What to Know Before Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer
15 October 2015
If you’ve been injured due to the fault of another party, you should be taking legal action in order to seek proper damages. However, personal injury law and the process can be very unfamiliar and intimidating.
What to Know Before Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer
Whether you need legal guidance for a work related injury or due to medical malpractice, there are some things you need to be aware beforehand so you can be as efficient as possible working with legal counsel.
Gathering Your Personal Injury Information
Something that too many people overlook when it comes to pursuing legal action is how much paperwork is needed surrounding your incident. Before you even start looking for a personal injury lawyer, make sure you’re collecting as much of the listed documentation and information as possible related to your case:
- Medical records and the physician report(s), pre-existing conditions made worse by the incident, any x-rays or other test results, and ongoing treatment expenses since the incident.
- Details about the incident including, but not limited to, date, time, location, weather, and traffic at the time (if applicable).
- Information about other vehicles involved, the drivers, any passengers, and witness contact information.
- Police reports if it was an accident.
- Your insurance information and the insurance information of any involved parties.
- Any correspondence you’ve had with insurance companies or other parties that could be useful in court.
- Wages or other income lost because of the incident ramifications.
Whether you were involved in a traffic collision or injured at work, the better prepared you are, even before finding a lawyer, the better off you’ll be.
Find a Specialized Law Firm
When looking to pursue legal action, it’s so important to bring your case to the right type of firm that will advocate for you as effectively a possible. While there are a seemingly endless number of lawyers out there capable of taking your case, you want to focus on finding a law firm that specializes in personal injury law. These firms know how to get you the best results possible. They possess a niche expertise about these type of incidents and know the best ways to represent your case. A personal injury specialist will aggressively fight for your cause and not settle for less than what you deserve from those who caused you harm.
Not all Injury Lawyers are Created Equal
Understanding that there are a number of lawyers out there, be mindful of the ones who might be a detriment to your cause. Avoid a lawyer or firm that guarantees a fixed amount of damages. Since every case and incident is unique, it’s impossible to know how much monetary compensation you’ll receive. These types of guarantees should be a red flag. Also, make sure that the lawyer is setting expectations when it comes to keeping you informed about your case and their communication to you. If you find a lawyer who doesn’t want to keep you looped in and involved in the process, that also means they might be trying to hide deficiencies in their own legal understanding. Your lawyer needs to be transparent with you throughout the case, and anything less is another sign you should avoid them moving forward.
Regardless of how you were injured, make sure you take the right action in pursuing damages. With preparation and by working alongside the right personal injury lawyer you can get what you deserve.