The Difference: Car Accident Lawyers versus General Attorneys

After being injured in a car accident, your next step might be to hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit.  However, it is not that simple.  There are lawyers everywhere promising to win your case, but there are so many that it is difficult to know where to start.  One decision you will need to make is what type of lawyer you will hire.  Should you hire a car accident lawyer or a general attorney?

General attorneys practice different types of law concurrently.  A general attorney may only take tax evasion, copyright infringement, and divorce cases; another may take the majority of cases that are offered to them, regardless of the cases’ type.  Some general attorneys are willing to take any and all cases; others limit themselves to particular areas of law.

In contrast, car accident lawyers specialize in cases relating solely to car accidents.  Car accident cases can include:

• Damaged vehicles;
• Physical injuries;
• Psychological injuries;
• Lost wages;
• Death.

A car accident lawyer is experienced with a type of law called tort law.  A tort is the negligent or intentional breach of a legal duty to another, in which case a lawsuit is justified.  A car accident lawyer’s job is to seek compensation for their client, i.e. the victim of a breach of legal duty.  For instance, Ben ran a red light and, as a result, Adam t-boned Ben.  Ben had no intention of damaging Adam’s car or injuring Adam when he ran the red light.  Ben’s offense is a tort; when he ran the red light and harmed Adam, he breached his legal duty to not harm another motorist.  If Adam hired a car accident lawyer, his lawyer would seek compensation for damages to Adam’s car, Adam’s medical bills (depending on which state Ben and Adam reside in), and perhaps wages Adam lost when he was unable to work.

The biggest difference between a general attorney and a car accident lawyer is that a car accident lawyer deals only with car accident cases.  In many instances a car accident lawyer will have a more robust knowledge of the laws surrounding car accident torts than a general attorney would.  A car accident attorney will also have more experience working on car accident cases because that is the only case type he/she takes whereas a general attorney takes a variety of cases.