Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer

By Bling

If you suffer an accidental injury leading to significant damages you will need to hire a personal injury lawyer. But in every city city, there are a lot of personal injury attorney listings in the phone book. How do you select the right one? What to look for? What questions to ask?

A few things you should know before hiring a personal injury lawyer...

1) The quicker you hire your lawyer the better. Begin searching your personal injury lawyer within a week or two after your accident. If you're not able to you should have a friend or loved-one start looking. The sooner you start building your case the better.

2) Get a personal injury lawyer that specializes in your particular type of injuries. Do your homework before signing the retainer agreement. Visit the firm's website and read up on it's history and Ask the lawyer for some referrences and ask how much experience they have in handling cases with injuries like your"s. And What settlement awards did they get in those cases?

3) Meet with your lawyer in person. Your personal injury lawyer is going to be your advisor during this time. You must feel relaxed and trust your lawyer. The only way you'll feel comfortable with your lawyer is by meeting in person to discuss your case. A good personal injury lawyer will give you an initial consultation totally free of charge.

4) Hire a lawyer that will take any money from you your unless you get paid. He will get paid out of the money you receive for your injuries. You can expect your lawyer to take a reasonable percentage of your final settlement - that's after expenses are taken out. Make sure you fully understand the payment agreement before you sign the retainer.

5) Beware of ambulance chasers. They only want to get lots of minor personal injury cases and settle them quickly . So of course they won't put as much time and effort into each case. (If you're looking for a fast settlement be prepared to accept less than what your case is really worth.)

6) Hire a lawyer with a goood rating. This service Martindale.com evaluates lawyers in the U.S. and Canada. Their website, Martindale.com has a helpful lawyer locator service.

7) Be very open open and honest when discussing your case with a lawyer. Tell the lawyer as much as you can remember about what happened. Any documentation or pictures you have of your injuries and treatment will be helpful when assessing your case.


8) NEVER make any recorded statement to a representative from any insurance company until you've consulted a lawyer. If the representative asks for one just say, "I'm not prepared to give a statement at this time." A recorded statement can be used as evidence against you and if you're not prepared you might leave out important details. And all of this can be used against you in any trial or settlemen negotiations.