How to Choose the Right Personal Injury Lawyer

You may have shortlisted a number of personal injury lawyers from either web searches or recommendations from family and friends. No one personal injury case is the same so you will have to do some of your own groundwork before reaching the point of hiring someone.

Experience is Vital When Choosing the Right Lawyer

You should check to see how much experience your short listed lawyers have. Experience can make or break a personal injury claim as well as determine the damages you receive. Selecting an enthusiastic, experienced lawyer in your type of injury will go a long way to ensure a settlement is reached.

If your case is likely to involve a large amount of money because your injuries are disabling and life-changing, you don’t want your case drawn out for years. If this happens it will not allow you or your family to benefit from the claim. In the meantime you have to pay for all your medical costs and rehab, all because you did not make a wise choice when choosing the right personal injury attorney.

Check for Successful Claims Reached by the Personal Injury Lawyer

One way of checking how good your shortlisted personal injury lawyers are is by checking the value of settlements they have won and how long it took them to reach the settlements. You certainly don’t want to choose a lawyer who has gone through the process of filing personal injury claims and lost them at the last minute. You need a lawyer who is born to succeed and testimonials from happy clients provide you with that sort of evidence. You should compare each lawyer to help you make a wise choice.

Asking Questions Will Help you Reach a Decision

There is nothing wrong with live discussions with your shortlisted lawyers. Give each of them a call and fire questions at them such as, what was your last successful personal injury settlement and how much did you win? A lawyer who doesn’t stumble with the answers should be promoted to the top of your list. Lawyers who won’t give you the time of day aren’t worth considering. In the long run it’s their loss and your gain. Don’t side-line the impact a successful claim will have on your life and this should help you arrive at a decision when choosing the best lawyer.

Cost Is Not Important When Choosing a Personal Injury Lawyer

Hiring a lawyer is not cheap in normal situations but personal injury law is different. You don’t normally need to worry about the cost of a personal injury lawyer as it is your legal right to be compensated for the financial burden caused by injuries that were not your fault.

Most lawyers work on a contingency fee basis which means you as a victim of a personal injury does not need to worry about paying upfront fees. This also means that the lawyer you choose will do his or her utmost to ensure a successful settlement. If this is not reached and the claim ends up in court the lawyer is compelled to pay any legal and court fees if the settlement request fails.

It is normal policy for a personal injury attorney to include his or her legal fees in any personal injury claim so that it is deducted from the settlement before it is paid out to you. You don’t need to compare fees when choosing the best personal injury lawyer, base your choice on who you think you can best communicate with and will win the best settlement in the shortest period of time.

Keep to the Statute of Limitations when Choosing a Personal Injury Attorney

Often with serious injuries it takes time for the victim to regain his or her senses and realize the true impact of the injuries. However, once you have recovered you shouldn’t wait too long before choosing a lawyer to file your personal injury claim.  Most states have a statute of limitations restricting the time you are given from the onset of your injuries to the time of filing your personal injury claim and this is usually 2 to 3 years depending on the state. If you are suing a state organization the statute of limitations may even be only six months from the date of the injury.