When you or someone you love has been injured in an accident that was someone else’s fault, you deserve to find an attorney who will provide you with compassionate, knowledgeable, and effective legal services.
But how do you choose the right personal injury lawyer? We know that you have a lot of options, and it can be overwhelming to figure out which attorney you should choose.
We have put together this guide to help you determine which personal injury lawyer is right for you. If you want to find out more information about how our team here at Yosha Law Firm can meet your needs, schedule a free case evaluation to find out more.
These 9 questions will help you determine which personal injury attorney is right for you.
How much experience in personal injury law do they have?
There are a few things to take note of when looking at experience. First, how long has the law firm been operating? Second, how long have they been practicing personal injury law?
You will want to find an attorney who specializes in personal injury law. It’s even better if they have extensive experience related to your specific kind of injury.
A personal injury attorney can cover just about any kind of accident, but in an ideal situation, you will be represented by someone who has plenty of experience with your type of accident. For example, if your case involves a car accident, motorcycle accident, slip-and-fall, or wrongful death, you will want to work with a lawyer who has worked in that area.
How successful is your attorney at getting money for their clients?
To find out your attorney’s success rate, you have some options:
- Ask them! You can always ask your attorney (or prospective attorney) for information about their success rate, which can include how many cases they have won, and how much compensation they have recovered for their clients.
- Take a look at their client testimonials. Do you see lots of satisfied clients? That’s a good sign!
- Review case studies to find out more about how the attorney works and how much they have collected in damages for their clients.
Does their payment model work for you?
There are several common payment models out there for retaining legal services, but most personal injury attorneys will only get paid if they win your case.
This means that personal injury lawsuits, when represented by the majority of law firms, are no-risk for the injured party.
After confirming that an attorney only charges if you win, you can also confirm:
- What percentage of the compensation settlement or award will you owe the personal injury lawyer when the case is resolved?
- Are there any additional fees that may add up during the lawsuit process? Examples may include fees related to requesting medical records or hiring expert witnesses.
- When do you get the money from your settlement or award?
What is their attitude toward their clients?
This one isn’t about money or time or even experience–it’s about how they treat people.
Some attorneys may have tons of experience, but their attitude toward clients is brusk, impatient, and even uncaring. An attorney-client relationship may last for months or even years; do you really want to work with someone who makes you feel bad?
Being a good personal injury attorney is about more than just winning cases. It’s also about helping people get their lives back after a terrible injury. It’s about putting an end to financial suffering after an accident, and alleviating as much physical suffering as possible!
Lawyers have to have compassion for their clients. When you speak with a personal injury attorney, ask yourself if they made you feel valued and cared for? Or did they treat you like you were an inconvenience? Or maybe just a source of money?
Choose an attorney who is empathetic, compassionate, and knowledgeable.
How available will your lawyer be throughout your case?
You are going to have questions about your case. That’s normal. What you need to know before choosing your attorney is how responsive they are going to be to your questions and concerns.
In a consultation with your prospective personal injury attorney, you can ask how you will get in touch with them during the case and when you can expect a reply. Most of the time, an attorney will get back to you between 1-5 days after your inquiry.
Check to see if your lawyer will be available by phone, email, or text, and be sure to choose an attorney whose communication preferences work with yours. For example, if you are unable to speak easily on the phone due to a medical diagnosis–especially one related to your injury–you probably don’t want to choose a PI attorney who only communicates over the phone.
What resources do they offer to their clients?
Your lawyer may have additional resources available to help their clients throughout the process of filing a lawsuit, negotiating with insurance companies, and getting compensation.
For example, can your lawyer provide you with a network of doctors and therapists that you can use for getting treatment? Are they able to refer you to doctors who may work on a lien basis? This would mean that they would collect payments owed after your settlement or award is finalized.
Your personal injury attorney may be able to contribute to negotiations with your medical providers to reduce what you owe.
What is their timeline–and does it prioritize your needs?
Unfortunately, personal injury lawsuits take time.
It can take several months or even a few years to see a resolution to your personal injury case. Your lawyer can’t always speed things up, but a good attorney won’t slow things down, either.
Talk with your potential attorney about how long they expect your case to last, and how they can help to prevent the case from dragging on for an unnecessarily long time.
Do they avoid making unrealistic promises?
Some attorneys will immediately make big promises to you with awe-inspiring numbers for how much compensation you’re going to receive.
Although your lawyer should be able to provide you with a track record of successful cases, your case evaluation is not the right time for them to make any big promises about how much money you are going to see.
Choose a confident lawyer who is ready to get you the biggest settlement possible, but don’t choose someone who is making wild, unrealistic promises that they can’t follow through on.
Will they take your personal injury case all the way to court if necessary?
The majority of cases are resolved before any of the parties head to the courtroom.
That said, your attorney should be prepared to take the case all the way to court if that’s what it takes to get a verdict that includes appropriate compensation for the damages you have suffered because of the accident.
Yosha Law Firm–Indianapolis Personal Injury Attorneys Who Care
At Yosha Law, we are proud of our track record of providing compassionate legal services to personal injury victims.
We have helped to recover hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients. In 98% of our cases, we are able to beat the insurance company’s final offer!
We believe that if you ask the questions we have covered here, you will find the right answers about Yosha Law Firm. If you have experienced a personal injury of any kind in Indiana, contact our team for a free consultation. You never pay anything up front, because we only get paid if we win your case.
