Personal Injury Legal Aid
Being injured in an accident, through negligence or the fault of another person is a highly stressful situation. Everyday tasks are disrupted and life in general is turned upside down. Depending on the severity of your injury and length required for recovery you might even lose your job. All these situations can entitle you to compensation. You need an experienced, qualified, and relatable lawyer to help you navigate arbitration, personal injury laws and guide you through the entire legal process.
Finding the best personal injury lawyer in your area involves more than a simple online search. Your case might involve some of the most important decisions in your life and you need to put time and effort into researching who is best suited to not only represent you, but to win your case. Online searches are a good place to start but there are multiple, additional ways for you to find the best representation. Read on to discover some informative tips for finding the best personal injury lawyers in your area.
The Cause of Your Injury Can Help Determine the Type of Lawyer You Need
There are personal injury lawyers who are qualified to handle a wide variety of cases. Some are also those who - even though they can handle many case types - specialize in specific types of personal injury cases. Knowing the cause of your injury can help lead you to the best lawyer for your situation.
For example, were you injured in a car accident where another driver was at fault? Or perhaps the steps to your apartment broke while you were walking on them, causing you to fall and break your leg. These are two distinctly different types of negligence involving different processes and types of proof required. When contacting personal injury lawyers, look for those who not only specialize in your type of case but also have a history of winning them.
Online Searches Are Not Enough
Decisions made pursuant to your case might be some of the most important decisions you make in your life. They may in fact (and likely will) affect the rest of your life. Leaving the guidance for those crucial choices up to the first personal injury lawyer you on Google might cause you to omit a better choice – one that might have a better chance at winning your case and getting you the compensation you deserve. How can you maximize online searches to find the best personal injury lawyer near you?
Start by making a list of your options. Write down phone numbers, locations and any major talking points you discover by perusing the websites of each attorney you find. Look for lawyers who offer free consultations and especially those who do not take any money unless you win your case. That latter aspect shows you which lawyers are most confident in their ability to win cases and which ones will know if your case is worth pursuing. Organize the list from most favorable to least favorable and then begin making your calls.
Ask the Right Questions
When you are under stress and in pain from an injury it is sometimes hard to remember you are the victim and are the one hiring a lawyer to represent and work for you. Do not be afraid to ask the right questions when calling personal injury attorneys.
The very first thing you need to establish is whether you have a case worth pursuing. The nature and severity of your injury help determine this. Once determined you have a viable case, you have every right to ask about the success ratio and percentage of winning cases each lawyer successfully arbitrated. You need to ask about money and lawyer fees. Knowing how a lawyer operates and handles money – your money – is a crucial part in determining your comfort level and decision to hire an attorney. Also ask about timeframes, how long the lawyer thinks the case might take and when you can expect to have your first hearing.
Word of Mouth
Once you establish a short list of lawyers, make calls to anyone you know who might have had experience with the lawyers on your list. It is possible you do not know anyone like this. Online reviews, however, serve as great word-of-mouth sources of relevant information. Yelp is a common source for reviews. Websites like lawyers.com are specifically designed to help you find personal injury lawyers in your area. They not only provide specific search engines for such situations but they also include actual client reviews for each lawyer. The American Bar Association is a nonprofit organization for lawyers. They also have a search feature and list those lawyers who have been in trouble. While these are still discovered using online searches, client reviews are the next best thing to actual word-of-mouth statements regarding how each lawyer performed in real-life cases.
Using Nolo.com
Nolo.com is another site designed to help you find a personal injury attorney near you. This site asks you more specific questions to help guide you. For example, you are asked if your injury happened at work (a different type of case), how long ago the injury occurred, what legal action you have already taken (if any) and the primary type of injury suffered. It also offers a legal dictionary and other information to help you become more informed about your rights.
Additional Tips for Finding the Best Personal Injury Lawyers in Your Area
Make sure you are comfortable with your lawyer and your personalities match. Always retain an experienced trial lawyer if possible. Lawyers with experience in court know how to get better results and more compensation for you. Find out if your lawyer has tried cases representing insurance companies. This can work both ways and have a crucial impact on your decision. A lawyer who has represented insurance companies has better insight about how to fight them. Conversely, he or she might also have more bias for insurance companies and therefore not fight as hard to win your case.