Getting into an accident of any sort can be a traumatizing experience which could potentially leave you with a long-lasting injury. Luckily, the law is on your side if you’ve been a victim of someone else’s wrongdoings and there are tons of law firms that can help get you the justice you deserve. However, picking the wrong lawyer to take on your case can cause you to lose any chance of getting the compensation you’re looking for, or simply have you received less compensation that you rightly deserve. Because of this, you have to know what to look for in a personal injury lawyer before you hire them.
Here are our top ten tips for hiring a personal injury attorney online.
1. Search for Someone Experienced
The first thing you should be looking for is how many cases the lawyer has under their belt as having a lot of experience is vital when dealing with a personal injury matter. Hiring a lawyer that has fought against insurance companies and won on multiple occasions will bring you a lot of comfort in comparison to hiring a lawyer who hasn’t.
2. Find a Firm That Prioritizes You
When looking for a lawyer to take on your case, you need to find one that will use all the assets in their firm to fight for you. Feeling like your case isn’t a priority is something you should try and avoid. Find a firm that will focus all its resources on getting you the justice you deserve rather than a firm that doesn’t care about your case.
3. Compassion is a Must
Having a lawyer listen to your story and only think of how much money they can get is unacceptable. Having a lawyer fight for your rights in the courtroom means that the lawyer has to truly believe in getting you justice, and not just getting you a quick financial settlement.
Experienced personal injury lawyers on this site have over 40 years of experience combined and when talking about compassion, they explain that a successful lawyer must use compassion to “[drive them] every day to go out and fight for the full compensation and justice [their] clients deserve.” This type of mentality triumphs over a lawyer that just wants a quick payday.
4. Hire Law Firms With Financial Strength
Winning a personal injury case is a marathon that could potentially take a lot of resources to win. Hiring a law firm that can’t handle a long battle might result in them trying to resolve the case hastily because of their lack of financial strength in pursuing your case any longer. Make sure the firm you hire has the necessary resources and the ability to outsource those which they don’t.
5. Check Online Reviews
Previous clients of any lawyer tend to voice their opinions on how their case was handled online. Taking some time to check online reviews from other people can be very insightful on how your case is going to be handled. If there are tons of negative reviews regarding a specific lawyer or law firm, then you should probably steer clear of them.
Checking reviews will also help you find more information about the person you’re entrusting with your case, which can bring you confidence and some peace of mind. You can sort search results to present the top rated lawyers first for an easier search.
6. Trust Your Gut
Sometimes you get that feeling in your gut that tells you can’t trust a particular lawyer to take on your case. This feeling can be traced back to many reasons like you simply not getting along with them, but that feeling shouldn’t be dismissed.
Feeling like you’re on edge throughout your case can be very tiring and uncomfortable, so if you feel like your gut is telling you to not entrust a lawyer with your case, trust it and look for someone else.
7. Double-check Their Credentials
Spending some extra time contacting the lawyer disciplinary agency can give you a confirmation that your lawyer is a member of the bar. This can help you be a lot more comfortable, knowing the lawyer you’re hiring has all the credentials required to take on your case.
8. Don’t Shy Away From Negotiating Rates Or Fees
Cut directly to the chase by asking about how much your matter will cost. Find out their hourly rate and accepted payment methods. You don’t want to spend too much time discussing other aspects of your case to discover you can’t afford that lawyer’s fees.
You should also ask them several questions regarding additional costs’ malpractice insurance and fee structures, to gather all the information you need about how they price their services. You can negotiate their rates.
9. Discuss Case Strategies Immediately
You want to be extremely informed about what the lawyer’s strategy is at all times, especially at the beginning of the case. You need to know that your lawyer has a plan for your case as hiring them while they’re unsure of their strategy can be very irresponsible.
After initial consultations, your lawyer should be able to recommend multiple potential legal paths of action.
10. Research Cases Similar to Yours
Do your research regarding cases that involve the same type of accident/injury as viewing how that case was handled by the lawyer can determine what you want to look for in a lawyer you’re thinking of hiring. You can also check if your lawyer has defended cases that are similar to yours as the results from the other cases can show you what you should be expecting by hiring them
Hiring an injury lawyer can be a very tedious process that requires a lot of research from your end, but that’s what guarantees that you’re going to get the compensation you deserve. Dealing with a lot of battles inside and outside of the courtroom without a competent lawyer can be very brutal. Making sure you hired the right person for the job will place you in a calm state of mind and help you breeze through the case with a very small amount of concerns.
