If you, a member of your family or any other person you care about becomes injured due to the negligent actions of somebody else, it only seems fair that that person or their insurance company provide you or your loved one some sort of compensation for the injuries suffered.
Unfortunately, this process rarely goes the way it should. A lot of people are not willing to take responsibility for their negligent actions and many insurance companies rely on generating large profits from under compensating people that are injury victims.
Insurance companies also employ legal departments that understand the laws inside and out and they realize that the common consumer is grossly under informed when it comes to the law.
A personal injury lawyer with a proven track record is able to build a case for you based on facts and is able to leverage their knowledge of the law to negotiate a much larger settlement with insurance companies than a person would be able to get without the assistance of an attorney. Even with the fees that lawyers charge (which are usually quite large) consumers generally come out much farther ahead than if they were to pursue the matter on their own.