Criminal Defense Lawyer versus Personal Injury Attorney

Legal issues could come up for all sorts of foreseen or unforeseen reasons. Workplace injuries, car accidents, and even criminal charges could necessitate legal action. In case, you are not sure of your legal rights, you may need the legal assistance or guidance of a qualified lawyer. There could be thousands of legal subspecialties; however, lawyers could be categorized broadly into just a few broader practice areas. In this context, you must understand the differences between a personal injury lawyer and a criminal defense attorney. 

A personal injury lawyer would be handling cases involving serious injury from negligent driving, slips and falls on somebody else’s property, animal attacks & dog bites, and medical malpractice, etc. On the other hand, a criminal defense lawyer would be defending individuals who have already been accused of some sort of a crime like homicide, burglary, assault, etc. A criminal defense lawyer and a personal injury attorney have a very distinct set of roles and responsibilities. 

Responsibilities of a Personal Injury Attorney

It is of critical importance to understand the chief responsibilities of a personal injury attorney vis-à-vis the responsibilities of a criminal defense lawyer.

Will Be Investigating His Client’s Personal Injury Claims

A personal injury lawyer would be working on purely a contingency basis that implies that they would not be paid until the client’s case is settled. Moreover, their payment would depend basically on the settlement amount. Hence, competent DLY personal Injury attorneys Detroit would be meticulously examining a case before accepting it and if they have a feeling that they cannot win the case, they would not accept it.

Will Focus on Gathering Evidence

A personal injury attorney would be gathering evidence, requesting documents from his clients and procuring police reports. They would be tracking down witnesses if any and would record their statements. 

Will Be Involved in Negotiations with Insurance Agencies

A competent personal injury attorney would be ensuring that his client gets the most suitable settlement. He would be negotiating with the insurance agency for getting maximum compensation.

Chief Responsibilities of a Criminal Defense Lawyer

Will Be Interviewing Client, Police, Witnesses, & Experts

A criminal defense lawyer would be interviewing his client and gathering valuable information from his client’s responses to his queries. He would be scrutinizing his client’s case just like a qualified personal injury attorney. He would be interviewing various police officers, witnesses, and even experts for gathering information. He may even consider conducting criminal depositions when required. He would be evaluating the prosecution’s case. 

As per https://www.huffpost.com, identifying a criminal defense lawyer for representing you in a criminal proceeding could prove to be quite terrifying since you seem to be placing your life in very much his hands. Hence, you must consider doing your due diligence before choosing the best lawyer for representing you in front of the court.

Will Be Examining the Evidence

He would be utilizing the information and evidence gathered during the investigation for preparing a stratagem to defend his client during trial.

Will Be Handling Plea Bargaining Negotiations

In certain cases, sometimes the prosecution may offer a lighter or reduced sentence to the defendant provided he admits guilt or cooperates with the prosecution. Whenever a defendant is offered a plea bargain, the criminal defense lawyer would be advising his client to accept it or refuse the offer. He would be working toward obtaining the best possible deals under the circumstances. Plea bargain deals could be culminating in a mix of less prison time, smaller fines, and even a reduced sentence.

Will Be Preparing for Trial

If the case ultimately goes to trial, the criminal defense lawyer would be preparing for trial by chalking out a stratagem and all possible defenses. 

Will Be Handling Sentencing If Client Is Convicted

If a guilty verdict is passed, it is the responsibility of a criminal defense lawyer to represent his client at the time of sentence hearing. He must consider speaking to the judge with a request for leniency and a reduction in the severity of the sentence.

Conclusion

An assessment of the roles and responsibilities of a personal injury attorney as opposed to those of a criminal defense lawyer is good enough to understand the difference between the two types of lawyers.