5 Things TV Gets Wrong About Personal Injury Law
July 24, 2025
The Trouble with TV Lawyers
Courtroom dramas have been a television staple for decades. Why? Because who doesn’t love a good hour-long episode in which a dedicated lawyer jumps into a case and puts their heart and soul into seeking justice for their client?
While shows revolving around the law are excellent forms of entertainment, not all of them are as accurate or “real life” as you might think, no matter how intense they get. Some of these shows leave out key elements of the justice system, and some even portray personal injury law incorrectly. Here are five things television gets wrong about personal injury law.
In The Article
1. How Long Does a Personal Injury Case Take?
A personal injury case on television takes about an hour to tell the complete story. While some episodes span the course of a few weeks, personal injury cases can take quite some time, especially if they go to trial. Writers need to wrap everything up quickly, and usually only have about 45 minutes of scripting to get things done.
In reality, a personal injury case can take several months. Even if the case ends in a settlement that both sides agree on, time is taken to write and send demand letters, respond to those letters, negotiate terms that are fair to the victims, and draw up the proper paperwork to for the settlement.
Should a personal injury case go to trial, scheduling, jury selection, and arguments from both sides can take even longer. In these cases, injury victims might have to wait years to see payment from negligent parties, and the cases can be hung up in appeals courts.
2. How Does a Personal Injury Case Work?
On TV, you may see a single lawyer and maybe an investigator getting their hands dirty to put together the evidence of a case, meet with the client, go to trial, and triumphantly win.
In reality, personal injury cases, no matter the size, require a hardworking team of law professionals, medical experts, investigation teams, and clerks to help ensure the entirety of the personal injury case runs smoothly.
While you can find dedicated personal injury lawyers who want to focus on their clients’ needs, even the most dedicated attorney needs a team to ensure every piece of paperwork and every scrap of evidence is properly handled in order to establish the most effective case, whether it ends in settlement or trial.
3. Personal Injury Law Procedure
While some TV shows wash over the fact that there are procedures to the legal process that cannot be skipped, there are times you see one of these procedures highlighted in an episode, to show the audience that they really do matter.
Personal injury law can require formal documentation that includes demand letters, official reports, certified medical records, and financial documents to file a claim, establish a case, and either settle or win at trial.
In addition, negligence laws may vary by state, but nearly all of them require the claimant (injury victim) to prove that the defendant (or negligent party) had a duty of care for the claimant, breached that duty of care, and the breach of duty caused an injury that led to loss for the claimant. If any aspect of this process is overlooked, a case could be dismissed or considered frivolous.
4. How Common Are Frivolous Lawsuits?
Television and the media all like to bring in frivolous lawsuits. So much so, that is seems as though frivolous lawsuits are incredibly common. However, they aren’t as common as you might think, and very few of them actually reach settlement or jury verdict.
While we can speculate as to why frivolous lawsuits are prominent on television, the truth is, they are rare, and a personal injury attorney taking on a frivolous lawsuit is even more rare. Frivolous lawsuits have no merit, and they can’t be backed up with proper evidence. They’re generally intended to harass a defendant, and a victim can rarely prove negligence.
5. Paperwork, Paperwork, Paperwork
The law is put in place to protect citizens, but laws are very complex and require a lot of documentation. The sheer amount of paperwork a case can take on requires multiple legal professionals. Depending on how much evidence a case includes, the amount of paperwork that goes into ensuring no stone is left unturned and everything is filed properly can be immense.
The best personal injury lawyers and their teams will make sure that every “I” is dotted and every “T” is crossed as they file claims, draft demand letters, collect evidence, and (if necessary) present a victim’s case to a jury.
New Mexico Personal Injury Lawyers Who Fight For You
While you may have seen Ron Bell in TV ads and on billboards across Albuquerque, he knows the importance of the proper procedure for personal injury cases. Whether you’ve been in a fender bender or suffered a traumatic brain injury, Ron Bell Injury Lawyers may be able to help. Call today for your free case evaluation. 898-BELL
