Four Questions To Ask Personal Injury Attorneys
Your personal injury attorney will represent you throughout the duration of a personal injury case, and it is likely that the outcome of your case will have a major impact on your recovery and your life going forward. Because of this, it is important to treat your selection of an attorney with the appropriate amount of care and caution. Hiring your lawyer should be treated no differently from hiring an employee for an important position, and that means personally meeting with and interviewing candidates. As you meet with attorneys who may represent you in the weeks, months, or years ahead, keep these four important questions in mind.
How Much Experience Do You Have With Cases Like Mine?
Many firms will advertise how many years of experience their lawyers have, but general experience alone isn't enough to carry a case. In addition to years practicing law, it is important that the attorney who will represent you has experience in cases that are similar to yours. This sort of experience isn't just necessary to make the right decisions for your case, but it also saves you from paying for someone else's learning experience. Firms with little experience in similar cases will have to spend more time conducting research. Ultimately, this is time that you are likely to be billed for.
How Often Do Your Cases Go to Trial?
While people often associated lawsuits with high courtroom drama, the reality is that the majority of personal injury cases are settled out of court. Settlements are often preferable to going to court as the outcome is more predictable, there is no risk of a judgment against you leading to no compensation, and the overall cost of the suit tends to be less without the associated court costs. Asking how often a firm goes to trial can help you to determine how skilled the firm's attorneys are at negotiating settlements that are acceptable to their clients.
What Is Your Opinion of My Case?
When speaking with an attorney, they should be able to give you both a rough idea of how much your case is worth and what its likelihood of success is. You want to receive an honest evaluation during this step, and you should be suspicious of any attorney that simply seems to be telling you what you want to hear. If you are interviewing multiple attorneys, keep notes on their answers to these questions. If you have already spoken to other attorneys and you receive an estimate that differs drastically, be sure to ask for more details in order to determine the reason for the discrepancy.
What Unique Experience and Resources Do You Bring?
Every lawsuit is unique and pursuing a personal injury case is not a simple, mechanical process. Every firm or attorney will have unique resources and experience that they can bring to bear to make your case a success. Attorneys that you speak with should be able to clearly explain why they are the right fit for you and your case. Be cautious of attorneys that can only speak in generalities and that are not able to clearly explain how their experience and skills are directly applicable to your case.
Although these four questions should provide you with a good starting point, you should also build your own list of questions that are unique to your circumstances. It is important that you are comfortable with the attorney that you select and that you are not left wondering about any aspects of how your case will be handled.
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