Civil lawsuits have a different focus than criminal ones—instead of aiming to punish the defendant for their actions, civil lawsuits have the goal of compensating the victims for the harm they suffered. Rather than imposing criminal penalties such as prison time and fines, which get paid to the government, civil lawsuits result in monetary damages awarded directly to the plaintiff. For instance, if the family of the loved one who tragically died in the story above was to sue, they may be awarded thousands, even hundreds of thousands, in damages to cover their loved one’s medical bills, funeral and burial costs, and pain and suffering. Because of the high stakes of these lawsuits, many families choose to work with a personal injury attorney rather than attempting to file it themselves. One of the benefits of working with an attorney is knowing that someone you can trust and who knows this area of law is handling your case, so that you can focus on healing.