5 Questions to Ask Your Personal Injury Attorney in Raleigh, NC
Choosing the right personal injury attorney is crucial to ensure you receive the best possible representation. Knowing the right questions to ask can help you make an informed decision.
What to Ask Your Personal Injury Attorney:
When meeting with a potential personal injury attorney, it’s essential to ask specific questions to gauge their expertise, experience, and suitability for your case. Here are the top five questions to consider:
1. What is Your Experience with Personal Injury Cases?
Understanding the attorney’s experience with personal injury cases is critical. Ask how many years they have been practicing, the types of cases they have handled, and their success rate. This will give you an idea of their expertise and capability to handle your case effectively. Ideally you want an attorney who has deep experience with personal injury litigation, not a general practitioner who handles all types of cases. Unlike most personal injury law firms, our law firm ONLY handles motor vehicle accident cases. Thus, if you have a slip-and-fall, dog bite, premises liability, disability, workers comp or other personal injury matter, we would not be able to accept your case. However, we are glad to give you the names of firms we trust to handle these types of cases.
2. How Will You Handle My Case?
It’s important to know how the attorney plans to handle your case. Inquire about their approach, the steps they will take, and the timeline you can expect. Understanding their strategy will help you feel more confident in their ability to manage your case efficiently. In a personal injury case, you should seek a full-service firm, one that will help you with property damage claims with no fee on your car damage claims, and a firm that will handle all homework and legwork on your behalf. In a car crash case, your attorney begins working for you immediately with no up front costs, and they should help you investigate the accident, speak with police officers and witnesses, and secure scene photographs and other helpful evidence. In commercial vehicle or truck accident cases, careful and additional steps should be considered because the injuries are often more severe, and commercial vehicles carry larger insurance policies so more money is at stake. Your attorney should gather all of your medical records and bills for you, secure evidence to prove lost wages, handle all insurance company communications, prepare a demand brochure seeking full compensation on your behalf, negotiate aggressively toward a generous settlement, and handle all settlement paperwork and accounting.
3. What Are Your Fees and Costs?
Discussing fees and costs upfront is essential to avoid any surprises later. Ask about their fee structure, whether they work on a contingency fee basis, and any additional costs you might incur. Knowing this information will help you budget for your legal expenses. As noted above, the standard approach for personal injury attorneys is to charge a contingency fee – meaning you pay no legal fees unless and until the lawyer collects money for you. Most firms charge 33.3% of any settlement they secure for their client, and 40-44% of any amount they collect through litigation and trial. Our firm only handles high-force collision cases and we push for the highest settlement in every case. We are able to offer a lower legal fee than our competitors – our legal fee is 25% of settlement and 33.3% in litigation. Thus our clients keep a larger share of their tax-free settlement.
4. Who Will Be Working on My Case?
Clarify who will be handling your case. Will it be the attorney you are speaking with or one of the lawyers with the firm, or will it be passed on to another team member? Team members are essential for a strong and successful law firm, but it is your right to know who will be handling your case. If an attorney is handling everything without staff, this might not be best in a complex case. While you should not demand that the main attorney handle every aspect of your case, you should know early on that the attorney will be lead-counsel, and you should also know the name of the paralegal who will help to build your legal and medical files, and the names and roles of other team members.
5. Can You Provide References or Testimonials?
Requesting references or testimonials from past clients can provide insights into the attorney’s reputation and performance. Positive feedback from previous clients can give you confidence in their ability to handle your case effectively. Many firms will not have clients who stand ready to speak with anyone who calls about their private legal case or their experience with their lawyer. However, the law firm’s Google reviews coupled with either references or video testimonials from ACTUAL CLIENTS will help you understand other clients’ experience with the law firm.
What is the Best Question to Ask a Lawyer?
When seeking legal advice or representation, the most critical question to ask a lawyer is, “What is your experience with cases similar to mine?” This question is essential for several reasons:
Assessing Expertise: By asking about their experience with similar cases, you can gauge the lawyer’s expertise and familiarity with your specific legal issue. Lawyers who have handled cases like yours will have a deeper understanding of the relevant laws and potential challenges, significantly increasing your chances of a favorable outcome.
Understanding Case Strategy: Inquiring about their experience allows you to understand how they might approach your case. An experienced lawyer can provide insights into possible strategies, timelines, and outcomes based on their past cases. This helps you set realistic expectations and feel more confident in their ability to manage your case effectively.
Evaluating Success Rate: Understanding the lawyer’s success rate with similar cases can give you a sense of their capability. A high success rate indicates that the lawyer is skilled in handling cases like yours and can navigate the complexities of the legal system to achieve positive results.
Contact Us
If you’re seeking help with a car accident injury case, Carl Nagle and his team are here to help. We offer free consultations by telephone or in person. Even if you choose not to hire a lawyer, you should invest the time to hear the best plan of action in your case, to understand the insurance adjuster’s role in the claims/legal process, and to understand all of your legal right and options. Please call us or visit our Contact Us page to get in touch and schedule your consultation today.