Personal Injury Attorney: What to Look For in a Lawyer

If you've been hurt in an accident, you may need a personal injury attorney by your side to help you recover the damages to which you're entitled. It would be nice to live in a world where such measures were not necessary, but that world is either far in the future or far in the past. In today's society, companies and individuals usually have to be forced by order of a court to own up to their financial responsibilities. Trying to force this yourself is almost always a mistake. A good lawyer, however, will know the battle plan that can see you to victory. Here are some things to look for when choosing which firm to hire.

Trial Experience

While many lawsuits wind up being settled long before they get in front of a judge or jury, you still want a personal injury attorney who has plenty of trial experience. Not only will this prove immensely useful should the case go to trial, it will also serve as a deterrent to the other side. A company will always want to avoid the unpredictability of a jury if possible, and they will go to great measures to do so if they know they are up against a tenacious lawyer. This type of experience is far more valuable than all of the book education in the world.

Free Consultation

There's little reason why you should fork over any money just to get in front of a personal injury attorney. Most law firms will offer potential clients a free initial consultation. They want your case. This gives them the chance to see people who might be hesitant to lay down money they can ill afford to spend. Still, there are firms out there who want to start billing clients before they've even taken them on. Just avoid these firms outright. If they are that desperate to bill you from the outset, it might say something about their ability to make money in legitimate ways.

Contingency

A good personal injury attorney, in fact, will not charge you a dime until a settlement or judgment has been reached. They will then take their fees as a percentage of that money. This means you never have to go into your own pocket to pay them and you won't have to pay a dime unless they win your case. Of course, the other side of this is that a firm will be more cautious about the cases they take on. This is also a good thing, however. You don't want to spend a lot of time and money fighting an unwinnable case.