If you sustained one or more injuries as the result of an accident or an act of negligence, you should follow a series of steps to help you regain your financial footing. Receiving medical care, gathering physical evidence, and obtaining the contact names of witnesses are three important steps that victims should take after every type of personal injury incident. Above all, the most important step involves contacting a personal injury attorney to review your case, as a truck accident lawyer can attest.
Now, the question you must answer is how do I find a personal injury attorney?
Before the Internet exploded with activity after 2000, potential clients found lawyers by letting their fingers do the walking through the Yellow Pages. Times have changed, and this means you go online to determine whether an attorney meets the following criteria:
Proven Record Of Success
Many attorneys brag about their years of experience. Although years of experience have some relevance, what is much more important is the record established by an attorney getting the compensation clients deserve. You can find this out by conducting research on a lawyer’s website, by reading about the cases won either by a court decision or through negotiated settlements. As our friends at Herschensohn Law Firm, PLLC will tell you, client testimonials left on review sites such as Yelp and Google should help you learn more about a lawyer’s proven record of success.
Specializes In Your Type Of Personal Injury Cases
You should hire a personal injury attorney who has amassed experience handling your type of case. For example, if you fell down a flight of stairs at a neighbor’s home, you should search for an attorney who has experience handling premises liability cases. Another reason why specialization is important is the collection of physical evidence is different for each type of personal injury practice. The physical evidence gathered for a car accident case follows a different process than the physical evidence collected for a medical malpractice case.
Provides Legal Support Throughout The Case
If you choose a large law firm to handle your personal injury case, you might not interact with the same attorney during the insurance claim and litigation process. Instead, the initial lawyer you meet might delegate some, most, or all of your casework to a paralegal or a less experienced member of the firm. You have too much at stake financially to run the risk of a less experienced attorney dropping the ball on your case. During the free case evaluation, ensure the attorney you meet guarantees to provide legal support during the entire insurance claim and litigation process.
Responsive Communicator
You can discover whether a lawyer is a responsive communicator before you decide whether to hire them to handle your case. Pay attention to how long it takes for an attorney to respond to your phone, text, and email messages. You can expect the lawyer that you hire to have other clients, but the attorney should return all forms of messages in a timely manner. You might have to deal with an abrasive insurance adjuster or a third party who refuses to hand over compelling physical evidence. This means reaching your lawyer whenever you need legal support.
Finally, make sure the personal injury attorney that you hire works on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not pay any upfront legal fees. You pay the attorney a percentage of what you receive in just compensation.
If you have recently been injured due to someone else’s negligence, contact a lawyer near you for help.