If you were recently involved in a motor vehicle accident, it is easy to feel as if you are nobody's priority. Unfortunately, there are very specific laws that impact the amount of time that you have to file a lawsuit or seek any other legal action after a car accident. Therefore, it is imperative that you speak with a personal injury attorney as soon as you can after the accident occurred to make sure that all of your legal rights are protected, and the following information will be very useful.
Determine The Amount Of Trial And Negotiation Experience The Attorney Has
It will first be necessary to remember that all personal injury cases are not the same. Since you may find that many of the attorneys in your area prefer to focus on specific aspects or examples of personal injury law, it is fairly common for those professionals to have extensive experience with either negotiating or trial cases.
Since your attorney should be able to make an estimate of what you should expect before the case is closed, interviewing multiple possible persons to help with your case will allow you to choose the person most able to work for your case in the manner you would benefit the most from. While no attorney will be able to guarantee a prompt settlement or a long, protracted trial, the amount and extent of experience your lawyer has will play a big role in your overall satisfaction with the experience.
Research The Success Rates Of Each Attorney Before Your First Appointment
Another aspect associated with your satisfaction with a specific attorney is obviously going to be the final results of your lawsuit. As part of that, you should determine the win/loss rates of each lawyer prior to meeting with them for the first time. That can usually be done by contacting the BAR association in your state, since they maintain information about licensing.
However, those numbers by themselves do not give you all of the details that you need to make the right decision. For instance, a new lawyer will have had fewer cases than an experienced one would, so the statistics from just a few cases could skew your overall perception. In addition, you may also be able to determine from the records maintained by the state any complaints that have been lodged by prior clients. If a personal injury lawyer's poor win rate was associated with repeatedly failing to file documents on time or adequately interviewing witnesses before court, you need to know.
In conclusion, choosing a lawyer after you were injured in a car accident needs to be done in a timely manner, both to protect your rights at this challenging time and to make sure that any expenses you incurred as a result of the accident can be taken care of. As a result, it is a good idea to consider the preceding information when making that big decision.
For more information, contact local professionals like Dunnigan & Messier P.C.
