If you experience an injury that is the fault of an individual or organization, you could claim compensation to cover things like medical expenses and loss of earnings.
But before you go ahead and hire a personal injury attorney, you should first check out the following five useful tips.
1. Compare Different Attorneys And Review Their Experience
To find the right lawyer for your personal injury claim, you should compare different attorneys and law firms.
One key thing to look at when making comparisons is the amount of experience each lawyer has for handling your specific kind of case.
Some personal injury lawyers will have experience in dealing with numerous types of personal injury claims while others will have more experience in specific cases, such as dog bite injuries or car accident injuries. Look for a lawyer who has experience in handling cases like yours.
2. Understand Attorneys’ Fees Structures
Different lawyers can have different fee policies and structures, so that’s another reason to compare several law firms.
You should always discuss fees with potential lawyers before signing a contract. It’s also of the utmost importance that you understand exactly what fees you will pay, so make sure there are no hidden costs and carefully read the contract.
The good news is some personal injury attorneys provide free case evaluations and don’t charge any fees until they recover monetary compensation on your behalf.
If you’re looking for a personal injury lawyer san diego based, The Gomez Firm comes recommended. The law firm has a wealth of experience in personal injury cases, provides free evaluations, and only charges fees when cases are successful.
3. Check Attorneys’ Records With The State Bar Association
Once you’ve found one or more suitable lawyers that have the right experience and fee structure, you should check each attorney’s record with the state bar association.
By doing so, you can check whether lawyers have had any official complaints filed against them, whether they have had censures from the bar association, and whether they have any questionable practices or reputations.
4. Find Out Attorneys’ Success Rates
While it’s important to get an attorney with relevant experience for your type of case, it’s just as important to learn how successful that lawyer has been in their past cases.
If he or she has handled numerous car accident personal injury cases but lost the majority of them, for instance, you’ll want to find another lawyer.
To stand the best chance of winning your case, you need an attorney with a high success rate. So, make sure you ask any potential personal injury attorney how successful their past cases have been and perform additional research before you decide you’re happy for the lawyer to represent you.
5. Talk To Prospective Attorneys
You should always talk to an attorney in person before you hire one.
Begin by talking on the telephone. You can then ask any questions you have and get a feel for the lawyer. If you feel comfortable with the attorney, you should then arrange a face-to-face meeting where you can discuss your case and options in more detail and get to know your potential attorney better. Initial meetings should be free.
During the meeting, you can find out about the attorney’s level of experience, the fee structure, and his or her success rate.
You should also check that the lawyer will personally handle your case. If he or she intends to hand it to another attorney at the law firm, you need to know about it.
Once a prospective personal injury lawyer has ticked all of the boxes, you should consider how comfortable you feel with him or her. Go with your gut, and you won’t go wrong.
