Accident cases are usually called personal injury cases, since someone had an injury to their person. Usually, these involve auto accidents, but they may also include other kinds of injuries to your person. If you’ve been injured because of a faulty product ( (commonly called a product liability accident case ), it is still a personal injury case. However, just because an attorney says she handles “personal injury” cases does not mean the lawyer handles all kinds of personal injury cases. Many lawyers do not handle product liability cases. If you’re injured at work, then usually that is handled by a Worker’s Compensation lawyer, even though it is still a personal injury to you. Not all lawyers do Work Comp cases. Always ask the lawyer whether he handles the particular kind of injury you’ve suffered.
In most car accident cases, the attorney will take the case on a contingency. This means the fee is contingent on whether or not recovery is made on your behalf. If no recovery is made, then the lawyer doesn’t get paid any fees . (But, you may still owe for the costs incurred in the case, like filing fees, medical records, copy costs, etc.) Probably every lawyer who does these kinds of cases, do them on contingency fee basis. The attorney fee is usually 1/3 of the gross recovery, whether the amount obtained was by settlement or a judgment from the court.
Talk to the attorney and find out whether or not you have a case, what his or her fees will be, and whether or not the attorney handles your particular kind of personal injury case.