Findings from the Bureau of Justice Statistics show that between 3% to 4% of personal injury cases end up going to trial.
If you have suffered a personal injury in any situation, you may be able to get compensation. But there is a process that goes into accomplishing this that you may not understand on your own.
That is why it is so important to go to the effort of hiring a personal injury lawyer to take on your case. They have experience that you don’t and provide the best possible chance if your case goes to trial.
Keep reading to find out what to look for when narrowing down your personal injury lawyer options!
Search Local
One of the best things about the online world is how accessible it is to everyone. No matter where you live or what you have access to, you can probably use the Internet to search for lawyers.
With that being said, it is important that you make sure you are not searching too broadly for personal injury lawyers. You want to narrow down your search to lawyers who are in your general vicinity for convenience.
Laws can also change quite dramatically depending on where you are located. That is why you want to make sure you find someone who has experience in your local area and has done work there.
Focus On Reputation
There are a lot of personal injury lawyers available that can help you to get compensation for your injuries. It can be very beneficial to have so many options, but it also makes the process of choosing the best lawyer a bit more difficult.
You need to create a list of the best lawyers you find when doing your online search. Start to look into those lawyers in depth so that you can further narrow down your options according to reputation.
Not every personal injury lawyer is going to be ideal, and you want to choose the lawyer who has the best standing. One way to do this is to look into what other clients are saying about their experience with that lawyer.
You can easily find reviews online but expect to see a variety of positive and negative reviews, even for the best lawyers. You can even ask around locally to see if anyone has experience with specific personal injury lawyers.
Look at Experience
When it comes to the law, there are a lot of nuances that can be difficult to wrap your brain around. For every kind of case, there is a specific area of law that comes with its own specifications and rules.
Because of this, it is very important that you are specifically looking for personal injury lawyers. If you have a personal injury case, you don’t want to go with a general lawyer or a criminal defense attorney.
It is also a good idea to look for a lawyer who has experience in your specific area. Maybe you slipped on the job and injured your back, and now you want compensation from the company you work for.
You will have a better chance of receiving compensation if your lawyer has worked on similar cases. Many lawyers will include their specific areas of expertise on their websites for you to browse.
If you don’t see this information, you could also call the lawyer directly to ask about their areas of experience and past cases.
Consider the Resources
Hiring a personal injury lawyer is a big step, and you want to make sure you are comfortable with your final decision. One thing you need to consider is the type of resources that lawyer has available to them.
When you are doing your research, you will probably see two very common options in this area of law. This includes larger law firms as well as individual personal injury lawyers who work on their own.
When you go with a law firm, they are going to be a lot of resources available to the lawyer working on your case. There are more people employed there, so there are going to be more hands available when necessary.
But you also have to keep in mind that larger law firms are often more busy and don’t have as much time for each case.
On the other hand, individual personal injury lawyers often have more time to dedicate to each of their clients. But they may not have as many resources available to them or as many people to help.
Compare Quotes
A big part of the decision-making process when hiring a personal injury lawyer comes down to pricing. No matter the situation, you are probably looking for a lawyer who has reasonable rates for your case.
Most lawyers are not going to have their rates available online since there is no one size fits all for every client. You will need to either fill out an online form or call the lawyer to ask for a quote regarding your situation.
It is a good idea to do this with 3 to 5 different lawyers once you have narrowed down your options. You can then compare the quotes you have received according to the other information you know about those lawyers.
Get a Consultation
The last step of the process when it comes to hiring a lawyer is talking with them one on one. Any high-quality lawyer is going to have the option of having a consultation before you officially hire them for your case.
A consultation can be done in person, online, or by phone, depending on your personal preference. This is the best time to ask any questions you still have and gain more insight into the lawyer’s experience.
You also want to make sure you choose a lawyer who you get along with since you will be working closely with them.
Conclusion
Hiring a personal injury lawyer does not have to be as overwhelming as it initially seems. There are just a few main things you need to look at as you are narrowing down your options.
Keep in mind that you do not want to rush this process as this could result in you making a decision that you later are not happy with.
Are you ready to hire an experienced and reputable personal injury lawyer to work on your case? Contact us today to get a free consultation to discuss the details of your case!
