Need A Personal Injury Attorney? Here’s A Few Questions To Keep In Mind
When you’ve suffered an injury that you can take action for under personal injury law, being informed about your rights is an important first step. Before you hire any personal injury lawyer, it’s a good idea to ask a series of questions.
What kind of lawyer are you looking for?
Much like physicians, some lawyers are general practitioners in common areas of law such as real estate, civil litigation and general commercial matters. Other choose to specialize in one area such as family law, criminal law, or personal injury litigation. When it comes to complex matters such as spinal cord or brain injuries, motor vehicle accidents or long term disability it is extremely important for people to look for somebody who specializes. Law consists of various fields and no one lawyer can be knowledgeable in all every area.
Experience: You want to know about a lawyer’s experience level. Will they go to trial if required? Some lawyers do not have the resources for a trial and preparation that may take six to eight weeks. This is important for someone to know in their decision making process. It is also important to ask how many files that lawyer currently has carriage of. Will they have the time to focus on one more?
Cost: Litigation is very expensive. Some lawyers will take retainers and want payment up front and bill on an hourly basis. We don’t.
Personality: Most importantly – You really need to feel comfortable with your lawyer. You’re going to be dealing with that person for years perhaps. If you don’t have that comfort level and trust, you will always feel hesitation and concern. Do your due diligence. You must feel comfortable with who you’re dealing with as you will be dealing with them for a long time and they will be representing your interests and they need to do so with passion. You’re really putting your life into their hands.
Questions you want to ask:
-What are your areas of specialization?
-How do you charge?
-How to you communicate with your clients?
-How many cases do you have carriage of?
-How much experience do you have?
-Will you go to trial?
-Have you gone to trial? Have you been successful?
-Have you handled cases like mine before? How many? What was the outcome?
-Will you be the only lawyer working on my case?
