Securing compensation after an accident is difficult without the help of an attorney. However, most people don’t know how to find a good personal injury attorney. With so much at stake, finding the right attorney to represent your interests and hold the correct party responsible is crucial. Car accidents often result in severe and catastrophic injuries that forever change your life. You may be unable to work, but your medical bills keep coming. You may need continued care but have no way to pay for it. The right attorney can help ease this financial burden so you and your family can focus on recovering and adapting to a new way of life.
What Is an Accident Lawyer?
If you suffered injuries in an accident and are considering a lawsuit against the liable party, you may wonder, What is an accident lawyer? An accident lawyer helps people receive compensation in personal injury claims. Filing a personal injury lawsuit is among the most effective ways for an injured victim to get compensation from the party that caused their harm. Retaining an experienced accident attorney is vital to ensure you receive the financial support you deserve in the years to come.
7 Tactics to Find the Best Accident Lawyer
After an accident, you may have decided that you need to contact an attorney. But you may feel overwhelmed by the number of attorneys that pop up with a simple internet search. This section provides seven tactics to help you find the best accident lawyer and what to look for when interviewing potential attorneys to represent you.
Specialization
Personal injury law is complex, with many specialized rules and practices. It’s vital to pick an attorney who focuses on personal injury law. Hiring an attorney without the requisite experience may result in unfavorable outcomes or unnecessary delays in your case. While negotiating is a skill most attorneys possess, anticipating the tactics used by insurance companies and opposing counsel is more common among personal injury attorneys. Gaining the upper hand in a personal injury case is integral to obtaining a just settlement during the negotiation process.
Experience
Choose an attorney with experience in investigating and negotiating personal injury lawsuits and taking these cases to trial. Most personal injury cases settle before ever going to trial. However, sometimes negotiations fail, and the responsible party refuses to cooperate in settlement discussions. In this unfortunate scenario, you need an attorney to litigate your case. Trial preparation requires a unique skill set that comes with experience. While the process may take longer, a good attorney prioritizes your path to holding the liable party responsible for your harm.
Resources
When you interview potential attorneys, make sure that the lawyer you choose has the resources to complete your case. Personal injury cases often require the input of doctors, accident reconstructionists, and rehabilitation specialists. Expenses in a personal injury case can quickly mount, but your attorney must continue to work on building a solid case on your behalf.
Success
Ask a potential attorney about their success rate. For example, how many multi-million dollar settlements or verdicts have they obtained for their clients? While each case is different and results can never be guaranteed, looking at an attorney’s success rate provides a greater understanding of the type of negotiator or litigator they are. Keep in mind that not all personal injury cases obtain multi-million dollar settlements. But a record of success on settlements and verdicts indicates that this personal injury attorney may be your right choice.
Fees
Most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis. A contingency basis means that you need to pay legal fees only if your attorney succeeds in getting you a settlement or judgment. Your attorney usually receives a percentage of a settlement or judgment ranging from 33% to 40%. Speak with a potential attorney on how they scale their contingency fee agreements. For example, if your case is particularly complex, the attorney may request a higher contingency percentage. Discuss whether an attorney requests payment for expenses upfront or whether these are included in the contingency fee agreement. Read through any proposed agreement carefully and ask questions to avoid any surprises.
Referrals
Speak to family, friends, colleagues, and other reliable sources to learn about potential attorneys. You may think twice about retaining a personal injury attorney that appears excellent on paper, but a friend has had a negative experience. Additionally, read online reviews and testimonials posted on the attorney’s website. Read referrals objectively. Remember that some people may post negative reviews but may have been on the opposing side of a case with that attorney. Take time to weed out the reviews that may seem irrelevant or unfairly skewed against the attorney and their qualifications.
Communication
When interviewing potential attorneys, get a feel for their communication style to determine whether you and the attorney would work well together. An attorney should communicate with you in an organized and understandable manner. No attorney should expect you to understand the complexity of personal injury law. However, they should be able to break it down for you in a digestible manner. A good attorney understands the difference between under-communicating and over-communicating.
The best attorney for you exhibits certain behaviors that distinguish them from the rest. In your initial meeting, you should feel that the attorney is passionate about representing and protecting your interests. After an accident, you likely feel stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed by your situation. You deserve to recover compensation from the responsible party, and your attorney should feel the same way.
Contact Us
At Armstrong Lee & Baker LLP, our firm and clients’ relationship represents a sacred trust. We never view our clients as a number or just another case. We understand that we represent individuals that have been wronged, injured, and lost loved ones. Lawsuits are confusing, expensive, and stressful. Our attorneys bear the mental and financial burden for our clients, so they can rest assured that they are well-cared for. Our primary motivation is our commitment to our clients’ best interests. We assist our clients in moving on – sometimes from the most challenging event in their life. Our clients put their trust in us to achieve the best possible results for them that we can, and we do our best to honor that trust in everything we do.
Scott Armstrong obtains remarkable results for his clients. He has successfully tried numerous cases to favorable verdicts and reached significant settlements on his clients’ behalf. In the process, he has recovered millions for his clients.