An injury attorney (also called a personal injury attorney) specializes in legal disputes involving negligence and damages. Negligence can be a very broadly defined concept in legal circles, but in general negligence occurs whenever a person or company fails to perform in a safe manner and causes an injury or damage. Negligence can be direct, in the case of a reckless driver, or indirect, as in a store manager not ordering an employee to clean a spill. An injury attorney gathers the facts surrounding the injury from the client and determines every party who may be at fault for the negligence.

To better understand what an injury attorney does, it may be helpful to recreate a common (but in this case fictional) personal injury situation which may lead to a lawsuit.

Let's say Bob is a regular customer of a local grocery store. One day, as Bob walked down an aisle in the store, he tripped over a loose floor tile and shattered his kneecap. The store manager called an ambulance and Bob was admitted to the hospital for treatment. He would spend another three days in traction at the hospital and three weeks in recovery at home. Because Bob feels the store was at fault for the accident, he may contact a local personal injury attorney to find out his legal options.

Bob's injury attorney will investigate the accident site and discuss the situation with potential witnesses, including any video footage. He may discuss a cash settlement with the store manager which would satisfy Bob's medical needs and lost wages. An injury attorney may also file an official lawsuit with the court, naming the store manager, the store owner, the flooring manufacturer or the employee who failed to report the loose tile as defendants. Because few people or companies wish to face an expensive court battle, they will generally offer a substantially higher cash settlement once an experienced injury attorney appears.

If Bob decides not to accept the out-of-court settlement offer, then the injury attorney will prepare for a court date. After demonstrating how the store manager knew about the dangerous floor or how a poor adhesive caused the tile to loosen, the injury attorney may convince a jury to award damage payments above and beyond Bob's actual medical and wage bills. If a judge and jury agree that the company or individual needs to be punished financially for their negligence, 'punitive' damages may also be awarded; this is why many personal injury attorneys initially sue for millions of dollars.

An injury attorney is not paid by the hour for his or her services. Personal injury attorneys generally work on a 'contingency fee' basis. If the settlement is accepted or the court rules in favor of the injury attorney's client, the attorney receives a generous percentage of the final judgement. Some personal injury attorneys are entitled to 40% of the judgement, which means if substantial punitive damages are added, the client and injury attorney could both become very wealthy. The difficulty lies in proving 100% negligence on the part of the defendants and convincing a jury that punitive damages would be effective and necessary. Some courts will throw out a personal injury case if the client is even found 1% responsible for his or her own injuries.