by A Nutt
Often referred to as a trial lawyer, a personal injury lawyer represents people who claim to have been injured, physically or emotionally, due to the negligence of a company, government agency, business, institution, or other person. Personal injury lawyers tend to be experts in an area called tort law that includes civil wrongs, vehicle collisions, medical errors, work injuries, assaults, defective products, slip and fall accidents, and much more. Damages sought usually involve financial compensation for harm to a person’s health and well being, property, or reputation.
In order to practice law in the United States, a personal injury lawyer must pass a written bar examination. Most states require applicants to have completed a four-year college degree and a law degree from an accredited law school. It is valuable to obtain a bachelor’s degree in an area of study that requires a lot of writing, researching, and reading. Good choices include a bachelor’s degree in political science, history, English, or economics. It would also be helpful to take electives that relate to personal injury and the law.
To gain an even greater competitive edge over other law school applicants, one may want to take a Bachelor of Science Degree in Personal Injury. This degree provides basic skills such as communication skills and critical thinking. You will develop other important skills that include research, litigation preparation, analyzing medical reports, brief preparation, case law analysis, and damage presentation. You will also learn how to assess product liability and insurance claims. Areas of study include liability limitation, motor vehicle insurance claims investigation, pre-litigation protocols, instructing expert witnesses, tactics and negotiations, technical competencies in insurance law, product liability, medical records summation and review, and medical malpractice litigation. Many universities offer master’s level degree courses and confer advanced degrees with concentrations in personal injury. It is important to be aware that the first half of a three year law school concentrates on general law areas such as contracts, torts, property law, and constitutional law.
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