People often find themselves in situations where they are at the mercy of an individual or organization that is negligent. This can be a scary and frustrating experience, but you can take steps to protect yourself from such events. Everyone makes mistakes, but when you’re dealing with the law, it’s best not to make any at all. If you need attorneys that handle negligence cases follow these eight easy steps to find the right one for your needs.
Research Various Types of Attorneys
You should first research various types of attorneys that handle negligence cases. There are many different sorts of attorneys out there, and each has its specialty. For example, if you want someone more experienced in medical malpractice cases but not with other types like product liability or commercial litigation, look for those specific areas within their expertise list.
Narrow Your Search By Location
Do you want a local attorney, or would it be okay if they are farther away? Make sure you know this ahead of time, so there aren’t any issues down the line.
Many people make their first mistake – not clearly understanding what type of case they have and who will best represent them in court. Any good lawyer can tell whether your case falls under medical malpractice, personal injury or product liability. However, only one experienced in the field will give you realistic expectations on how much compensation may come from such cases should they win. This information could mean thousands for some, so hiring someone less experienced might leave valuable aspects when constructing a defense strategy against a negligent party.
Reading Reviews on Their Website
Once you have your list of potential candidates, it’s time to narrow things down further by reading reviews on their website. This is important because if they are not good at what they do or don’t provide a suitable atmosphere for clients, then this could reflect poorly in the courtroom or leave them open to being sued again in the future.
Negligence cases can take years before even reaching trial, so having an eye towards long-term success is worth thinking about when making your final decision. It might also be beneficial to call each attorney and ask some questions that will help determine whether working with them would be a positive experience for you as well – remember anything less than perfect means going back through these steps all over again until you find someone who is right for you.
Testing Their Current Caseload
Once you have a set of 3 or 4 contenders, it’s time to start narrowing things down further, and that means testing their current caseload and the results they’ve had. One way to do this is by looking at their verdicts and settlements list on their website (if they don’t offer such info online, ask during your phone call). It would be best if you also asked for any past cases where the attorney didn’t win, as this will give you an insight into why such a situation occurred – doing due diligence like this will save you money and headaches down the line.
Dig in to Their History
It also doesn’t hurt to do some digging into each potential candidate’s personal life either. Thanks to the internet, it’s pretty easy nowadays, full of information on just about everyone and their mother. If they have nothing to hide, then there shouldn’t be any issues with you finding out more about them; keep in mind that with the world we live in today – anything goes so what you see on the internet might not always be true or accurate.
At this stage, it’s essential to do some digging into each potential candidate and yourself to accurately determine if there is a good working relationship between the two of you. This process should be done sooner rather than later (and before signing an agreement), and failure to do this will most likely result in a lack of communication down the line leading to many difficulties for your case.
Assess the Cost
One last item is knowing how much your case may cost overall. A legal fee agreement should be made between you and your attorney which outlines what they will do on your behalf for how much money; typically, this will include the trial process – again, though, it’s essential to read all fine print before signing on the dotted line or else you might end up overpaying by not having certain aspects of the case included initially.
Many people make their biggest mistake because some attorneys will quote very high numbers to keep themselves from working too hard (after all, nobody wants to do more work than necessary). It may sound like a good idea at first, but if you can’t afford these costs upfront, then make sure to pick an attorney that offers payment plans and hire someone who knows how to win on a budget – it is that simple.
Find an Attorney Who has Interests in Your Case
In the end, what matters most is not just finding an attorney, but one that you can work with effectively and who has your best interests in mind at all times. If your attorney wants to compromise on something, then ask why they feel this way, as it could better understand how to proceed or let them know how important this aspect of the case is for you.
It might sound a little strange, but even though there are many attorneys out there, finding one you can truly trust with your case will take time, especially since they have no obligation towards you outside of ensuring you agree to their legal fee agreement, which means they might not be as committed as someone you’d get a job at your local Starbucks.
Check Their Track of Record
One last point that needs to be made is to choose an attorney who will prove their worth by doing the hard work required and not someone who wants easy money – if you want results, then make sure it’s something they’ve done before and for somebody else which means there must be a good track record out there somewhere (you should make this fact clear in your interview process).
Sure winning cases is nice, but if it’s all you’re looking for, then chances are you won’t win much since such cases tend to be one-offs without any real benefit overall other than perhaps reinforcing why they’re such a great attorney. Remember that just because somebody isn’t busy with past clients doesn’t always mean they suck – it just means their current clients trust them to do an excellent job for them, which is even better in the long run.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that finding an attorney isn’t something you should take lightly, even though it might seem like a good idea. It’s essential to look at all the facts before signing on the dotted line, so ask them about everything you can think of when it comes to your unique situation and if they don’t have much to say, keep looking – otherwise, you might regret your decision down the road.
