4 Important Questions to Ask Before Working with a Personal Injury Lawyer

Go to any major city in the country or even smaller towns and you’ll literally find thousands of listings for personal injury lawyers. Some will even come knocking at your door if you get involved in an incident. The issue is that not all of them are worth their salt, and many will take cases knowing that they will do the strict minimum so they can get as many cases as possible. You don’t want to fall victim to this type of lawyer, and this is why you need to take your time when choosing one. Here are some very important questions that need to be answered before hiring a personal injury lawyer.

Do You Need One in the First Place?

The first thing you have to know is whether you actually need to hire a personal injury lawyer. This is because many cases would not be major enough to be heard before a jury. In this case, you might get better results if you go through a small claims court. If you want to know when this would be the route to take, we would suggest you read this article on smalls claims court.

How Many Cases like This Have You Won?

The first thing you want to do is make sure that they don’t only have experience with personal injury cases, but cases like yours specifically. You also want to know how many of these cases go to court and how many are settled. Know that out-of-court settlements aren’t necessarily worse than court judgments – quite the contrary. However, you want to make sure that the lawyer has significant experience defending its clients in court and will not hesitate to do so.

Who Will be Dealing with My Case?

Some people will be surprised to know that the lawyer they meet on their first visit isn’t necessarily the one who’s going to represent them or even work on their case. Many firms will have lawyers who are good at meeting clients, and other people lower down the ladder who work on the case. You want to know if the person you’re talking to will actually be working on your case, and how involved they will be. You also want to know who you should talk to when you have questions. You can’t expect your lawyer to answer your questions 24/7, even the better ones, but you should have an idea of how often you can call them and how. You should also be able to get in touch with someone who knows the facts of your case at any time.

What is Your Fee Structure?

This is an important question for anyone seeking legal help. The good news in this case, is that most lawyers will only charge you if they win your case and will take part of the settlement money. It’s still important that you clarify this with them and look over any possible additional charges. 

These are all crucial questions that will need to be asked before you hire a personal injury lawyer. Asking these will give you a good idea of how good they are and the level of service you can expect.