If you are considering hiring a personal injury attorney, here are a few essential questions to ask a personal injury lawyer to ensure an informed decision is being made. Personal injuries of all kinds can cause injured victims to be disoriented. No one is ever prepared for such events, from car crashes to slips and falls. When victims become damaged, they often incur expensive medical costs and must deal with arrogant insurance providers and pay their heavy premiums.
Your best weapon against these unscrupulous insurers is a personal injury lawyer with exceptional knowledge of personal injury law. Legal representation is necessary if you need a successful case. Before seeking legal services from personal injury lawyers, there are a few questions you need to ask them before hiring.
Questions to Ask a Personal Injury Lawyer: Laying Out Your Queries
After suffering an injury from a tragic accident caused by other people's negligence, it's just right that you seek compensation from the person, people, or entity who caused it. You can hire a personal injury lawyer to handle your case and pursue a deserving claim.
Finding an experienced and skilled personal injury lawyer shouldn't be complicated. Here are a few questions to ask them to help you decide if they fit the job.
Will You Be Able to Assist Me with My Case?
Good lawyers understand their limits; they can only devote much expertise, energy, and time to their work. When selecting clients to represent, the ideal personal injury lawyer firmly believes in them or the causes they represent and won't sign them on when it is apparent that their case won't get sufficient consideration.
Find a reputable firm where personal injury lawyers specialize in injury cases and claims. This way, their only focus is on your injury case and nothing else.
Did You Handle Cases Like Mine Before?
Experience and expertise are vital when dealing with anything legal. Ensure that your chosen attorney has extensive experience handling cases like yours before hiring one.
Additionally, ensure that the attorney you select has an excellent success rate. While winning, cases alone shouldn't be seen as indicative of quality work or dedication to clients' cases, having a track record shows they possess strong commitment and expertise, which they can apply towards prosecuting yours.
How Do You Assess My Case?
As the victim, it is understandably tempting to assume your case will be an easy win and that substantial financial compensation should follow immediately. But every accident differs, even similar incidents like car crashes - often, the law or specifics of your situation make court litigation impossible or, at best, very unlikely or challenging.
Expert advice can be invaluable; having someone objective and impartial provide this is crucial. Your attorney should be able to inform you about your chances, estimated case costs, and if pursuing is appropriate or should even be followed. Ask an experienced attorney this critical question to avoid additional headaches and frustration later.
What Areas of Law Do You Focus On?
Ultimately, personal injury specialists are ideal when seeking an attorney for personal injury law cases in Los Angeles. In short, someone familiar with courtroom proceedings would make for the best attorney representation in court proceedings.
What About Your Contingency Fee?
Personal injury lawyers typically operate under a contingency fee agreement, meaning you only pay legal fees if they successfully negotiate compensation for your injury.
Contingent fees of quality personal injury lawyers typically average 40% of any settlement amount; however, these may sometimes be reduced in certain situations. Be sure to carefully read through any retainer documents before hiring an injury lawyer. Be wary of law firms advertising that they can do your case "cheap" since you typically get what you pay for.
What Would Be My Level of Participation?
Your lawyer is there to protect you in ways you cannot, so for them to do this effectively, they need to get to know both you and your story. Facts are crucial - your accident report, medical history records, and any documents provided by insurers or hospitals should all be included as evidence in a court proceeding. But experienced lawyers should strive to be your advocate, not simply review your records. Also, you must consult with your attorney and their staff on various aspects of your personal injury case.
Should I Pay Advanced Costs for Proceeding?
Personal injury firms generally advance the costs associated with litigation, often with the understanding that "we only get paid if we win for you." Out-of-pocket expenses that attorneys incur include filing fees, medical records retrieval fees, and expert witness costs.
While some lawyers will agree that any additional expenses incurred do not fall under your responsibility should you lose, others may require that they cover these costs regardless of the outcome. Make sure to ask this question when seeking legal advice, and always ensure you entirely comprehend any agreements required of you before signing them.
Will My Case Go to Trial, and When?
Your personal injury lawyer must prepare for all cases to go to trial and anticipate such events as they come. While settlement may make sense in certain situations, your lawyer must possess the expertise needed to take matters all the way. Take your case to court, and achieve victory.
Your injury lawyer should also know the time before your case goes to trial, including knowledge of local courts and the inner workings of any potential issues that might require particular adjudication. This requires familiarizing themselves with both internal processes and knowing when it comes time for the trial to start and end.
How Do You Rate Your Experience with Personal Injury Law?
This question will enable you to assess the experience level of any given attorney. Be mindful that years do not always equal skill or competence.
Demanding attorney bio/background information can give us insight into their education, important cases they've won, and particular practice areas they specialize in. Most personal injury lawyers will feature this page on their website with all their achievements and the individual injury cases they have handled.
Who Will Handle My Case?
Larger firms often boast multiple attorneys and staff members, meaning the initial person you speak with may not be responsible for handling or taking your case to court. While this could prove more complex than initially anticipated, this may work to your advantage since you gain a team approach with larger firms.
As different lawyers specialize in various areas, cases often pass from hand to hand throughout their lifespan. To stay informed and protect yourself, you must know who is handling your case, when and for what reasons, and who will serve as your main point of contact at each step.
How Long Will the Resolution Take?
Court cases are an unavoidable part of life, which means no lawyer can give an exact time frame or guarantee of victory for your case. An experienced legal practitioner, however, should understand both your type of case and legal system well enough that they can give an estimated time frame.
Additionally, this can give you an indirect indication of the lawyer's experience. An attorney with complete experience dealing with this case type will have an accurate idea of time frames as they have seen everything firsthand and know all its intricate workings more than those just learning about both processes.
What Information Should I Provide Before and During the Meeting?
Personal responsibility should always play an integral part in most personal injury cases. Although your lawyer will handle the formal aspects, such as understanding the law and developing an effective defense, they expect you to play an active role in crafting a winning argument - providing them with various items they require for a successful case strategy.
They may require evidence to demonstrate your pain and suffering, information on out-of-pocket medical costs and lost wages from being unable to work, and documentation of regular doctor visits and future treatment requirements. Your attorney should be able to assist in retrieving medical records, police reports, and any other documents filed with the city/state government.
Your lawyer should have an open dialogue regarding your responsibilities and your firm's. While the attorney is there to support and assist with the case, assistance from both parties may be required to move it along as quickly as possible.
Call the Finest Los Angeles Personal Injury Lawyer
When you need a legal representative, look no further. Our expert Los Angeles, personal injury lawyers, are always ready to help whenever and wherever you need us. We can help you navigate the system and the legal procedures.
Speak with Big Ben Lawyers today, and we'll happily answer any questions you may have regarding your case. Dial (818) 423-4878 and schedule a FREE evaluation of your case. We strictly work on a contingency fee basis. We also have offices in Fresno, Ontario, Riverside, Sacramento, and San Bernardino to serve you better.
Big Ben Lawyers
144 N Glendale Ave.
Suite 250
Glendale, CA 91206