How to Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer
Understand why you need a personal injury attorney. A personal injury attorney is different from other types of attorneys because of their experience and expertise in a specific area of the law. If you have been injured due to someone else’s negligence, or if you have allegedly injured another, you will want an attorney that knows how to handle your case. Personal injury attorneys often have.
Make a list of factors that go in to choosing a good personal injury lawyer. When you begin the process of choosing a personal injury attorney, you will want to understand what makes a lawyer good. With the following list in hand, you can begin searching for lawyers that meet your criteria.
Ask for personal referrals. Once you have a checklist of what makes a good personal injury lawyer, you will want to ask friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers if they know any good attorneys. You should start the process by looking for personal referrals because these are the attorneys who usually have the best reputations and are trustworthy.
Google potential lawyer candidates. Try a simple Google search and see what you can come up with. Try to use this method in combination with other methods to get the best results.
How to Choose the Best Personal Injury Attorney for Your Case
Find an Attorney You Can Trust
You must have total confidence in your attorney. You don’t want to be second guessing them throughout your case. Using your existing network is a great way to find someone who’s trustworthy and accountable.
Check the Attorney’s Rating
Regardless of where you find your attorney, make sure they are a member in good standing of their state and local bar association. Larger bar associations have attorney referral lists you can access at no charge.
Factors for Comparing Attorneys
Every personal injury case is unique, and every attorney-client relationship is also unique. There are several factors to think about when choosing the attorney who will best fight for you.
How to Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer
First, make sure you look for a lawyer who practices in the state where you live or the state where you were injured.
Second, look for lawyers who handle your kind of case. For example, if you were injured in a car accident, look for a personal injury lawyer who handles car crash cases. You can usually find this information on their website.
Third, once you have a working list, check and see if there have been any disciplinary actions filed against the lawyer you are thinking of contacting.
Fourth, find out what you can online. Look at the attorney’s website and content, check for reviews, both good and bad. You should be able to find out enough information to decide if you are willing to do a consultation with them.
Fifth, schedule an initial consultation. Most personal injury lawyers offer free consultations, since most work on a contingency basis rather than charging by the hour. After you meet with the lawyer, you should have a good idea of whether it’s a good fit.
How to Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer
What if I Don’t Want a Trial? How Can I Still get Full-Value for my Personal Injury Claim?
Sure, everyone hopes their case will settle without a fight. But think about it. Wouldn’t you agree that having a seasoned, Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer is the best way to increase the risk to an insurance company and, accordingly, having them offer a fair settlement to you? You need to hire the lawyer the insurance companies hope you don’t hire.
Insurance Companies Base the Amount they Offer on the Lawyer you Hire
They keep track of lawyers and law firms that settle cases for low values. This means when you hire a big firm or a lawyer that never goes to trial and just settles cases, a lower value will be placed on your claim.
Are Board Certified Lawyers More Expensive?
No, the Florida Bar regulates contingency fees. So most personal injury lawyers charge the same exact fee. If every attorney charges the same fee, why not hire one who is an expert in personal injury cases?
Choosing a Good Personal Injury Lawyer
Starting Your Search
Most lawyers who specialize in personal injury cases tend to represent a particular side of these kinds of cases—either the plaintiff (the person who was injured) or the defendant (the person, business, or other entity who is alleged to have caused the plaintiff’s injury)—not both. If you’ve been injured, you want to hire what’s called a “plaintiff’s lawyer.”
Narrowing it Down
No matter what resource you use to find an initial list of personal injury lawyers, you’ll want to whittle it down to three or four prospective candidates by keeping the following tips in mind.
Money Matters
In most personal injury claim scenarios, you’ll be able to hire a lawyer on a “contingency fee” basis. This means that the lawyer will be paid a percentage of any settlement or court award you receive—usually around one-third—and if you don’t receive anything from the other side, your lawyer does not get paid a fee. It’s important to read the find of any contract before you sign it, and understand that you still might be on the hook for “costs” associated with your case (which are different from legal fees).