By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.
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What is a personal injury lawyer?
A personal injury lawyer represents people hurt by someone else’s carelessness or wrongdoing, such as in car and truck crashes, falls, dog bites, nursing home neglect or medical errors. The lawyer builds the claim, deals with the insurance companies, and files and tries a lawsuit if needed. Most work on contingency, so the fee comes from the recovery.
The job is to prove two things: that someone else is legally responsible, and what your losses are. Losses include medical bills, future care, lost income and the pain and limits the injury puts on your life. Our page on general and special damages explains the categories.
Here is the usual order of a case. Not every case goes through every step; most settle before trial.
- Investigation and evidence
- Notice to insurers and handling communication
- Medical records and bills
- Liens
- Demand and negotiation
- Lawsuit, if needed
- Discovery, depositions and the defense medical exam
- Mediation
- Trial
- Settlement disbursement through the client trust account
How does a lawyer investigate your case?
The lawyer gathers the police or incident report, photos, witness statements, surveillance and traffic video, and vehicle or truck data, and sends preservation letters so evidence is not destroyed. In bigger cases the lawyer may hire accident reconstruction, engineering or medical experts. The goal is to show clearly how the injury happened and who is responsible.
Some evidence has a short life. Business cameras record over old footage, cars get repaired, and trucking companies only have to keep driver hours-of-service records for six months (49 C.F.R. § 395.8(k)). Asking early is often the difference between having the video and not.
The lawyer also figures out every party that may share responsibility: a driver’s employer, a property owner, a maintenance contractor, a rideshare company. Fault rules differ by state; see comparative fault in California, Texas and Washington.
How does a lawyer deal with the insurance companies?
The lawyer notifies each insurer that you are represented, so adjusters must go through the lawyer instead of calling you. The lawyer finds every policy that may apply, including your own uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage and medical payments coverage, and handles requests for statements, records and authorizations so you do not give away more than needed.
A letter of representation goes to the at-fault party’s insurer and to your own. From then on, recorded statement requests and settlement talk go to the lawyer.
Finding coverage is a big part of the work. A commercial vehicle may have layers of insurance. If the at-fault driver had little or none, your own policy may step in. In California, an uninsured motorist claim generally requires that within two years of the accident you sue the uninsured driver, reach an agreement, or formally demand arbitration (Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2, subd. (i)). See what is a policy limit and making a UIM claim.
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Does a personal injury lawyer help with medical treatment and bills?
Your doctors decide your care. The lawyer’s part is keeping that care documented and paid for: collecting records and bills from every provider, tracking what your health insurance paid, and in some cases referring you to doctors who will treat you and wait to be paid from the settlement.
Insurers read gaps in treatment as a sign you were not really hurt, so the lawyer will usually encourage you to keep appointments and tell your doctors about every symptom. Records and itemized bills from each provider become the backbone of the demand.
If you have no health insurance, there are still options; see car accident with no health insurance.
How does a lawyer handle medical liens?
When Medi-Cal, Medicare, a health plan or a provider paid for or treated your injury on a lien, they may have a right to be repaid from your settlement. The lawyer gives the required notices, gets itemized lien amounts, challenges charges unrelated to the injury, and asks for reductions. Liens must be resolved before your share is paid.
- Medi-Cal. In California a settlement is not final until the Department of Health Care Services has notice and a reasonable chance to perfect and satisfy its lien, and its recovery is limited to the part of the settlement that represents medical expenses (Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 14124.76). DHCS describes the reporting process on its personal injury lien page.
- Medicare. Medicare’s conditional payments must be repaid when a beneficiary receives a liability settlement, judgment or award (CMS).
- Health plans and lien providers. Plan reimbursement terms and provider liens are reviewed and negotiated case by case.
More detail: medical liens after a car accident and what is a subrogation letter.
What happens during the demand and negotiation stage?
Once your treatment is finished or your doctors can describe your future care, the lawyer sends the insurer a demand package: the facts, liability evidence, medical records, bills, wage loss and a settlement amount. The adjuster responds with an offer, and the two sides negotiate. You decide whether to accept any offer.
Timing matters. Settling before you know your long-term prognosis risks leaving future care unpaid. The lawyer will explain each offer and what you would actually receive after fees, costs and liens.
For how insurers and lawyers put a number on a claim, see how lawyers calculate settlement value and how pain and suffering is calculated. If the offer is too low, read what happens if you reject a settlement offer.
What does a lawyer do if the case goes to a lawsuit?
If negotiation stalls or a deadline is near, the lawyer files a complaint in court and serves the defendants. The case then enters discovery: written questions, document requests, subpoenas for records, depositions of witnesses and parties, and reports from retained experts. Filing suit does not mean the case will go to trial; many cases settle during this stage.
The lawyer must file before the statute of limitations runs. The general deadlines are two years in California (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1) and Texas (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003) and three years in Washington (RCW 4.16.080(2)). Claims against public entities have earlier claim or notice steps; see when to hire a personal injury lawyer.
In a deposition, a lawyer for the other side asks you questions under oath while a court reporter records the answers. Your lawyer prepares you and defends the deposition. See what happens at a deposition.
What is a defense medical exam, and does your lawyer attend?
A defense medical exam is an exam by a doctor chosen and paid by the defense to evaluate your injuries. The examiner works for the other side. Your lawyer reviews the request, objects to improper terms, prepares you, and in many cases arranges for an observer or recording where the rules allow it.
The rules differ by state:
- California. In a personal injury case, a defendant may demand one physical exam of the plaintiff without a court order, if the exam involves no painful, protracted or intrusive tests and takes place within 75 miles of your home (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2032.220).
- Texas. The defense must file a motion, no later than 30 days before the end of the discovery period, and get a court order (Tex. R. Civ. P. 204.1).
- Washington. The court may order an exam on motion for good cause when your physical or mental condition is in controversy (Wash. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 35).
Your lawyer will later use your own doctors, and sometimes retained experts, to answer the defense doctor’s report.
Does a personal injury lawyer go to mediation and trial?
Yes. Mediation is a negotiation session run by a neutral mediator, often a retired judge or experienced lawyer, and many cases settle there. If the case does not settle, your lawyer tries it to a judge or jury: picking the jury, presenting witnesses and experts, cross-examining the defense witnesses and arguing for a verdict.
Most injury cases settle, but the possibility of trial is what gives a settlement offer its value. Ask any lawyer you are considering who would try your case and when they last did. Our guide on how to choose a personal injury lawyer lists questions to ask. For timing, see how long a personal injury case takes.
How does the lawyer pay you after a settlement?
Settlement money is deposited into the lawyer’s client trust account, separate from the firm’s own money. The lawyer then pays approved liens and case costs, takes the agreed fee, and sends you your share with a written breakdown. You should see and approve the numbers before funds go out.
All three states require lawyers to keep client funds in a trust account separate from their own money (Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 1.15; Tex. Disciplinary R. Prof’l Conduct 1.15 (Safekeeping Property; Tex. Sup. Ct. Misc. Docket No. 24-9054); Wash. RPC 1.15A). In Texas, the lawyer must also give you a written statement at the end of a contingency case showing the outcome, the remittance to you and how it was calculated (Tex. Disciplinary R. Prof’l Conduct 1.04(d)).
Example only: on a $100,000 settlement, the statement would list the fee under your agreement, each case cost, each lien payoff, and the amount paid to you, so you can check every line.
Worked examples: how much of a $100,000 settlement do I keep. For fee basics, see how much a personal injury lawyer costs. To talk about your case, call Beverly Law at (310) 552-6959, 24/7, or visit our Los Angeles personal injury lawyer page.
Common questions
What is the difference between a personal injury lawyer and a trial lawyer?
A personal injury lawyer represents injured people; a trial lawyer is one who takes cases to verdict in court. Many injury lawyers settle nearly all their cases and rarely try one. If your case may need a jury, ask how recently the lawyer has tried a case.
Do personal injury lawyers handle cases that are not car accidents?
Yes. Personal injury covers truck and motorcycle crashes, pedestrian and bicycle injuries, slip and falls, dog bites, nursing home abuse and neglect, sexual abuse, burns, brain and spinal injuries, wrongful death and medical malpractice, among others.
Will my personal injury case go to court?
Probably not. Most cases settle, either before a lawsuit is filed or during the lawsuit, often at mediation. Filing suit is sometimes needed to meet a deadline or to get evidence through discovery, and it does not mean the case will end in a trial.
How often will my lawyer update me?
It varies by firm, so ask before you hire. You should hear about every offer, every major deadline and any request that needs your decision. You can ask for updates at any time, and you should be able to reach someone who knows your file.
Does a personal injury lawyer pay my medical bills?
Generally no. Your bills are paid by your health insurance, medical payments coverage, or from the settlement at the end. A lawyer can help arrange treatment with providers who agree to wait for payment and can negotiate those bills before the money is distributed.
What does a personal injury lawyer do with my settlement check?
The check is deposited into the firm’s client trust account. After it clears, the lawyer pays liens and costs, takes the agreed fee and pays you, with a written breakdown. You should review and approve the numbers first.
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Related pages
What happens at a deposition? · How do lawyers calculate settlement value? · Comparative fault in California, Texas and Washington · Medical liens after a car accident · How much of a $100,000 settlement do I keep? · General and special damages
Sources
- 49 C.F.R. § 395.8(k)
- Cal. Ins. Code § 11580.2
- Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 14124.76
- California DHCS, Personal Injury Lien Process
- CMS, Non-Group Health Plan Recovery (Medicare conditional payments)
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1
- Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003
- RCW 4.16.080
- Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 2032.220
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 204.1
- Wash. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 35
- Cal. Rules of Prof. Conduct, rule 1.15
- Tex. Disciplinary R. Prof’l Conduct 1.15 (Safekeeping Property; Tex. Sup. Ct. Misc. Docket No. 24-9054)
- Wash. RPC 1.15A
- Tex. Disciplinary R. Prof’l Conduct 1.04(d)
Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 8, 2026.