Questions to Ask a Personal Injury Attorney Before Hiring
March 6, 2019( These tips given by McGilberry & Shirer LLP, Law firm in Dallas-Fort Worth metro)
Ensuring you receive the proper compensation for your injuries or property damage after a serious incident can be troubling. You’ll find yourself dealing with insurance companies – both your own and the other party’s. The job of an insurance company is to save themselves money. It’s not to pay you. As such, most insurance providers will look to pay as little as possible. You’ll need to have an experienced personal injury attorney on your side to represent your best interests. After all, a large settlement is in the works here.
You’ll be working closely with your chosen attorney. Therefore, you must be completely comfortable with them as a person. You should consider them as a trusted advisor. It’s best to personally interview at least two attorneys in the area before deciding who is the best fit. South Florida personal injury attorneys
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Questions to Ask Your Personal Injury Attorney
Now, let’s begin with a few key questions that will give you better insight into how your prospective attorney handles cases such as yours.
1. What are your fees?
Many personal injury attorneys work via a contingency fee system. A contingency fee means you do not pay any money to the attorney until you recover monetary damages from the other insurance company. If you recovery money, your personal injury attorney will take a percentage – usually between 25 percent and 40 percent as their cut.
2. Who is responsible for case-related costs if I lose?
It is important to prepare for any possibility. Losing the case is always on the table. As such, you’ll want to know who will cover any case-related costs if you lose the case. After all, if you lose, you won’t receive any monetary damages from the insurance company.
3. How much time will you devote to my case?
There are many law firms in the area with hectic schedules. They try to tackle as many cases as possible, while still signing on new clients. Ask your potential personal injury attorney how much time they plan to devote to your case.
4. Will my case go to trial?
The answer to this question depends on the case itself. Most personal injury cases are settled out of court. For the most part, insurance companies do not want to pay an entire legal team for a courthouse case. It’s tough. As such, they are more likely to settle out of court. You’ll want to know the chances here and the success rate of going to trial. An experienced attorney will be able to provide a higher success rate.
5. Who handles my case?
Many law firms have numerous names on the side of the building. They also have an entire team on standby to tackle new cases. You’ll want to know who exactly is handling your personal injury case. Then, once it is determined who is handling the case, you’ll want to meet that person and speak with them firsthand.
After a serious accident of any kind – slip and fall, car accident, etc. – you’ll want to actively seek out a personal injury attorney. Start locally. Find an experienced attorney who knows how to tackle your specific case.