It can be quite difficult to secure compensation for losses such as injuries after serious accidents.
You might have to hire experienced personal injury attorneys to protect your legal rights and negotiate a settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance company. You shouldn’t ever consider filing a personal injury lawsuit before consulting with an experienced lawyer.
One of the most important things to know is what questions to ask. Personal injury lawyer fees are obviously a big one, but you’re going to work quite closely with your lawyer, so there are other questions as well.
You’re going to want to feel comfortable with your personal injury attorney, considering them your trusted advisor. You should interview a minimum of two lawyers before you make a decision regarding who will be representing you.
If you’ve suffered a personal injury in a car accident or another type of accident, you should ask any potential personal injury lawyer:
1. How Long Has Your Firm Been Practicing Personal Injury Law?
One of the most important things injury victims can ask lawyers who will potentially handle their personal injury cases is how long they’ve been practicing personal injury law. You want an attorney with many years of experience handling cases which are similar to yours.
You should give the experience your lawyer has the same consideration you’d give to the experience your doctor would have. If you had a serious problem with your stomach, you’d probably go to a gastroenterologist instead of your neighborhood general practitioner. While your GP probably has foundational knowledge regarding your ailment, it’s a better idea to see a specialist who will give you as good of service as possible.
Be direct when talking to potential personal injury lawyers. Ask them about how much experience they have handling cases like yours. Ask them about their success rate, as well.
2. How Many Lawyers Will Be Working on My Case?
Sometimes multiple lawyers will end up handling your personal injury case. This could mean multiple lawyers within the same firm end up handling your case, or it could mean that outside lawyers from other firms are brought in as co-counsel to help with your case.
If outside lawyers are brought in to handle your personal injury claim, it’s important to keep in mind that this isn’t a bad thing. This means more resources will be available for investigating and building your case. Resources are important for things like hiring expert witnesses.
Most of the time, when additional lawyers are brought in to handle your case, the amount of money you’ll owe at the end of your case will not change. Still, it’s good idea to ask if having additional lawyers handle your case will end up costing you more.
3. What Are Your Fees?
Most personal injury attorneys work without charging any upfront fees or out of pocket fees – on a contingency fee basis. What this means, essentially, is that you won’t owe a law firm any money until and unless they recover financial compensation on your behalf for things like medical bills and lost wages. They’ll provide you with a free consultation and you won’t be charged unless and until they win your case.
If your legal representation recovers money for you, they will charge you a percentage of the compensation they recovered for you.
It’s critical to understand what qualifications your car accident lawyer or injury lawyer has. While a lawyer may tell you they’ll charge you a very low contingency fee, they might not have the qualification to be the right lawyer for you.
4. Have You Handled Similar Cases to Mine?
Just because a lawyer has handled personal injury cases such as yours doesn’t mean they’re a superstar attorney. You want a lawyer who has seen past clients’ similar cases go to trial, and who has won those trials, ideally, many times.
A prospective lawyer may be able to share with you a list of past case results regarding cases similar to yours. In this case, you will know they possess the expertise and experience to handle complex legal issues, understanding the settlement types they’ve secured successfully for clients in the past.
Most injury cases get settled before reaching trial. Still, ensure your lawyer has enough experience in jury trials in case your case reaches court. Many injury victims fail to ask this question. A lot of people have the misconception that every lawyer knows how to try cases in court. This is not true. So, when you ask questions, ask them if they’re capable of trying your case in a court of law.
5. If I Lose, Am I Responsible for Case-Related Costs?
Some injury attorneys charge for costs related to the case which they advance, which they will charge in addition to any contingency fee.
Ask your attorney who is responsible for paying out-of-pocket costs if your auto accident case or injury case ends up being unsuccessful.
6. How Long Before You Expect My Case to Be Resolved?
When you have your initial consultation with a lawyer, you should ask them this question. It can take a long time to go through the settlement negotiation process, especially when severe injuries are involved. Insurance adjusters aren’t going to help things go more quickly during settlement negotiations – they’re going to do whatever they can to not pay you what you deserve.
Your lawyer might know roughly how long your case might take, but it’s nearly impossible to provide a specific, accurate time frame.
Too many factors need to be considered: how willing the defendant is to settle, the behavior of the at-fault party, court calendars, how complex the case is, etc. Hopefully your lawyer has plenty of experience with cases like yours, meaning they can talk from experience regarding your long your case may require to resolve.
7. What Other Services Do You Offer?
Sometimes the attorney client relationship involves more than just handling the legal side of things. Ask your potential lawyer if they offer any services other than just handling the legal process.
For example, sometimes you won’t be able to afford the medical expenses related to having your injuries treated. Ask your potential legal representative if they can get you to a doctor who won’t charge you for treatment until your case is over if this is the case.
8. Is Your Staff Bilingual?
If your primary language is not English, this is an important question to ask your potential lawyer. Your personal injury case is a very important thing, and possibly a very stressful thing. You want to feel as comfortable as possible when talking about your case with your lawyer’s staff. Being able to speak with the staff in your primary language will make things as comfortable as possible for you.
9. What Is My Case Worth?
It can be difficult to provide clients with accurate estimations of their case values. Each case is different and unique. No two cases are the same, meaning an accurate formula or settlement fee calculator does not exist.
That being said, your lawyer will be able to give you a ballpark idea of how much your case may be worth as they dive into your case details.
In addition, be aware that your case value can be influence by your lawyer’s ability to negotiate with insurance companies and try your case in court. A lawyer who is prepared and ready to handle your case in a court of law will be able to fight for you to recover maximum compensation. Conversely, if your lawyer never tries cases in court, then you may expect that your lawyer will choose to settle your injury case for a discount.
Remember: the best way to predict future action is to go by past behavior. Ensure your attorney is ready, as well as able, to fight for you in court.
10. Do You Have Client Testimonials I Can Reference?
You’re going to want to see the experiences of past clients just as much as you’ll want to see proof of case relevance and past results.
Many lawyers will put client testimonials on their website, but you should ask if they don’t. Many lawyers also get referrals from other lawyers with different areas they specialize in.
When you seek a lawyer, ensure you pick someone who people like working with. It can be a difficult time for you, both emotionally and physically, so it can be important to choose someone who has a good bedside manner.
11. What Happens if My Case Goes to Trial?
An insurance company is always going to fight you every step of the way, trying to pay you as little as possible, hoping you accept a small settlement offer. It’s in the best interest of everyone for the case to be settled, but when insurance companies refuse to settle, or when you are not satisfied with any settlement offers, then your case might find its way to court.
Your lawyer should be capable of striving to recover maximum compensation for you. Your lawyer should be aware of how to effectively negotiate with insurance companies to recover a fair settlement for you. If your case finds its way to court, it’s best for you to know if your lawyer can handle the case.
If your injury case finds its way to court, your contingency fee may increase. Be sure to ask about this.
12. Can You Help Me Find Medical Treatment?
One thing some injury lawyers do for their clients who can’t afford medical treatment is find them doctors who will treat their injuries on a lien, which means they won’t be charged any medical bills until their case is over.
When a doctor does this for a lawyer, it means the doctor knows the lawyer gets good results for their client and trusts the lawyer. So, a lawyer offering this service to their clients is a good sign that they have a successful track record of handling cases like yours.
13. Have Your Top Attorneys Won Any Relevant Awards?
If a lawyer has been practicing law for a long time, they will have certainly won some awards if they’re any good at their craft.
If your potential lawyer hasn’t won any relevant awards, it may be a sign that they’re either inexperienced or simply not very good at their job.
14. How Much Has Your Firm Recovered Since it Began?
The job of a personal injury lawyer is to recover financial compensation which compensates injury lawyers for their damages such as medical bills, lost wages, pain, suffering and more.
So, the amount of money a lawyer has recovered since going into business is a pretty good indicator of how good they are at doing their job.
A firm who has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars or more for their clients is going to be a firm with extensive skill and experience handling cases like yours.
15. What’s The Biggest Settlement You’ve Received a Case?
Cases which end up settling for huge amounts of money are always very complex cases, as cases get more complex as more damages are involved.
If a potential lawyer has successfully recovered settlements of seven or more digits for their clients, it’s a good sign that they are capable of handling even the most complex of cases, meaning your case probably won’t be too complicated for them.
16. What Will Be Expected of Me?
Before you hire an injury attorney, ensure you understand what your role in the legal process will be, and exactly what your lawyer will expect of you. Some injury victims wish to be extremely involved in their cases, attending meetings such as depositions.
Will your attorney let this happen? Some will not.
Some clients wish to have their attorney handle every aspect of the case while they focus on recovering from their injuries. Ensure that you’re on the same page as your lawyer about what the relationship you have will be like.
Speak to an Attorney Today
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an accident which wasn’t your fault, you should contact us today for a free consultation.
We won’t charge you any fee until and unless we recover compensation for you, which may include compensation for medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, pain, suffering and/or wrongful death.
We can help you find doctors who won’t charge you until your case is over if you can’t afford medical treatment.
We’ve been handling cases like yours since 1990 and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients.
Call us today for a free, confidential case evaluation.
Jeffrey Nadrich
Jeffrey Nadrich is a nationally-recognized California plaintiff’s personal injury attorney. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and UC Hastings College of the Law. He has successfully represented thousands of injury clients over the last 40 years.
