who claim to have been injured, physically or psychologically, as a result of the negligence of another person, company, government agency or any entity. Personal injury lawyers tend to practice primarily in the area of law known as tort law. Examples of common personal injury claims include injuries from slip and fall accidents, traffic collisions, defective products, workplace injuries and professional malpractice.
The term "trial lawyers" is sometimes used to refer to personal injury lawyers, even though many other types of lawyers, including defense lawyers and criminal prosecutors also appear in trials and even though most personal injury claims are settled without going to trial.
A personal injury lawyer must qualify to practice law in the jurisdiction in which the lawyer many states, a written ethics examination.
Lawyers may take continuing legal education (CLE) classes in order to learn about developments in the law or to learn about new practice areas. In states that require lawyers to attend CLE, personal injury lawyers may take CLE courses relevant to personal injury law, but are not required to do so.