If you have been critically injured in an accident, you might be dealing with a slew of expensive medical bills and an inability to work. In a perfect world, it would be easy to get the compensation you deserve for an accident caused by someone else. However, it is almost never this easy. Many factors go into a successful accident claim that the average person, who doesn’t have the specialised legal knowledge, might not know. In these situations, it becomes imperative to have someone on your side who can protect you from these tactics and maximise the value of your recovery. But, finding the “best” lawyer to serve you is often the most critical factor in a successful recovery.
So, how do you find a right Auto Injury Attorney in Los Angeles?
Just like other important decisions, you need to do some homework before hiring an injury attorney. When you fix your meeting with an attorney to discuss the case, you need to ask the very right questions to figure out if the attorney has a proven track record of success.
This blog only serves one purpose, and that is to provide you with insights that most injury victims never bother to know about lawyers who handle their case. Hence, you are recommended to follow the advice contained in this blog; it might make the difference in winning your case or going home with nothing or a lot less than your case is worth.
Contents
- 1 1. Check The Sources That Rate Injury Attorney Based On What People Say About Them
- 2 2. Practically All Injury Attorneys Offer A Free Consultation And Won’t Charge Any Fee Unless There Is A Recovery
- 3 3. Ask Your Attorney – What Percentage of Cases Are Referrals From Other Lawyers?
- 4 4. Does Your Injury Attorney Have the Financial And Staffing Resources To Take On The Case?
- 5 5. Is your Lawyer A Member Of Any Legal Organization That Specialize In Representing Injured People?
- 6 6. What Are The Types Of Cases Does Your Lawyer handle On A Daily Basis?
1. Check The Sources That Rate Injury Attorney Based On What People Say About Them
There are unlimited resources to check before deciding which lawyer to go with. One of the most reliable sources is to research and check references that rate them. Ratings are based on reviews from their fellow lawyers (colleagues or competitors) and clients.
Note: There is no other official rating system for injury lawyers besides peer review by other lawyers. Below are some of the peer rating systems that you should check:
- Super lawyers
- The Best Lawyers in America
- The Martindale-Hubbell Bar Registry
2. Practically All Injury Attorneys Offer A Free Consultation And Won’t Charge Any Fee Unless There Is A Recovery
Check if your injury attorney follows these guidelines:
- Free Consultation
- No fee if no recovery
- Offering a visit at home or in the hospital
3. Ask Your Attorney – What Percentage of Cases Are Referrals From Other Lawyers?
If you want to know the best injury attorney in your community, then find out whether a significant percentage of a lawyer’s cases come from referrals from other lawyers. In any field or profession, the experts who work in the field usually know who’s good and who’s not. If you have an attorney or a friend who practices law, then it might be a good place to start with. Even though he or she doesn’t fight any injury case, they are supposed to have colleagues who are well-known with the injury attorneys that are certainly considered the best.
4. Does Your Injury Attorney Have the Financial And Staffing Resources To Take On The Case?
Lawsuits involving severe injuries can be costly to take to the court. For Instance; A typical practice involving medical misconduct case can take in four, six or even eight medical specialists, and each one of them needs to have an expert witness hired to deal with the issue in that specialty.
A severe injury case against a truck company may involve accident reconstruction experts and truck safety experts as well as the experts who will be required to testify or verify about the nature and extent of a client’s injuries (treating physicians, vocational experts, economists, life care planners etc.). Therefore, if a lawyer lacks these resources to fund the case adequately, corners can be cut at the expense of the client’s case. Or a client can be compelled into taking an unsatisfactory settlement. It pays to hire a lawyer who has the commercial resources to bring a case all the way to trial if needed.
5. Is your Lawyer A Member Of Any Legal Organization That Specialize In Representing Injured People?
There are national and state organisations that incorporate lawyers who are dedicated to the representation of injury victims. Such organisations sponsor legal education programs and legal publications. They also offer lobbying activities for the rights of the consumers. American Association of Justice (AAJ) is one of the most prominent national organisation. You may surely get a lawyer who is not a part of any of these groups, but why would you hire a lawyer to represent you in a serious injury lawsuit?
6. What Are The Types Of Cases Does Your Lawyer handle On A Daily Basis?
Some lawyers are “universal practitioners” who handle many different types of official cases, as well as the occasional personal injury case. If you enclose a serious personal injury claim, you will wish for a lawyer who handles injury cases on a day-in, day-out basis. The practice of law has become so multifaceted that is it almost impossible for a general performing lawyer to stay on top of all the developments in injury and medical negligence law. Most of the attorneys who are hired by insurance companies to look after injury cases are experienced specialists who limit their practice to the cover of personal injury cases. A general practitioner is expected to be at a major drawback when he or she goes up in opposition to a law firm that specialises in defense of individual injury cases.
The Conclusion
So, if you are dealing with a personal injury case, make sure your lawyer has the experience with the similar cases. Your injury attorney would really help you and guide you through the process. However, there are no guarantees with personal injury cases regarding results and time. A professional injury attorney will give you their honest opinion of what they think about your situation and a realistic estimate of your case’s timeline.
Are you suffering from a personal injury? Read on the 10 Key Facts About Injuries, Fault, and Your Rights