If you find yourself in the situation where you need to hire a personal injury attorney, it is important to take the time to find one that will best represent your case. Dealing with an unexpected injury can be difficult and expensive, and seeking compensation for both your injuries and other losses can alleviate some of the burden—but only if your case succeeds.
An experienced lawyer will help represent your interests and negotiate the settlement you deserve, but you will need to do your research before you decide who to hire. We have put together some of the top questions you need to ask before hiring a Texas personal injury attorney.
1. What are your specialties, and have you handled cases similar to this before?
The term “personal injury” can cover a whole range of cases, from medical malpractice and defamation to slips, assault and battery. These can then be further broken down to subcategories so you will want to ensure they have experience working in this field.
A personal injury lawyer who has only worked on car accidents won’t be as much help to you if you need to make a claim for a fall, for example.
2. What is your contingency fee?
Many personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, where the attorney earns a percentage of the fee that you gain in your settlement. If you don’t win your case, then no legal fees will be charged. This is why most lawyers will only take you on if it is likely that you will win.
3. How long will it take for my case to be resolved?
It is a good idea to ask your personal injury lawyer how long they think your case will take to be resolved. There will be many different factors which can influence the outcome time, but they should have a rough estimate of how long they think it will take to be resolved. You should be able to get a gauge of how committed they are to your case and their efficiency by their answer and reasoning to this question.
4. Will I have to go to trial?
The majority of personal injury cases are settled out of court. Going to trial results in a longer, more expensive process, but it may be necessary in some cases to receive full compensation.
An experienced attorney can help you review your case and its chances for successfully settling out of court. Most importantly, they can help you decide whether going to court will be worth the extra costs and time vs. accepting a settlement once you have one on the table.
5. Who will be working on my case?
Many personal injury attorneys have assistance when working on a case, such as paralegals or a legal secretary. They will help with the documentation and other work, which helps to get the case completed quicker and keep legal fees down.
However, it’s important to make sure you know exactly who is working on your case and who you should communicate with for information. Some law firms will assign you an attorney at random; pay attention to the communication you’re given during the selection process to get an idea of what communication will be like should you work with them.
These are just a few of the main questions you are going to want to ask before hiring a personal injury attorney. Be sure to do your research and find the best one to represent your case.