Personal injury law was enacted to ensure that individuals who suffered misfortune as a result of the negligence of others are adequately compensated for medical expenses, loss of wages, emotional distress or disability. Personal injury suits are commonly referred to as tort cases.

The most important premise in personal injury cases is negligence. Without establishing negligence by the defendant, a personal injury claim may not arise. Negligence is the failure to exercise certain standard of care expected from a reasonably prudent person in certain circumstances. For instance, a driver is required by law to follow traffic rules, such as driving at a certain speed and stopping at certain locations. When the driver is speed driving and causes injury to someone else, the driver is negligent as he was not driving according to what is required of him by the law. In another case, employers are required by law to provide protective gears to employees who are exposed to risky work. If these employees are injured as a result of not being provided protective gear, the employers are negligent and will be liable by law.

Once negligence is proven, the defendant is required to compensate the plaintiff for all injuries. Damages include punitive damages, property damage, medical expenses, and emotional distress. The calculation of damages for some injuries are easy, while the calculation of other damages may be difficult. For instance, the calculation of loss of earning capacity may require expert testimony.

Filing a personal injury suit is not as easy as proving negligence. One of the difficult aspects prior to initiating a personal injury suit would be identifying the proper defendant. It is thus imperative to hire an expert attorney to help the plaintiff identify the negligent defendants and additional defendants who may be liable for the negligence. Additional defendants could mean a landlord, in the case of a slip-and-fall accident, or insurance companies.

While negligence is an important aspect of personal injury cases, personal injury damages can also be claimed as a result of the intentional acts of other people. In these types of cases, which include assault, trespass, false imprisonment, the defendant intentionally inflicted injuries upon the plaintiff. A defendant may also be held liable, despite exhibiting standard of care required by law. This is called strict liability and happens in cases like demolitions or transporting hazardous materials.

Defective products also result to personal injuries. In defective product suits, the plaintiff will prove that the manufacturer's negligence in the design and sale of a product resulted to personal injuries. Manufacturers can also be sued for strict liability. Large class action lawsuits often start out as product liability cases.

Personal injury law does not just give those who suffered injuries remedies from the law, personal injury law also gives those who are accused of negligence defenses to ward off abusive claims. A defendant may argue three things to relieve him of any liability: (1) the plaintiff was partially or wholly responsible for his action; (2) the plaintiff assumed the risk; and (3) the plaintiff allowed the action that caused his personal injury. Many personal injury suits have been successfully thrown out because the defendants presented strong arguments. It is thus crucial to hire an expert personal injury attorney to ensure that personal injuries are compensated for.

American consumers are protected by law from abusive debt collection practices. The U.S. Congress passed the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, recognizing that abusive debt collection practices have serious effects on the individual. Evidence shows that abusive debt collection practices lead to bankruptcies, loss of employment, marital instability or invasion of privacy. The FDCPA lays out the detailed behavior that debt collection agencies must exhibit in order not to be found abusive. Aside from the FDCPA, states also have their own consumer protection laws, which are in accordance with federal legislation.

Among other things, the FDCPA prohibits debt collection agencies from using violence, threats or harassment to induce a debtor to pay up his debts. Aside from agencies, debt collection can also be performed by lawyers and other companies. The Act enumerates the specific behavior that debt collection agencies are prohibited from exhibiting. These prohibited behavior include not asking other persons the location of the debtor, communicating with the debtor at any unusual time of the day, the use of violence or obscene language, and use of false representations. The FDCPA only applies to consumer debts, which are personal debts. These kinds of debts include car loans, student loans, mortgages, credit card debts, household expenses, and medical debts. Another law governs debts incurred in relation to running a business.

The FDCPA imposes fines against the debt collection or the debt collection agency once found to have violated the law. In addition, the FDCPA also allows the debtors to recover actual damages sustained as a result of the abusive debt collection practices and other additional damages. Abusive debt collection practices are the subject of many class action lawsuits, under which plaintiffs may recover substantial amount.

Incurring and facing debts is a stressful event. Debt collection agencies are zealous in their pursuit against debtors, especially when the debt is of a substantial amount. While debt collection agencies are prohibited from using deceptive practices in the performance of their work, the agencies' abusive practices will not wipe out the debt. Rather, the debt remains the same. Non-payment of debts can lead to the debt collection agencies to sue the debtor, which can blow the problem out of proportion. When faced with burdensome debt and experiencing harassment by debt collection agencies, it is best to seek the help of debt collection law attorneys in order to stop the stressful debt collecting and try to restructure the debt. Banks are typically generous to debtors especially when these debtors are facing personal problems, which caused them to delay payments. It is best to contact an attorney and the bank to try to obtain a restructuring of the debt or a forbearance of the payment. The law provides for ways to stop abusive debt collection practices and attorneys would be knowledgeable as to what specific provisions of the law to utilize in order to stop these practices. Rather than risk being sued by the debt collection agencies for non-payment, it is best to seek the advice of expert debt collection law attorneys.