It’s hard to deny how common injuries are. With 62 million injuries in the United States alone, the chances are good that one will eventually happen to you. There won’t be a problem in most situations, but what happens if you get injured due to another person’s negligence and can’t get help to deal with the aftermath?
A personal injury attorney St George Utah, advises that in cases like this, seeking legal assistance from an expert is beneficial.
Do you want to avoid hiring a personal injury attorney that doesn’t get results? Below are eight questions to ask a lawyer to vet them and ensure they can handle your case.
1. What Field of Law Do You Specialize In?
Understanding an attorney’s experience is the first step to determining if they can handle your case. There are numerous fields of law, and even more when you narrow it down to the personal injury field. And with so many different types of cases, there are specialties in law.
Make sure the person you hire has experience with your specific type of case. For instance, look for an attorney who advertises themself as a malpractice expert if that’s the type of case you’re dealing with. On the other hand, if you want legal assistance for auto accidents, find an experienced car accident attorney.
An attorney should be able to demonstrate a history of success, so ask about their record before hiring them.
2. What Do You Charge
Understanding your pricing options is critical to finding the best lawyer. If you need to hire a lawyer hourly or use a price-for-service charge, you may end up with a hefty one-time fee. In this case, find the attorney that offers the best deal.
But you have other considerations if you have a large case with a big settlement. It may take time to resolve, and you may not be able to hire an attorney hourly.
You have contingency fees available for this situation. This form of payment doesn’t require you to pay anything unless your lawyer wins.
3. What Do You Require of Me?
You’ll have different requirements to handle depending on the attorney you hire. Some attorneys want clients involved in their cases, so they keep in regular contact to get feedback on the next steps.
But one of the benefits of personal injury lawyers is that this isn’t always necessary. Since you’re dealing with recovery, you may not want to handle much of the work.
Make sure to see how much work an attorney requires of you and if you’re fine with that workload.
4. Who Will Oversee My Case?
Working with a larger law firm can give you more resources to handle your case. But at the same time, you also need to vet the people working with you before you sign a contract.
You may not initially speak to the attorney working with you as your point of contact. A more prominent attorney will interview you and pass your case to an associate.
Try to learn who will do the heavy lifting on your case, interview them, and vet their credentials.
5. Do You Have the Bandwidth for My Case?
Unfortunately, some attorneys may take on your case when they already have a full schedule. They don’t want to turn away business, so they don’t pass cases to give their current work the attention it deserves.
This can lead to an attorney rushing and missing a small detail that ruins your accident claim. One of the questions for lawyers to ask is if they have the bandwidth for your case.
An attorney should be able to dedicate time to your case, and if they currently have a large caseload, they should have help available to handle yours.
6. Will You Go to Trial?
Although it isn’t likely to happen, there is a chance that your case will head to trial. You won’t be able to come to a settlement with the other party, so you’ll need to head to the courtroom to settle things.
Unfortunately, some attorneys don’t enjoy going to court. They do everything possible to settle out of court. There isn’t anything wrong with this, but you still need to be willing to go to court if necessary.
Ask an attorney about their case history and if they have gone to trial before. And if they have, were they successful at winning there?
7. Are You Local?
The rules for accidents can change based on where you live. You have different timeframes for filing claims, procedures to follow for claims, and laws that dictate who’s responsible for an injury.
You need an attorney that understands those rules. Keep your search for an attorney to those with experience practicing in your area.
Ideally, they have a lot of local experience and know all your local rules. Yes, an experienced attorney can likely learn those things if they aren’t local. But working with someone who already knows them is a good idea.
8. Do You Have References?
Most lawyers are upfront about their skills. They can back up the service they offer and won’t present any problems that hurt your settlement chances.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get as much information as possible about an attorney. This means learning from people who have worked with a personal injury attorney before.
Reputable attorneys will have satisfied clients. Ask if you can speak to one to learn about their experience.
Vet Your Personal Injury Attorney Carefully
There’s a lot on the line when you have a personal injury case. You may be looking for a large settlement depending on how bad your injury is. You don’t want to hire a bad personal injury attorney that doesn’t do enough to get results.
That’s why it’s important to do your due diligence when considering your options for personal injury attornies. When you do, you’ll vet your choices well and find an attorney who will help you win your case.
If you want to learn more about making important life choices, head back to the website. You’ll find more articles about dealing with other life events.