Handling a personal injury claim is serious, difficult business—which is why you need to know what to know and ask a personal injury lawyer. After all, ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’, is never more important than when constructed in a legal framework.
To help fill you in on what ‘you don’t know’ we’ve put together a list of what to know and ask a personal injury lawyer—before hiring them to represent your case. What You Should Know About your Personal Injury Lawyer
To make an informed decision about who should represent you in your personal injury case you need to know a number of facts about your lawyer candidates:
– What their direct experience is working with your personal type of personal injury case.
– What percentage of their case load is personal injury cases and what percentage is your case type (ex. car accident, bicycle accident, workplace accident, etc.).
– If the lawyer you’re interviewing will be personally handling your case in its entirety, and if not, who will handle it or assist them in handling it.
– What their role within the law firm is.
– How long they have been practicing personal injury law.
– What percentage of their personal injury cases go to trial.
– What their success rate is, with both settlement and cases taken to court. What you Should Ask your Personal Injury Lawyer
Aside from knowing about your lawyer’s track record, successes, experience and role in your case you will also want to know things, including how would they approach your case and how they charge for their services. There are a number of questions you should ask your personal injury lawyer:
1. What fees do you charge, how do you charge for your services and when do these fees need to be paid?
2. How will I be charged even if I do not receive any compensation for my injuries? And/or do you offer a contingency fee?
3. Will you offer me a written agreement of all fees that I will have to pay?
4. Who is responsible for costs should we lose the case (including expert testimonials, research, etc.)?
5. What type of personal injury claim do you feel I have?
6. Do you have the time available to give my case the attention it needs?
7. What do I need to do to ensure the security of my case?
8. What information do I need to gather for you to file my claim?
9. How long do you believe it will take to handle my claim?
10. Do you foresee going to court or an out-of-court settlement? Why? And how long do you suspect it will take?
11. If the case does go to trial does your firm have the resources necessary to fund the court process?
12. How much compensation do you believe I am entitled to receive (by both trial and settlement)? 13. When do I need to file my claim by?
14. Who would we be suing?
15. What can I claim as damages?
16. What overall strategy would you approach this case with?
While the questions above are numerous—they are also necessary. You need to know exactly what the lawyer has in mind for your case, and you need to agree with their intended approach. You also need to know how the lawyer will be paid, so that you don’t run out of money mid-trial or mid-settlement.
If you’re in the process of hiring a personal injury lawyer in Whitby and surrounding areas call the experts at Conte & Associates—we’ll answer all your questions and ensure you feel comfortable with the momentum and direction of your case, after all it is all we do!
