Few things are more stressful – physically, emotionally, and financially – than suffering a major injury. Being hurt on the job or away from home can happen under perfectly innocent and isolated circumstances, but these types of injuries often involve others. Personal injuries can be caused by literally thousands of different scenarios, ranging from simple mishaps to sheer criminality.
Getting justice in your particular situation often relies on hiring the very best personal injury attorney. Somebody with the right experience and understanding of your injury can make all the difference to the overall outcome.
In the spirit of justice and victory, let’s examine what you should consider first and foremost when hiring a PI lawyer.
Determine the Exact Criteria Required
Before any commitments are made – or even before you start making phone calls – it’s highly recommended that you create a list of the criteria you’ll need in your PI lawyer. This may include their level of experience with your particular type of case, whether they are licensed in your state, how easy it is to reach their offices and/or communicate with them, and so forth.
If experience matters most, then keep that in mind when making your choice. Likewise, if winning at all costs is your top priority, then be sure to factor that into your criteria before contacting an attorney. These initial decisions are among the first things you should consider before hiring a personal injury lawyer.
Discuss Costs & Fees Upfront
All too many victims make the mistake of agreeing to representation without reading the fine print or discussing specifics, ultimately leading to them becoming victims all over again. With any personal injury consultation, it is important to discuss costs and fees. Across the industry, fees tend to be higher in PI cases than in other types of cases, often comprising one-third of the settlement or more.
Just make sure that you understand how much any representation will cost and whether any other stipulations apply before signing on the dotted line.
Ask for Referrals
Your friends and family members may have been through their own personal injury ordeals: their advice can prove to be invaluable. Anybody who has dealt with a personal injury lawyer in the past may have good or bad things to say about them. Those who know you will share their unfiltered opinions – as will those online via lawyer reviews and testimonials.
These referrals are essential in further narrowing down the potential choice of personal injury lawyers. With several who specialize in personal injuries operating in virtually every metropolitan area – plus countless others who build client bases nationally – filtering out potentially bad choices is a necessity for multiple reasons.
Verify Who’s Handling Your Case
TV ads, billboards, and marketing in every medium highlight the experience and results of top-tier lawyers and their firms. Yet in most cases, the lawyer that is assigned to your case won’t be the proverbial legal pack leader, but rather a partner or associate at the same firm. It’s important not to let your perceptions be colored by the success of an individual who probably won’t be representing your case.
However, many smaller PI lawyer firms do operate with one or two seasoned individuals being the ones who handle most cases. If this is an important metric for you, then be sure to inquire directly about who will be representing your injury case.
Above all else, victims of personal injury must do their homework before selecting proper legal representation. By evaluating firms via referrals and preferred criteria, a suitable list of final candidates can be comprised. From there, the discussion can turn to one regarding costs, chances of victory, and compensation.
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