Top Things to Consider when Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney
As a victim of personal injury, you need a good personal injury lawyer by your side. Depending on the way they represent you, you may or may not win your personal injury claim. Choosing the right lawyer is important for the result you’ll get, so here is what you need to consider when you’re looking for a personal injury attorney.
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1. Look Up Some Referrals
Whenever you are hiring a personal injury lawyer, you might want to do some research on them. Check their case success rate, or look up some referrals. For instance, if you know someone who has been in an accident and hired a personal injury lawyer, you might want to ask them for some references.
If you don’t have acquaintances that worked with personal injury lawyers, you can start reading some reviews yourself – although don’t trust just the reviews on their website. Very often, only positive reviews are left there. Look for independent reviews as well. Social media can also be of great help.
2. Check Their Dedication to Your Case
While this is not a recommended practice, some lawyers will delegate your case to another lawyer that their company chose. You should make sure that the lawyer you started working with is the one that will stick with you until your case is over. For some people, this can be years.
The last thing you probably want is to do your research and connect with a particular lawyer, only to find out that you’ve been turned over to someone else. Maybe the other lawyer is not the best for your circumstances or does not have that good of a success rate. If you’re going to hire someone, you should ensure that they are staying with you till the very end.
3. Ask About their Practice Area
No personal injury attorney is the same. Some will focus more on car accidents. Others will practice more on workplace personal injuries. They might be licensed to work in every area, but you’ll need more. Aside from knowledge, you will also need experience.
You might also want to check the geographical areas. For instance, Clarksville personal injury attorneys may have a different set of knowledge as compared to those in, say, Memphis. They will know potential special city laws that may be able to help you. So even if they may be the best attorneys in a certain city, they may not work as brilliantly in yours.
4. Consider Their Charging Method
Not every attorney will charge you the same way, so make sure that you know beforehand how you are supposed to make your payment. For instance, some attorneys may ask for an hourly fee, charging you each time they meet up with you. If the lawsuit goes on for a longer time, then you might have to pay quite a lot.
On the other hand, other personal injury lawyers will only ask for a certain fee at the end – and that’s exactly the kind of lawyer you should be looking for. You need someone who can be fully upfront about the fees. This way, you will not have any costly surprises in the long run, simply because you were ignorant.
You may also want to ask if you will be charged the same way even if you lose the case. The best lawyers will not ask for compensation if they end up losing your case – just what was needed to handle the paperwork to that point. Most lawyers will require a contingency fee only if they win the case or find a way to settle.
5. Ask About Face to Face Meetings
A lawyer who takes the time to schedule a meeting with you is the type of lawyer that will likely take a personal interest in your case. It’s the kind of lawyer that is willing to connect with you so that they can know all about you. This kind of information can be very useful in court.
This is also a good opportunity to see whether you feel comfortable with the lawyer or not. After all, you will be sharing a lot of sensitive information with that lawyer. If they refuse to make time to meet you in person, then you may look at it as a red flag.
The Bottom Line
Finding a good personal injury lawyer can take some time and research, but you’ll want to take the time for that. After all, it can make the difference between a successful case and a lost case.
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