When an accident causes personal injuries, you may find yourself in pain, facing mounting medical bills, and losing income because you are unable to work. You may know you need to hire a personal injury lawyer but may feel intimidated and worry that you do not know what questions to ask a personal injury attorney.
Choosing the right personal injury attorney can feel like a difficult task, and it is not unusual for people to “shop around” before hiring a personal injury lawyer. You should interview an attorney to be sure they are the right fit before you commit to working with them. Knowing what questions to ask an attorney can help you evaluate your choices and choose the best personal injury lawyer for you and your situation.
You should choose a lawyer you trust and feel comfortable with. We recommend interviewing at least two attorneys before deciding who you want to represent you. During the interview, ask questions to better understand the lawyer and the services they will provide, and, most of all, to determine if they will be a good fit for you and your case.
A personal injury attorney represents people who were injured because of someone else’s negligence or wrongdoing. An attorney can help you recover financial compensation for medical bills, lost wages, property damage, decreased quality of life, and emotional pain and suffering.
A personal injury attorney will investigate your case, identify who was responsible for causing you harm, work to negotiate a fair settlement, and, when necessary, take your case to trial.
Here are some questions to ask a personal injury attorney to help you evaluate them and decide who to hire.
Most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee. This means you will not pay a fee unless we recover money for you. If we are successful, our fee will be a percentage of the total recovery. In most cases, our fee is 33% of the gross recovery if we resolve your case before filing a lawsuit. If we need to file a lawsuit, our fee increases to 40% of the total recovery. You will also be responsible for paying case expenses. We will advance money to cover the cost of case expenses like filing fees, expert witness fees, and the like, and you will reimburse us for money we spent on your case out of the funds we recover for you.
Before hiring an attorney, you should ask about their qualifications and experience. You want to hire a lawyer who has experience handling personal injury cases. The legal field is similar to the medical field in that you have generalists and specialists. If you have a problem with your heart, you want to see a heart specialist, not a general practitioner. Similarly, if you need to take your case to trial, you want a trial lawyer who has experience litigating personal injury cases.
Within the personal injury field, different lawyers have different specialties. For example, some lawyers focus on car accident cases, some focus on medical malpractice, and others focus on slip-and-fall cases. Ask whether the lawyer has handled cases like yours before and, if so, what the results were.
Every case is different, but an experienced personal injury attorney should be able to provide an estimate of how your case will progress and how long it typically takes to resolve a case like yours.
A personal injury attorney should also have a general idea of what your case is worth. While no lawyer can guarantee a particular outcome, they should be able to explain the factors that will affect the value of your claim.
Be wary of personal injury attorneys who tell you early on that your case will settle. To obtain the best result, your lawyer should prepare your case as if it will go to trial. To succeed at trial, you need an experienced attorney who has tried cases and knows how to present a case to a jury.
Insurance companies will try to pay you the lowest amount of money possible to resolve your case. An experienced attorney will know how to negotiate with the insurance company to arrive at a fair settlement. But sometimes, the only way to obtain full value for your case is by taking it to trial. Because litigation and trial involve significantly more time, many lawyers increase their fee if your case goes to court. They may increase it even more if your case goes to trial. Be sure you fully understand the attorney’s fee structure so you avoid surprises.
Any personal injury case will have case-related expenses. These can include the cost to obtain medical records, filing fees, expert witness fees, and transcription costs. Ask what the lawyer’s policy is regarding these litigation expenses if you lose. Some lawyers will charge you for these expenses, while others will not. Regardless of the answer, be sure you understand the lawyer's policy for out-of-pocket case expenses.
Any personal case will have challenging aspects. An experienced personal injury attorney should be able to anticipate those obstacles and explain how to address them.
Communication is a cornerstone of the attorney-client relationship. Understand how the lawyer will communicate with you, how often you should expect updates, and how your questions will be answered when the lawyer is unavailable.
Before signing a contract with an attorney, be sure you understand your role. Some people want to be very involved in their case, while others prefer to remain on the sidelines and let the lawyer take the lead. Ask what will be expected of you, and explain your preferences about how involved you do or do not wish to be.
Choosing an attorney is an important decision. To help you choose the right attorney for your case, make a list of questions to ask. You can also ask the lawyer for general advice they give to other people in your situation.
Personal injury attorneys are used to people asking questions. Use us as a resource to help you make an informed decision about your case and the lawyer to represent you.
Contact us today to schedule a confidential consultation to discuss your situation and how we can help.
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