Thinking of filing a personal injury claim? Before you choose your lawyer, read this first!
Getting into an accident is everyone’s worst nightmare. Nobody wants to be injured, to take time off work to recover, or to run up huge medical bills as a result. None of us want to be injured… but it happens to thousands of people all over the US, every single day.
If you are unlucky enough to be one of those few, then help is at hand. There are any number of law firms out there willing to plead your case. However, before you choose the closest one to you, let’s talk about what you ought to ask them to make sure you are getting the best deal.
The Questions to Ask Your Potential Personal Injury Team
Before you rush out and hire someone, ask them these four pointed questions to discern their worth.
1 – How Many Years of Experience Do You Have?
Although hiring a personal injury team that are fresh out of college might seem like they have the most training, this is far from the case. College graduate lawyers have the best basis possible on which to build their careers – but they don’t have a career yet. Are you willing to risk your health and recovery on a team that hasn’t seen the inside of a courtroom yet? Asking how much experience the team has will help you avoid this.
2 – Do You Have Many Clients?
While it may seem contrary, those personal injury teams that have a hundred clients aren’t going to defend you any better than those that have twenty. According to the Portland personal injury attorneys at Johnston Law Firm, between 5 and 15 clients are enough for any one lawyer, at any one time. If they are all on the same team and working together, this number can rise up to fifty. More than that, and the chances are your lawyer won’t have enough time to fully investigate your personal injury case.
3 – Will I Win?
Another vitally important question is whether or not they think you will win. If your case has no weight to it, they might just turn it down outright. A personal injury team only wants to take cases they can make money on, and that means cases that win and get compensation. Usually, a lawyer or a personal injury team will take a percentage of the final tally to pay for their services. If you don’t win, though, you still have to pay the bill…
4 – What are your Fees?
The amount a personal injury lawyer team will charge you for your case work depends on how much their contingency fee is. It’s not unusual for this fee to be around 30%. You shouldn’t balk at this number because it will be factored into the amount of compensation that you win. If the fee is higher than the third of your pay out, then you need to seriously consider if they are good value for money.
The Bonus Question
Last but not least, don’t forget to ask for reviews or testimonials. If they have plenty of happy customer reviews, then you know they are a firm you can trust.
