If you feel that you have a civil case against someone, then you will need to find the right lawyer if you are going to get any money out of them. Perhaps you think it’s an easy case, but even so, you need someone who can help you take all the necessary actions that will result in you collecting damages. You might get those damages via a settlement, or perhaps you will need to go through the trial process to get the money you feel the defendant should pay you.
You normally have two years after an injury date to file a claim, but you will need to talk to your would-be lawyer about that to make sure. In this article, we will go over how you can be sure that you have found the right personal injury lawyer to represent you during this frequently difficult and time-consuming process.
Ask Your Lawyer if They’ve Handled Cases Like This Before
First, you need to understand someone when you’re looking for a lawyer to potentially represent you in your personal injury case. There’s no shortage of attorneys who handle these types of lawsuits.
If you live in a rural area, then you may have limited options as far as who you can hire. However, if you live in a decent-sized city or a large one, you should easily find dozens of options.
With so many choices, finding what seems like the right one can become difficult. However, you can probably narrow down the search somewhat if you go on the websites of these lawyers and look to see if they represent cases like yours.
If the website doesn’t explicitly say, then you can call the lawyer and ask them. Usually, you will want to try and find not just an attorney who handles these types of personal injury cases, but also one with a sterling record of winning such cases.
If the lawyer you talk to says that they’ve never handed that type of a personal injury lawsuit before, or else they’re new to this niche altogether, then you will probably want to go with someone else. One mistake by your lawyer could mean you get nothing, so you need one with experience with these cases and who also knows how to win them.
You Need to Get Along with Them
You also need to meet with your lawyer before hiring them to make sure that the two of you get along okay. You don’t have to be best friends with this person, but you need to at least remain cordial with them since you will be spending a lot of time together.
Imagine how you will feel if you can’t stand this person, but you need to have many meetings with them leading up to the trial. You don’t want to go through that, so make sure your lawyer doesn’t rub you the wrong way before you officially hire them.
You Need to See if They Have Investigators Who Can Help You
You also need to talk to your would-be lawyer about the investigator or investigative team they have on staff. This matters because if you want to get any money from the defendant, you’ll need to produce as much tangible evidence as possible that proves they injured you or did something that made you ill.
If you go with a larger, more prestigious law firm, then it’s highly likely that they will have a whole crew of investigators in their employ. These individuals can try to uncover medical documents that prove your case. Maybe they can find a police report that will help you.
Failing that, they might find store or traffic camera footage of the incident or accident that hurt you, if such a thing exists. They may also try to locate any witnesses that they can put on the stand during the trial.
If your lawyer doesn’t have a skilled investigative team that can produce all of these things, then you will probably need to find another option.
They Must Have the Time for You
Maybe you feel like you’ve found the perfect lawyer or law firm to represent you. You get along fine. They have plenty of experience, and they have a great investigative team working for them.
However, they already have several lawsuits and clients demanding their attention. If that is the case, then you need to find someone else.
You need to locate a lawyer who has the time and energy to dedicate to your lawsuit. If the one you find has too much else on their plate at the moment, you must locate someone else who has enough time to focus on you and your situation.
They Need to Agree to a Payment Structure That Works for You
It also does you no good if you find a lawyer or law firm that you think will do a great job for you, but then you can’t come to terms on a payment structure that works for both of you. Usually, if you hire a personal injury lawyer, they will work within a contingency payment arrangement. That means you do not have to pay them any money unless they win your case.
In this context, that means either forcing a settlement offer from the defendant that you accept or getting a jury’s verdict in your favor if the trial ever progresses that far. When that happens, if you set up a contingency payment plan with the lawyer, then you will probably pay them somewhere between 25%-40% of your winnings. You can keep the rest to pay for things like your medical bills and to cover your lost wages, if applicable.
Every once in a while, though, you may have a personal injury lawyer who wants an up-front fee. You almost never want to agree to something like that.
If you find a lawyer who checks all of these boxes, you can hire them.
