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Are You Thinking Of Hiring A Personal Injury Lawyer?
from: D RuplingerIf you have been injured and are thinking of hiring a personal
injury lawyer there are a few things to keep in mind.
First of all, find a lawyer who specializes in your type of case
and in the type of law your case falls under. You want a lawyer
who specializes in personal injury law, not one who specializes
in other areas of law such as criminal law, wills, estates, or
divorce.
Talk to several lawyers before hiring one to handle your case.
Most personal injury lawyers offer a free initial consultation
to discuss your case. This consultation gives you the
opportunity to ask the lawyer questions such as: how much
experience he or she has; what the fees are; what he or she
feels your chances of having a successful case are; who will be
working on your case (it may be an associate rather than the
person you have the initial consultation with); and how long he
or she feels it will take for a resolution of your case.
The initial consultation is for the benefit of both you and the
lawyer. While you are deciding whether or not you want to hire
that particular attorney, the attorney is looking at the case
and deciding if it is a case he or she wants to take on.
During the consultation ask each lawyer the same questions so
you have the information to equitably compare each lawyer and
decide who you can work with best. You want to work with someone
you are comfortable talking to because you may have to discuss
some very personal information with your lawyer; so take note of
how comfortable or uncomfortable you are when you visit each
lawyer.
Take all the information you have about your case with you for
each initial consultation including photos but don't take your
originals. Take copies. When you do sign a contract with a
lawyer you may be asked to provide the originals, but copies
should be fine for your initial consultations.
Before signing a contract with a lawyer, make sure you
understand the contract. Personal injury lawyers almost always
work on a contingency basis. This means the lawyer only gets
paid if he or she wins your case. Instead of the fee being
hourly, the fee is a certain percentage of your award, typically
one-third. You would then receive the other two-thirds of the
award. But if any fees such as filing fees, expert witness fees,
etc. are paid out of your portion of the award the actual amount
you receive could be significantly less than two-thirds. Make
sure you understand whose responsibility the extra costs will
be.
If an attorney declines to take on your case, don't be offended.
Instead ask them for a recommendation of a lawyer they think may
be able to help you with your case.
And keep in mind that using a small-claims court can be a viable
option to using an attorney in certain personal injury cases,
but it is still a good idea to consult with an attorney first to
see if that is best course of action for you to take with your
particular case.
About the author:
D Ruplinger is a featured writer for
com. Visit the web site for more information about personal
injury lawyers and
nsultation/">free consultations.
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