Al Nye The Lawyer Guy

How to Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer

 

One of the worst things that can happen to a person is to be involved in a serious accident – especially if it’s not your fault.  You may have never dealt with an insurance company in your life (other than to pay your premiums).  But now, the insurance company is demanding that you do all kinds of things before they’ll help pay your medical bills.  Fill out forms, see certain doctors, and have your property inspected by their recommended expert (your automobile, for example).  They may want to tape a telephone interview with you and any manner of other things.

 

And after doing all that you’ve been told to do, the insurance company may still not be willing to pay for all your bills and properly compensate you.  Or they may offer an immediate check that sounds tempting at first, but might not be in your best interest if you have lingering injuries.

 

Many lawyers would advise you not to do or say anything without having a lawyer by your side.  For relatively minor injuries, that’s probably not necessary.  But I do agree that the more serious your injury, the better it is to see a lawyer before negotiating in any detailed way with the insurance company. 

 

Despite your best efforts at working with the insurance company, you may be forced to hire a lawyer for any number of reasons.

 

So how do you choose the right lawyer?

 

As a lawyer myself, the first thing that I’d recommend is that you NOT automatically hire the lawyers that constantly advertise on TV or the radio.  These lawyers are typically not held in high regard by other lawyers.  Sometimes, these types of firms seem to mostly be ready to settle your case, not litigate it.

 

I’m not saying that some of the lawyers you see advertising all the time on TV aren’t good lawyers.  Like all things in life, some are better than others.  The important thing to know is that you have options.

 

First, personal referrals are better than any advertisement.  Ask around.  Talk to friends, family and neighbors and ask them if they’ve used a personal injury lawyer or someone they know has used one.  Take down any names that come up and see if anyone is mentioned more than once.

 

Check on-line.  Look carefully – and with a somewhat of a skeptical eye – at a lawyer’s or law firm’s website.  Don’t forget that the site was made by the lawyer or firm specifically to help generate business.

 

You often see the suggestion to call the local or state bar association for referrals.  My experience is that this advice is unjustified.  I’ve never heard of a bar association that would recommend a couple of lawyers and indicate that “they’re the best.”  At best, they provide you will a list of lawyers – but not much more information than you could get from the phone book or on-line.

 

Take a look at some of the legal sites that rate lawyers: Avvo is the most well known, but others like LawyerRatingz and uReview.net also exist.  You can also find lawyers in martindale.com – but those listings don’t have reviews and are sometimes little more than another legal website for the firm.

 

You can also look in the yellow pages – but again I would caution against assuming that the bigger the ad, the better the lawyer.  (Often the same lawyers appearing on TV and the radio all the time are the same lawyers with the big yellow page ads.)  Your primary goal is to find lawyers with lots of experience in handling your type of case – whether it is an auto accident, a workplace injury, medical malpractice, a slip and fall or any other type of injury.

 

Once you have several lawyers you think my be appropriate, call them up and schedule an appointment.  The initial meeting should be free and it’s your opportunity to evaluate both the lawyer and his or her practice.  Does she practice out of her home, or is the firm so large it takes up half a downtown building?  Some people feel more comfortable with having a small firm handle their case.  Others want to know that the firm has dozens or perhaps hundreds of lawyers that can be available to review and consult on the case.

 

Above all else, see how you are treated by the staff the attorney that you meet with.  I have people talk to me all the time about how unhappy they are with their lawyer.  My immediate advice is “change lawyers.”  There are too many lawyers in this country – good lawyers – for you to put up with a lawyer that isn’t doing what you want or expect in your case.

 

And you don’t need to put up with shoddy service from a lawyer.  If your attorney isn’t returning your calls, isn’t answering your questions, doesn’t respond to your emails promptly – heck, even if you find that something about your lawyer’s personality grates on you every time you speak with him – fire him!  Find someone else that suits you. 

 

But keep in mind that justice often moves at glacial speed – in other words, so slowly that it seems that nothing is happening.  Often your lawyer doesn’t immediately accept or return calls because there is nothing new to report in your case.  Still, your attorney should be able to take a minute and bring you up to date.

 

When you speak with each lawyer, find out how much experience he or she has in cases like yours.  Ask the attorney to estimate what percentage of her practice is devoted to personal injury cases.  If the answer is less than 50%, keep looking.

 

You also want a lawyer that has gone to trial a number of times.  Anyone can settle a personal injury claim.  But if the case requires a trial, you want to be sure that you lawyer has done more than just settle hundreds of cases.  In my experience, there are very few lawyers who are excellent litigators. 

 

Lawyers generally handle personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis.  What this means is that the lawyer pays all the major fees associated with your case and then collects those expenses and a fee based upon a percentage (typically 1/3) of what your case settles for or the judgment you receive at trial.  This contingency fee agreement should be put in writing and signed by you and your lawyer.  If the attorney you speak with isn’t willing to do this, again, keep looking for someone else.

 

Hiring the right lawyer is a decision that will have a profound impact on your case.  Take your time and choose wisely.

 

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This article was written in association with Personal Injury Experts.