Six Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney

If you’ve been hurt in an accident that wasn’t your fault, it can be overwhelming and frightening to think about where to turn next. In most cases, you have the option of filing a personal injury lawsuit against the other party to the accident and his or her insurance company. 

Hiring an experienced personal injury attorney can help your case immensely, so it’s important to do some research before making this decision. 

Follow this guide to six questions you should ask any prospective personal injury attorney before hiring him or her as your representation in your case.

Are you a trustworthy person?

Trust is extremely important when it comes to hiring an attorney. You want someone who will stay honest with you, someone who will keep their word, and someone you can feel confident in. 

This is one of those keep your friends close, but your enemies closer scenarios: If you think an attorney might be shady or untrustworthy, talk to other people in the industry and do some research on them. 

It's always better to be safe than sorry when you're looking for legal representation—especially when your life could be on the line. Always trust your gut when it comes to trusting someone else with something so important!

How long have you been practicing?

There’s a reason why experienced attorneys charge higher fees. The longer they’ve been practicing, the more likely they are to have established relationships with valuable contacts and sources of information. 

They also may have more connections within court systems and databases that can be beneficial when researching your case. 

In short, having an attorney with experience means you won’t have to spend as much time searching for leads on your own or trying in vain to figure out what to do next (which can cost you precious time).

What is your specialty?

Find out how many years of experience your potential attorney has in dealing with personal injury claims and what their area of expertise is. 

If you are filing a claim for sexual harassment or discrimination, for example, you may need an attorney who specializes in employment law. 

If you are trying to get compensation for being injured on someone else’s property, it may be important that your lawyer has significant experience handling real estate-related lawsuits. 

When dealing with any type of personal injury issue, an attorney who knows insurance companies inside and out can make all the difference when negotiating settlement terms. 

Since insurance companies tend to deal with lawyers on a regular basis they will be able to determine quickly whether your lawyer is well versed in settling personal injury claims as well as handling litigation if necessary.

What are your areas of expertise?

One of your most important questions to ask will be what their area of expertise is. You don’t want to hire an accident attorney that handles real estate disputes or employment discrimination claims. 

You’ll want someone who specializes in what you need, which should be readily available on their website or if you call and speak with them directly. If you can’t find it anywhere, it might be time for you to look elsewhere.

How many cases do you handle each year?

The first question you should ask when hiring an attorney is, How many cases do you handle? The more experience your attorney has, the better. 

If you've been seriously injured in an accident, experienced attorneys know what evidence to gather and what strategies will get you the best results. 

How many years have you been practicing law?: Another thing that's worth asking a potential attorney is how long they've been practicing law. 

If they've only been working as an attorney for one year but have over ten years of other relevant experience, consider their answer carefully. On-the-job training can be valuable, but it's not quite as useful as real experience in practice.

Do you ever accept contingency cases?

If you were involved in an accident that wasn’t your fault, or if you were hurt as a result of someone else’s carelessness, then hiring an attorney on contingency could be worth your while.