Three Subjects To Bring Up When Hiring A Personal Injury Attorney
After you've been hurt as a result of the negligence of a business or an individual, it is important to consult with several personal injury attorneys in your community. You shouldn't rush into this process – it's beneficial to do a little research to find attorneys who specialize in personal injury law and who have earned impressive settlements or decisions for their clients. Once you have identified a few viable candidates, schedule some time to visit with and speak to each attorney. This discussion will help you choose which person will best represent you. Here are three subjects to discuss that can help you make this evaluation.
Your Involvement
You shouldn't expect that your work is done after you've hired a personal injury attorney. Successful attorneys will involve their clients in a variety of ways, so it's beneficial to ascertain the role that you'll be asked to play in your case. You can expect that upon hiring the attorney, you'll be scheduled to meet with a number of different investigators and medical experts who will add strength to the case. Investigators will document every detail about your injury, while medical experts will determine the extent of your injuries. When you're evaluating attorneys, it's ideal to hire one who will keep you involved in this manner.
Case Worth
Personal injury cases revolve around money, either through a settlement or upon a verdict at trial. Regardless of how your case might end up, it's important to hear about each attorney's opinion of the case's worth. Ideally, you want the attorneys to tell you that your case is strong and explain why – as well as outline the steps that will be taken to overcome any challenges in the case. Experienced personal injury attorneys can also give you a rough estimate of how much you might be awarded; you can use the various data you get to decide which attorney to hire. Try to ascertain whether the attorney is just telling you a price you want to hear or whether they can actually get that amount for you.
Case Timeline
Asking each attorney to estimate the approximate amount of time it will take for your case to be resolved via settlement or decision can help to provide you with realistic expectations about what you'll be facing. It also gives you an opportunity to learn whether each attorney plans to begin work on the case right away; if an attorney has a heavy load of cases, he or she might put off starting your case for a period of time.
In your search, consider an attorney from a firm like Whiting, Hagg, Hagg, Dorsey & Hagg.