Talking to a personal injury lawyer after an accident can be quite a task since you are traumatized because of the injuries sustained in the accident by you or one of your loved ones. However it is essential to have a word with one of the best personal injury lawyers near you to make sure that you are on the right path. An injury caused due to a car accident, motorcycle accident or even a trip an fall in a shopping mall might spell a lot of financial expenses in the form of hospital bills, doctor fee and rehabilitation costs. While talking to a Personal injury lawyer you need to have a few points in mind to make sure you are on the right path.
Ask the lawyer how much percentage of cases are personal injury cases
You need to be very sure that your lawyer has expertise and experience handling personal injury cases. No lawyer will mind you giving the statistics of how much percentage of cases he or she is handling are personal injury cases. A lawyer who is involved in other areas of law or is more into general practice might not be able to deliver his best for you when fighting your personal injury case.
How does the firm handle billing
Generally personal injury lawyers bill their clients on a contingency fee basis. Meaning thereby that the client only pays a fee when he or she receives a compensation for the injuries. The fees received by the lawyer or law firm is in the form of a set percentage pre-decided by the personal injury lawyer and the client. In case you need to talk to a personal injury lawyer about the fee and other costs of litigation make sure to check who will be responsible for the case-related costs. These expenses generally show up in case the personal injury lawsuit is unsuccessful.
Set up time frame expectations before going ahead with the hiring process
Check with the personal injury lawyer how much time it typically takes to wind up a personal injury lawsuit that has the circumstances similar to yours. Lawyers will not be able to give you a specific time frame however an experienced lawyer will surely be able to provide a rough estimate of the time frame. The time frame is provided by keeping the present and future circumstances in mind.
Talk about the success rate of your personal injury lawsuit
Ask your personal injury lawyer what are your chances at winning the lawsuit if I goes into trial. Check for his past records; how many cases he has won in the past that look similar to yours. Check with him how much compensation he has won for his clients outside the court. Ask your personal injury lawyer what preparations he intends to undertake after taking up your case. The personal injury lawyer needs to all preparations which are needed when a case goes to trial even if it does not go to trial and gets settled out of the court. If preparations are solid the other party will be under pressure to either settle the case outside the court which will of course cut down on the time frame for the compensation to reach you.
Who will handle your personal injury lawsuit
Be very specific about this point since the person who is handling your case will have far reaching impact on the result of the lawsuit. You need to check the person’s credentials. You need to see if the lawyer entrusted with your case has handled any personal injury cases in the past. Check if he or she is open for communication. Check if the lawyer has won a case while facing a jury. See if the particular person is good enough communicating with the insurance company.
These are a few points on which your initial communication needs to be based upon while communicating with a personal injury lawyer in San Diego. Do not hesitate to ask everything in advance instead of being surprised at a later stage about the term and conditions of the working of the personal injury law firm.