People generally are not aware of or connected with personal injury attorneys. That is until they get injured or have an accident. Unfortunately, the accidents and injuries you may experience are sometimes caused by the negligence of another individual.
Moreover, the injuries you sustain may be severe and cause temporary or even life-long damage to your work, income, capabilities, and quality of life.
So, if you have been in an accident due to someone else’s negligence, it’s best to ask for help from an experienced personal injury attorney rather than seeking damages on your own. An opposing party like the defendant’s insurance company will often fight to prove you were at fault or work for the lowest possible settlement.
An experienced personal injury lawyer by your side will help defend your right to fair compensation. They will examine your case and provide more accurate estimates of the damage you suffered, such as lost wages, decreased quality of life, disability, trauma, and more.
These lawyers will work to ensure you don’t get low-balled trying to fight for the settlement or verdict you are entitled to receive.
Dealing with the effects of personal injury on your life is difficult enough, let alone cramming to find an experienced attorney. Luckily, below are some guidelines you can follow to help you find the best lawyer for your case.
Seek a Lawyer with Experience
Lawyers, like doctors, can be specialists or generalists in their field. If you intend to pursue a personal injury case, it’s best to seek a lawyer specializing in personal injury and accidents. This will help increase your chances of winning and receiving damages equivalent to the corresponding suffering.
A lawyer specializing in personal injury will better understand your case’s ins and outs. Furthermore, these lawyers will have the necessary resources and medical connections to help you build a claim, get treatment, and receive compensation. Moreover, choose a lawyer with experience handling cases similar to yours.
For instance, if you have been injured in your workplace, finding a lawyer specializing in workplace injury lawsuits with experience in healthcare claims is crucial. Likewise, if you’ve been hurt in an accident due to a vehicle malfunction, you’ll need an auto accident attorney who has previously handled this type of accident.
Understand Their Payment Model
When consulting with lawyers to handle your personal injury case, discussing their fees upfront is essential. Transparency is necessary when conducting agreements with financial compensation, including arrangements with lawyers.
Ask questions about their payment methods, packages, and fees. For example, you can ask if the initial consultation is free or if they provide cash in advance to cover costs before your verdict. Also, find out if they work on a contingency basis.
Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency. This means you only pay legal fees if they win your case, as they will receive compensation from your settlement or the defendant’s payment. Typically, they will receive around a third of the eventual settlement or judgment, plus office expenses.
Ask Around for Referrals
Nearly everyone knows someone who has had a personal injury-related case—request referrals from friends and family to help you find an experienced and trusted lawyer.
The timeline of a personal injury case may take up to years. Getting referrals will help you decrease the time spent looking for lawyers and increase your time spent fighting for compensation. Referrals will provide you with a starter list of lawyers to interview and corresponding comments and reviews from your friends and family.
Put the lawyers with whom your mates have had an excellent experience on the top of your list. But remember to not decide exclusively based on someone else’s recommendation, as each individual may respond differently to a lawyer’s technique and personality.
Compile referrals and meet with lawyers without bias. Do not cross lawyers from your list until you’ve discussed with them and consulted your case.
Inquire About Their Success Rate
Personal injury cases do not necessarily have to go to trial. Parties usually settle personal injury claims between themselves before escalation. With that said, it would be best to have an attorney who has successfully negotiated compensations and prosecuted personal injury claims to a jury.
Do not base solely on tenure, as many attorneys may have years of experience but still do not have a strong history of success. Instead, inquire about your attorney’s win rate. If they cannot provide it, it’s safe to assume they do not have a high one.
For instance, a lawyer may be known to accept low-ball settlements to close cases or have a losing track record when faced with challenging, high-value lawsuits.
On the flip side, if you constantly inquire about success rates, you will find awarded and well-known lawyers who may have won multi-million-dollar settlements and verdicts for their clients.
Interview Multiple Lawyers
Compile a list of reputable personal injury attorneys and companies in your area and start scheduling consultations. Meeting with numerous lawyers will assist you in identifying who is the best fit for your situation. Compare and contrast your options based on their experience, reputation, track record, and payment structure.
Interviewing multiple lawyers will get you more insight into the ins and outs of your case. Each consultation will give you an idea of your case’s success rate and the challenges you may encounter along the way.
Hire a Lawyer You Can Communicate With
When choosing a personal injury attorney, how well you communicate with your lawyer and vice versa is an important consideration. A lawyer’s capability to listen and understand you will influence how much you can help each other in your case.
Likewise, a lawyer’s capability to educate you on your case, its success rate, possible hurdles, and negotiations will affect your ability to make appropriate judgments. It would help to choose a personal injury lawyer who listens to your story, responds to your questions, and simply describes the particulars.
Inquire About Additional Resources They Offer
Besides looking for the most qualified lawyer to handle your case, it’s also vital to consider the additional resources or services they can provide. For example, some personal injury firms offer assistance such as referring medical professionals for your treatment, negotiating medical expenses with doctors, assisting in property damage, and more.
The Right Lawyer
Finding the right personal injury lawyer is one of the most crucial factors in getting your desired verdict or settlement. The tips from this article will help you find a lawyer that will communicate well, help you get treated, offer different payment methods, and, most importantly, fight and negotiate to get the just compensation you deserve.
You don’t have to be alone when fighting for justice. Find the right lawyer by your side and see that your case will follow the law to the end.
