The mother grew sleepy in bed before she passed out and stayed that way for the rest of her life. She had taken the pharmaceutical company's pill as instructed and it took her away from her family. These are lines you may hear from a personal injury lawyer presenting their case in front of a jury.

Personal injury law is the law that involves people and their injuries. It is a bit of misnomer because it is more than just injury. Death is involved too. Personal injury law is a high stakes practice and the issues often concern life and death. This practice is really all about people because they are the victims and the perpetrators.

Personal injury law is the subset of an area of law known as tort law. Unlike criminal law, tort law can only punish people through the civil process. That means what is at stake is property. When a person is sued for personal injury, they are looking at losing their money or property, not their freedom. Unlike a criminal sentence that involves a fine, if you cannot pay the judgment, you simply declare bankruptcy.

Personal injury lawyers tend to advertise on television. Many people view it as a plaintiff based practice. It also has a reputation for being unsavory as television and billboard advertisements are undignified. Personal injury lawyers have had a negative reputation for being ambulance chasers - the term originating from rumors that lawyers chase ambulances to get the first crack at clients. However, this is absolutely false. State bar rules prohibit that kind of contact and most victims of accidents seek out attorneys based on family or friend referrals, not because an attorney chased them.

Personal injury law is essential to our justice system because it helps people get what they deserve. If there were no personal injury lawyers, then what would happen to that mother that took a deadly drug that was told to her to be safe? Through million dollar judgments, these attorneys not only compensate their clients for the losses, they also send a message to the companies that make the drugs. It reminds them to test their products and to not cut corners for profit. It helps enhance the standards of care. While there are regulators in government to check on these things, government regulation has limited funding and not everything can be watched. Lawyers help fill that gap.