Essential Questions to Ask a Personal Injury Attorney During Your Initial Consultation

Choosing the right personal injury attorney for your accident claim takes a little more than checking their rates. Don’t even worry about the average annual salary for a personal injury attorney. Right now, what an accident lawyer makes in a year isn’t one of your top concerns. 

With that being said, what an injury attorney is bringing in each year can give you an idea of the types of accident claims the law firm typically takes on. If an attorney is bringing in a hefty annual salary, it can indicate they’re really good at winning accident claims. 

On the other hand, it can also signal the law firm only takes on personal injury claims with significant value. Instead of focusing on what an accident attorney is bringing in each year, think of what you want to ask during your initial consultation. The personal injury attorney’s answers can make it easier to know if they’re the right lawyer to handle your accident claim.

Do You Have Experience With Accident Claims Similar to Mine?

Just because an attorney practices personal injury law doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve handled claims similar to yours. Personal injury law is sort of like a huge umbrella covering just about any type of accident you can think of.

Everything from vehicle collisions and premises liability claims to dog bites and medical malpractice suits falls under personal injury law guidelines. However, just because your accident falls under these broad legal guidelines doesn’t mean the process is the same. Small legal nuances can pop up in different types of injury claims. If your accident attorney isn’t familiar with your type of claim, you can run into delays and other issues.

Pay attention to the attorney’s answer and find out if the lawyer has the necessary resources. Do they have access to investigators like accident scene reconstruction specialists? This can be crucial if accident fault comes into question. Some states like Florida, and a few others, follow comparative negligence guidelines so you don’t want to be unfairly assessed accident blame.

Can You Identify The Strengths and Problems with My Injury Claim?

Every so often a personal injury claim is pretty straightforward. An example can be a DUI accident. If you’re following all traffic laws and are hit by a suspected drunk driver, recovering compensation should be fairly easy. However, other types of accident claims aren’t so cut and dry. 

Things like fault can come into question or you may be dealing with more than one liable party. If your accident is caused by a government entity, you’re probably dealing with a rather complex personal injury claim.

During the initial consultation, the attorney should look over your accident claim. Sure, you’re only providing the bare bones of your claim but the accident lawyer should still be able to identify any strengths and weaknesses. An experienced accident attorney will point out any potential challenges and outline how they may impact your injury claim. The attorney should also be able to give you some tips on how you can take care of any weaknesses.

How Do You Communicate with Your Clients?

Just because you’re essentially handing your personal injury claim off to an accident attorney doesn’t mean you want to be kept in the dark. Settling an accident claim can take a few months and you probably don’t want to sit around wondering what’s going on.

An excellent injury lawyer stays in regular contact with their clients. You’re probably not going to get daily updates, but you should hear something at least once or twice a week. Even if the communication is only to let you know the insurance company is still reviewing your claim. At least you know what’s going on.

Don’t forget to ask how the personal injury lawyer typically communicates with clients. Do they regularly call, email, or text?

How Much Can I Expect to Receive For My Damages?

Okay, if a personal injury lawyer starts spitting out numbers, it may be best to politely end the consultation. Not even the best accident lawyer can predict what you’ll receive in compensation. Every personal injury claim is unique even if it applies to the same type of accident as someone else.

Instead of throwing out a possible compensation number, the attorney should go into the factors that typically impact accident claim settlement amounts. Some of the common factors that go into determining the value of an injury claim are:

• Insurance coverage. Policies have caps and your settlement amount from the insurer can’t exceed the limit. So, if your claim has a $100,000 value and the policy’s capped at $75,000. You’re not going to receive your claim’s full value from the insurance company.
• Fault. Some states like Florida follow comparative negligence rules. If you’re partially to blame for causing the accident, your potential settlement is going to be reduced by your percentage of fault.

Obviously, the extent of your damages is also going to impact your possible settlement amount. If you have extensive injuries and property damage, your claim’s value is probably going to be rather high.

What is Your Accident Claim Settlement Rate?

You probably don’t want to go with an accident attorney with a track record of losing cases. The same applies if the lawyer has a habit of pushing for lower settlement amounts. 

While going over the case record with the attorney is a start, it’s a good idea to check a few other resources. The American Bar Association is a great place to start researching. The ABA not only gives you information on the attorney’s licenses, but it also provides details on their track record.

How Does the Injury Attorney Charge for Their Services?

Trying to come up with attorney fees after an accident is tough for most people. Personal injury attorneys can charge hourly or flat fees like other types of lawyers, but they also have another option. 

Accident attorneys can charge what’s known as contingency fees. This type of fee structure allows accident victims to hire an injury attorney without paying a cent up front. Instead, your lawyer is only paid if they successfully settle your personal injury claim.