If you have been injured because someone else acted in a negligent manner, you may be considering hiring a personal injury attorney to recover damages. Before searching through the many legal directories online and contacting a personal injury attorney, you should first assess if you have any injuries that may require a medical evaluation. If you do, visit the hospital or a doctor before you continue to seek out the right personal injury lawyer.
Before making any decisions that will ultimately determine the outcome of your case, it is important to ask each personal injury lawyer that you are interviewing the right questions so that you can make an informed decision about who will best represent your interests. We want you to always make the right decision for you, even if it’s not us, so below are some important questions to ask and the whys behind them.
Questions to ask a personal injury attorney before hiring them:
How much experience do you have with personal injury cases?
Experience matters. Don’t take our word for it; according to the SCOTUS blog, “An experienced attorney, relative to a first-timer, increases the likelihood of winning a case by 14 percentage points”. If your attorney has experience with a case similar to yours, they will be more prepared to take on curveballs they have seen before or will likely already know the outcome of your case.
What makes your experience unique?
There are a sea of personal injury attorneys to choose from that have all the same awards, a 10/10 Avvo score, etc.; however, not every attorney has unique experience to give them unique perspectives. Many of the Parrish Law Firm’s clients choose me to represent them because of my experience in working on the insurance companies’ legal team. That gives me the unique advantage of knowing the tricks and traps insurance companies lay out for their customers to pay them as little as possible, which means I can avoid them.
What is your fee structure, and are there any additional costs I should be aware of (e.g., court filing fees)?
If your personal injury attorney is not direct with their fee structure – run! Seriously, you’re trying to find someone who will fight for justice on your behalf, not someone who is being purposefully vague in the hopes to swindle you of more of your compensation.
Do you handle all negotiations yourself, or will I be working with another lawyer?
It’s important for you to know whether your case is going to be shared with or sent to another attorney. If your personal injury case is being outsourced, you may have more difficulty getting updates on your progress. It also should make you question why you should trust your case with someone who does not feel equipped to handle it.
Can you provide me with references of past clients that used your services?
Past clients can give you the insight you need to make your final decision. They can help you understand what to look out for, how to help your attorney and whether the client themselves felt in the know and involved in each step of their case. Do not skip this step.
How often do you update clients on the progress of their case?
We prioritize telling our clients exactly where they are in their personal injury case because ultimately the case is theirs and they have trusted us to fight for them. Unfortunately, not every legal team feels the same way. All too often, we take on clients that recently ditched their past personal injury firm because they were left out in the cold wondering if their case isn’t as valuable as others to that firm. Your personal injury attorney should be communicating with you regularly and should be able to provide an update on your case whenever you ask.
These are just a few of the questions that you should ask before hiring a personal injury lawyer. By asking these questions, you can get a sense of whether the attorney is right for you.
If you or a loved one has been injured due to the negligence of others, we are here to listen to your case and provide you with a free legal evaluation. Give us a call at (571) 229 – 1800 today to schedule your consultation.
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About Jim Parrish
Jim Parrish’s vision has always been to bring peace to clients whose lives have been turned upside down by their personal injuries and from dealing with unscrupulous insurance companies. With over 20 years of personal injury experience, as well as prior experience working with the insurance companies, Jim is well versed in the tricky ways that insurance companies try to scheme their way out of paying damages to deserving injured persons.
For the first several years of his career, Jim Parrish worked for, provided advice to and represented insurance companies in claims across the nation. However, after seeing the injustice of good people being deprived of fair and reasonable payment for life-changing injuries and damage, Jim decided to use the skills and knowledge he learned from inside the insurance industry to champion the rights of victims of harm and wrongdoing.
Jim’s practice is exclusively limited to personal injury matters arising from car/motorcycle/trucking accidents, dog attacks, products liability, and more.
If you’ve been injured in an accident, call the Parrish Law Firm for a FREE case review today at (571) 364 – 6307 or message us here.
Call or Text 571-229-1800 or Complete a Free Case Evaluation form
