Hiring the right lawyer for you or your loved ones is something that takes experience and knowledge. Personal injury claims vary greatly as they include car accidents, medical malpractice, work accidents, and so on. You will find various personal injury attorneys, but they don’t all have the same experience. It is essential to have someone beside you in all the legal action you are going to encounter, but that person should be the best you can find or it will damage your chances of winning a claim. Before hiring the first personal injury claim attorney you find, these tips will assist you in making a better hiring decision.
Find an Attorney with The Right Specialization
Look at your case, whether it was a wrongful death, auto accidents, or a faulty product, and based on its type, you must find a lawyer who specializes in this kind of case. Even if you’ve hired a very reputable and professional attorney but in a different specialization, they will not have the required experience to handle your case and they won’t know certain procedures or tricks that specialized attorneys know.
How to Find Them
There are several ways to find the right lawyer for your case. You can ask your family and friends for recommendations if they have been through a situation like yours. They will either tell you to stay away from a certain attorney or recommend a good one for you. Word of mouth is still effective in this digital era, so ask around your network for any good leads. Alternatively, you can search online for lawyers or law firms in your area. Reputable attorneys have websites showcasing their specialty, experience, and their won cases. Do your research online and check reviews on different websites of past clients to know how their experience went with these lawyers.
Check Their Experience, Reputation, and Success History
The first thing you need to do is find out if the lawyer you are considering has the right experience. It is preferable to meet them in person and ask all the question related to their experience such as:
- Have you dealt with cases identical or similar to mine?
- What does your law firm specialize in?
- Can you provide me with statistics of your wins?
Answering these questions will give you insight into the number of cases the attorney handled that are similar to yours; the higher the number, the more experienced the attorney is. Inquiring about past cases isn’t only about knowing if the attorney won the cases or not, according to personal injury claim attorneys at Herrman & Herrman, you can discover from the answers how they handled different situations in different cases, and relate any similarity to your case. It is difficult to assess the reputation of a lawyer by word of mouth. To efficiently know more about an attorney’s reputation, you can access the local chapter of the bar association or similar websites to check any awards or hold leadership positions they may have received. Online reviews may also give you insight into a law firm’s reputation. Lawyers with a high success rate in cases similar to yours don’t necessarily guarantee that they will win the case. However, the high rate shows that this attorney will fight for your rights as hard as they can.
Know How Your Relationship Will Work
Communication is essential for an effective lawyer-client relationship. Typically, you should meet and discuss the case with the attorney; not their staff members or paralegals. If the attorney won’t handle the case themselves, it is a red flag that they don’t care about the case as much as you would like them to. It is crucial to ask them if they will handle the case personally, as it will build trust and understanding between you and them, which is an important factor in winning any case.
Compare Fees
After shortlisting a few lawyers or law firms, you should compare their fees to know which one you can afford. You must know how much they charge, will they charge a flat rate or by the hour, and if they have payment plans. You must clarify all the costs that come with their services so you won’t have unpleasant surprises down the road.
Hiring an attorney for your personal injury claim is not a step that you should take lightly. The lawyer you hire is a major factor in winning your case and you must ensure that you hired the best one you could find. A specialized attorney will have the required experience to handle your case and to guide you through its procedures.
