Choosing The Perfect Counsel

You will need a personal injury lawyer that understands the law, can fight against the insurance companies that don't want to pay you, and that is successful in getting you paid. To do that, you should be prepared to ask some questions.

1. How long have you practiced personal injury law? Experience is important because it provides your lawyer with an instinct about how to win cases. He or she knows through experience how insurers operate along with how much to ask for when it comes to demanding compensation for you.

2. What do others say about you? Rather than ask them that question, find out what others say about a lawyer by looking them up. The Martindale-Hubbell Bar Registry lists lawyers and reviews from peers. This may be far more valuable than looking at Google ratings.

3. Can you afford to represent me? You might consider that an odd question but not all lawyers are appropriate for all cases. If your case is more complex, it could very well require more money. It's not cheap to hire investigators, data-mining experts, accident reconstruction experts, and others who are needed to gather important evidence to prove your case. Not all personal injury cases are that complicated, but if your case has any of the below characteristics, then financial security is an important aspect of the case: 

• More than two vehicles were involved and there are countersuits among the parties.
• The plaintiff is a large company. For instance, you may have been hit by a large moving company van or delivery driver.
• You are facing permanent injuries as a result of the accident, including the loss of a career.
• And more.

4. Are you prepared to go to court? Not all cases go to court – some settle outside of the courtroom. However, you need to know that your lawyer has what it takes to litigate a case in front of a judge and jury. Ask them about their previous courtroom experience.

5. Are they easy to work with? Victims need a lawyer who is easy to talk to, who they trust and can feel confident in. You need assurance that someone on the staff will return your phone calls. You should not feel that the lawyer is talking down to you or minimizing your situation. If the lawyer is not appealing and likable, it will also affect how the other party reacts to them. You need your lawyer to be able to work with the other side's insurer to arrive at a settlement so if you don't like the lawyer, keep looking.  

For more information, you can contact a firm such as Houston & Alexander PLLC.