9 Tips for Choosing an Auto Accident Injury Attorney

Have you recently been injured in an auto accident? Are you upset that you were forced to shell out money for a painful experience that wasn’t your fault? That’s understandable, and lucky for you, help is available.

An auto accident injury attorney can help get you justice and financial compensation. In fact, one North Dakota victim got over $1 billion in damages! While you likely won’t get that much, the point still stands: there’s hope.

Read on to learn how you can hire an auto accident lawyer who can get you the funds that you deserve.

1. Understand Your Specific Needs

Every personal injury case is unique. Even though auto accident law falls under the personal injury umbrella, it’s completely different than other cases that fall under that broad term. You can’t hire a slip-and-fall or product liability attorney for a car accident case and expect quality representation.

Not even every auto accident is similar. Car accidents have different results than truck accidents, and negotiating both of these types of incidents requires a different skill set than getting compensation after a motorcycle crash.

Specialization is an important part of legal practice. Different types of attorneys study different areas of law and work with clients that have certain case types.

This lets them provide the best-informed, highest-quality representation within their niche since they’ll have dedicated years to studying a specific type of case. However, it also means that they won’t have the knowledge or experience to handle cases outside of this category.

Make sure that you hire an attorney with specific experience in auto accident law. They also need to be someone who has worked with cases pertaining to the vehicles involved in your accident. If you were in a motorcycle accident, don’t work with someone who has exclusively gotten compensation after standard car crashes.

2. Look for Contingency Lawyers

Once you know precisely what you’re looking for, it’s important that you find attorneys willing to work within your budget. There are many different payment methods for lawyers, including an up-front lump sum or hourly rates.

Both of these payment methods require you to shell out regardless of whether you get compensation. If you don’t reach a good settlement, you’ll lose money.

Lawyers who charge hourly also may drag your case on for a long time so they can get paid more. This is unethical, of course, but inevitable if you choose an attorney who is just in it for the money. You won’t get compensation quickly and will need to make a huge payment.

Contingency payment methods are the solution to this.

Lawyers who operate on contingency don’t take any up-front payments. In fact, they don’t take a set payment amount at all. Instead, you pay the lawyer a pre-determined percentage of the compensation that you win in the case.

If you don’t reach any settlement, the lawyer doesn’t get paid. That’s great motivation for any attorney to do their best work!

The amount the attorney is paid also depends on how much they make when you win. If they charge a 30% contingency fee and only get you $1000, they only get $300. But if they get you $10,000, they get $3000.

You’ll never pay more than you get, and hiring a lawyer will always be worth it.

3. Look for Local Legal Help

It’s also important that you look for local lawyers when choosing an auto accident attorney. Those who practice in your specific area know local laws and regulations relevant to car crashes. They’ll be able to prove fault more accurately than an out-of-town lawyer could.

An attorney near you also will be more accessible to one in another area. You’ll have more chances to meet with them in person. You also can rest assured that they may have worked with local auto insurance companies and have the connections needed to negotiate a good settlement with them.

4. Look at a Potential Attorney’s Web Presence

Once you think you’ve found a reputable and experienced attorney that meets your specialized needs, it’s time to take a look at their web presence. Go to their official website and assess whether or not they look reputable. Once you discern that they do, browse their “about” section.

Read about the team that you would be working with, how much experience they have, and what success stories they’re willing to share publicly. Browse their practice areas and blog. See what their typical settlement timelines look like.

5. Prioritize Experience

Experience is one of the most important qualities to look for in a lawyer since practice makes people successful. Never choose a lawyer with fewer than 10 years of experience.

This decade is necessary since it lets attorneys find their footing, get contacts in the legal field, and come up with a foolproof process for proving fault. It also means that they’re more likely to know insurance agents and defense lawyers in the area. They’ll have an easier time negotiating a settlement for you.

While more experienced lawyers tend to charge higher contingency fees, they’re well worth the cost. If you try to save money with the lowest possible percentage, you might end up with an inexperienced lawyer who gets you very little compensation.

6. Read Many Different Reviews

When you’re on an attorney’s website, there will likely be an area that showcases testimonials. These real reviews will be from actual people who have worked with that law firm in the past. They’ll talk about how the team helped them meet their goals, what the process of getting compensation was like, and what benefits they saw when working with them.

This is just a starting point for reading reviews. Getting more information from third-party sites is a good choice since you’ll know that you’re not reading cherry-picked information. FindLaw, LegalZoom, NOLO, and other lawyer-specific review sites will have a lot of information that you may be interested in.

7. Take Maximum Advantage of Your Consultation

Many people think that a legal consultation is a commitment, but this is far from the case. When you schedule a consultation, you’re asking to talk to someone from that legal team free of obligation. It’s a chance to see whether you’re a good fit before making any decisions.

Determining whether you’ll communicate well with a lawyer is a critical part of getting compensation after a car accident. You need someone that you’re comfortable directing questions to, and you need to trust that you’ll get honest and transparent answers.

If you don’t get along well with an attorney or they’re evasive of your questions, that’s a surefire sign that you should look elsewhere.

Go with your gut when deciding whether or not you want to work with an auto accident attorney. Above all else, you need to work with someone that you like.

8. Get Answers to Important Questions

Your consultation is the chance to ask the questions that matter most to your legal case. First, you’ll want to ask what compensation they think they can recover for you based on past experiences with similar cases.

In addition to a dollar amount, they should tell you what types of damages you might recover. Common compensation includes funds to cover medical bills, lost wages, temporary disability, and pain/suffering.

You also need to inquire about their experience. You likely have a feel for this from their website, but ask whether they’ve handled cases similar to yours and how they brought their A-game to these cases. Prompt the lawyer to tell you specific anecdotes about the methods that they used to reach a good settlement.

You also should ask about how much time they’ll dedicate to your case and how many clients they’re currently working with. Some attorneys spread themselves too thin and don’t have enough time to bring their all to your case. You need to make sure that doesn’t happen to you.

9. Follow Up With References

At the consultation, it’s important that you also ask a prospective car accident lawyer for references. These references will be people that they worked with in the past who are willing to discuss their experiences with new clients.

You can call or email these references and ask what they liked about working with the law firm you’re considering. You can also ask what areas and services they found lacking. They’ll give you an honest account of their experiences so that you can feel confident in your decision.

References let you talk to a real person. Unlike online reviews, you’ll get a back-and-forth that addresses your specific needs.

Hire an Auto Accident Injury Attorney the Right Way

Now that you know how to find and hire the right auto accident injury attorney for your case, it’s time to begin the process of recovering compensation. At Sweet Lawyers, we’re committed to using our specialized knowledge to negotiate a settlement on your behalf.

Our focus on personal injury and auto accident law means that we have a comprehensive understanding of the ins and outs of car crash damages. We have a 98% success rate, so get in touch and schedule a free consultation today.