Hire Personal Injury Lawyer
If you are in an auto accident that’s not your fault, hire a personal injury lawyer so they can begin a proper investigation. The faster you act the better. You can always decide not to use a lawyer later, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Before you commit to hiring a personal injury attorney, ask yourself the following questions. Have you been injured as the result of another person or company’s accidental or intentional negligence? Is your injury so severe that you’ve suffered lost wages or garnishments, mental or physical distress, or steep medical bills? Do you have evidence and commonsense on your side in the case? Have you already compromised your chances for a settlement by talking extensively with the potential defendant’s attorney or giving statements to the defendant’s insurance company? Once you’ve asked and answered these questions, it may be wise to start searching for a personal injury attorney.
With tens of thousands of accidents occurring across the country on a monthly basis, it’s no wonder the majority of personal injury cases are related to car accidents. Sometimes a semi driver driving a company car makes a mistake. Sometimes someone has been drinking too much. Sometimes a simple mistake leads to great injury if not a death. Personal injury lawyers often take on car accident cases when insurers start to give trouble about paying proper damages.
Worker’s compensation usually covers these injuries. If you suffer an injury on the job, most often your employer will have some form of insurance to help. There are cases where you may get no help. If you made a mistake because you were intoxicated, you might be denied help. If you’re an independent contractor working off-site, you may not qualify. Sometimes a worker deserving of help does not get his or her proper benefits. In this situation, you can hire an experienced personal injury lawyer.
In addition, find a personal injury attorney who will take your case payable via contingency. A good contingency rate is around 25 to 30 percent of the money that you’ll be paid at the end of a successful trial. Before you retain a personal injury attorney, you’ll want to have a face-to-face meeting with him and you’ll want to make sure that the attorney doesn’t have any conflicts of interest in your case. Ask for the law firm’s promotional brochures, and solicit references from trusted business associates and family members to find other personal injury attorney resources. Many potential plaintiffs — even people with bulletproof cases — never file suits or motions in court because of the perceived hassle and embarrassment associated with going to trial.
Finally, before you hire a personal injury lawyer, calculate the value of your time. If you spend six months in trial trying to recoup a small amount of damages from a defendant, you’re in effect taking six months vacation from your primary occupation and suffering the stresses and frustrations of trial that will inevitably ensue. While it’s true that some personal injury cases can get quite grueling and drawn out, if the dollar amount of your suffering is large enough to merit action, it certainly won’t hurt you to consult with a recommended personal injury attorney to see whether or not you may have a case. Remember that simply talking to a personal injury attorney doesn’t preclude you from not taking legal action — it simply opens your eyes to various possibilities of redress.
