With so many different personal injury lawyers to choose from, it can be hard to pick the best one for your case.
You want a law firm with a commitment to clients’ best interests and some experience.
Has Experience with Personal Injury Cases
Hiring a criminal defense attorney for a personal injury claim won’t help you much, even if they do have a lot of experience with the law. You need a lawyer that has experience handling personal injury cases and can both negotiate and take a case to trial.
Insurance companies may be able to distinguish between different types of attorneys so be sure you choose yours carefully. Most injury cases are going to need to be investigated thoroughly and do require extensive preparation.
You need to make sure that you select a lawyer that has the resources to hire accident experts or medical professionals. If your attorney has a team that can help with the case, this can be a good sign.
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Experience Handling Similar Cases
Having experience is important when finding the right personal injury lawyer, but the type of experience is important as well. You need a lawyer who is used to handling personal injury claims that are similar to yours. Personal injury cases can differ.
For example, the laws related to a dog bite claim are different thanks to a car accident. It’s best to remember to ask how much experience your attorney has in handling cases where the circumstances are similar to your claim.
A personal injury lawyer won’t need a lifetime of expertise to be the right fit for your case but being able to successfully litigate other similar cases is necessary.
Understanding of Medical Concepts
Not every personal injury lawyer is going to specialize in medically related injury cases such as malpractice, but they should have some familiarity with the jargon that is related to injuries.
Lawyers are not going to be qualified to give you medical advice, but they should be able to talk to you about things like diagnostic criteria, injury prognosis, and estimated costs.
Some attorneys might even be able to refer you to some reputable healthcare providers. Medical knowledge is also going to be important if your case does go to trial and your lawyers need to cross-examine other witnesses.
Experience and Success Both Inside and Outside the Courtroom
Most cases settle without filing a lawsuit. This means that your lawyer needs to be a talented and skilled negotiator.
However, just because most cases can settle without going to trial doesn’t mean that yours will, so you want an attorney that also has some experience at trial.
Ask your attorney what percentage of their cases go to trial and what percentage are settled out of court. If the attorney is used to settling cases by negotiating, then he or she may not have the trial experience you will need if your case does go to court.
Proven Track Record
You can also ask the attorney how many cases he or she wins and the success rate for cases that go to trial.
If the attorney has a high success rate of getting settlement amounts close to the initial claim, this can be a helpful and valuable experience to have.
Experience Communicating
A lawyer should listen to your whole story before giving you advice. He or she may also ask a lot of questions in order to make sure that he or she understands exactly what happened during the accident. If you want an attorney that is going to represent you the best, then they need to know exactly what has happened.
Your attorney needs to be a good communicator and actually listen to what happened and be able to explain the steps necessary in your case. If an attorney tells you that you can get a big settlement without listening to what happened during the accident, then you may want to get a second opinion.
You don’t just want to hear a sales pitch and instead need a trusted and competent attorney. When you have your initial meeting with a lawyer, you can get insight into their experience with communication. Ask how the lawyer intends to communicate with you.
How often will you get updates on the case? Can you call or email if there is a problem or issue with your case? Regular updates and good communication are as important as the experience the lawyer has. The experience won’t do you much good if there are key facts missing in your case because the lawyer didn’t listen to you.
You can typically get a free consultation with a personal injury lawyer, and this is the best time to learn more about the experience the lawyer has in order to find the best one to represent you.