Choosing a Personal Injury Attorney: Key Questions to Ask

Summary

Learn how to choose a personal injury attorney, including key questions to ask to ensure that you are making the right choice.

If you’re choosing a personal injury attorney to handle your case, it is important to ensure the right fit, as this can significantly impact the case’s success. Through their valuable insights from their legal experience and know-how, they can be expected to understand and smoothly navigate the complexity of the legal landscape that can get you the compensation and justice you deserve.

At Frantz Law Group, we take pride in being the lead expert legal representation provider in California, especially in personal injury law. We assure our clients that our lawyers and legal team are committed to fostering good client relationships and helping each and every client achieve success.

Understanding the Role of a Personal Injury Attorney

When you get into an accident (e.g., medical malpractice, motorcycle accidents, car accidents, truck accidents, fall accidents, due to defective products, etc.) and decide that you would like to file a claim to be compensated for the injuries and damages (e.g., property damage, catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, etc.) you incurred, having a personal injury attorney by your side proves to be helpful.

A personal injury attorney is a lawyer who specializes in cases of injury or even death due to another party’s negligence. Your attorney can help you throughout this entire process, from initial consultation to compensation recovery to cover the cost of your medical expenses, lost wages, emotional distress, etc. Listed below are the possible roles of a personal injury lawyer:

Legal Advisor

Your attorney will guide you throughout the entire legal process, which may start with a free consultation about your case. From there, they can walk you through the approach to handling your case, formulating strategies as you move along and encounter new information. They can also provide the best legal advice should you have any concerns about your case or legal issues and ensure you are on time with filings based on the statute of limitations.

Case Evaluator and Investigator

Having a personal injury lawyer behind you, you can rest assured that your case’s merits can be evaluated objectively, considering your welfare as the priority. Your attorney can also handle the evidence collection process for you and gather witness statements to build a strong claim.

Negotiator

Legal representation is especially helpful when dealing with insurance companies to secure fair settlement.

Litigator

If your case was not resolved through a settlement negotiation and needs to be escalated to a personal injury lawsuit, your lawyer will also serve as a trial attorney and prepare you for court. They also serve as a litigator, representing you in court when necessary.

Client Advocate

Overall, an experienced personal injury lawyer can be relied on to provide ongoing support, ensure clear and updated communication, and protect your rights and interests at all costs.

Your attorney’s expertise in this practice area is then crucial to influence the outcome of your personal injury claim as they can comprehend the nuances and complexities of the law, have the technical know-how to build a strong case, have the negotiation skills required for the best outcome, and can understand what you, as an accident victim, experiences throughout the entire process.

Top Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney

If you’re searching for a personal injury attorney who can help you through the entire legal process of filing a claim in the aftermath of an accident due to negligence, here is an overview of some questions you might want to ask during your initial consultation. Later, we will break them down to screen your potential candidates better before hiring.

What is your experience with my type of injury case?

Knowing how much experience a personal injury lawyer has with your particular type of injury can put your mind at ease so they would know the ins and outs of your case.

How will you manage my case, and who will handle my case day-to-day?

Knowing your case management team, with a specific point of contact and a designated personal injury lawyer, and understanding how your legal team intends to approach your case is important for gauging alignment and compatibility.

How will we communicate throughout the case? What is your policy on responding to client calls or emails?

Clarity regarding frequency and promptness of response, as well as available modes of communication, can give you realistic expectations and help you decide whether this is acceptable to you or whether you might need greater attention from and access to your legal team.

What is your fee structure? Are there any upfront costs, or do you work on a contingency fee basis?

Clarifying the fee structure and knowing that you are signing up risk-free is one less thing to worry about.

What are some outcomes of similar cases you have handled? Can you share any testimonials or references?

Knowing their success rate with similar cases through past client testimonials can help you evaluate their effectiveness and client satisfaction.

Assessing Credentials and Experience

When hiring a personal injury lawyer, assessing their experience and verifying their credentials are crucial to guaranteeing the quality of service you will receive. Here are some key steps:

• Verify Registration and Licensing: Check the attorney’s licensing and standing with the state bar associations.
• Evaluate Relevant Experience: Find out if the lawyer specializes in the personal injury practice area and has handled cases similar to yours, which signals familiarity or even expertise with the specific type of injury you’ve sustained or claim you’re pursuing.
• Check Success Rate: Look for information regarding their track record and the number of cases they have handled that led to favorable outcomes, especially those that involve high-value settlements or controversial verdicts.
• Seek Client Reviews and Obtain Referrals: Client reviews and testimonials are very helpful in giving you an idea about the level of service the lawyer can deliver. Referrals from friends and family who you know look after you are also a good source of information about the attorney’s effectiveness.
• Check Professional Membership and Recognition: Research on the attorney’s membership in professional organizations and take note of any awards, recognitions, or key roles pointing to their expertise in personal injury law.

Our attorneys at Frantz Law Group are transparent in sharing this information which you can access on our website. Our legal team has a reputation and history of successful case outcomes that strongly indicate how much they value each case they handle, driving each one to success, regardless of complexity.

Understanding Fee Structures and Costs

While sometimes overlooked, one of the most important factors to consider when choosing legal representation is their fee structures and the cost of their services. Here are some things you might want to find out:

• Contingency Fee-Basis: Find out if your lawyer offers a payment scheme on a contingency-fee basis, meaning they won’t charge you upfront and out-of-pocket. Rather, the attorney will only be paid a percentage of the settlement or award after recovery if you win your case. This is the most ideal fee structure because it aligns your goals with your legal team.
• Hourly Rates: Some personal injury lawyers charge per billable hour. The downside is that this may lead to unpredictable costs, especially if your case is too complex or takes a long time.
• Flat Fees: Other law firms charge a single, fixed fee for handling your case. However, this fee structure is not typical for personal injury cases because it is more complicated to compute all the potential costs.

We at Frantz Law Group operate at a contingency-fee basis because we prioritize our clients’ favorable outcome, making sure that there is no financial risk on your end should the case not succeed.

Evaluating Communication and Client Service

While not always top of mind, assessing how an accident lawyer communicates with and handles their clients is very important. Injury victims and their loved ones, same with the next of kin of a person who suffered from wrongful death, have gone through enough emotional distress from the car accident, medical malpractice, or whatever negligent action that led to the injury or fatality.

The most helpful thing a personal injury lawyer and the entire legal team can do is make the clients comfortable throughout the claims process. This can be done by giving the clients a great deal of attention and through clear and consistent communication with regular and prompt updates about your accident case. Someone who suffered from a serious injury and their family may have a lot of things on their minds that need clarity, so an accident lawyer who can provide a swift response to their queries will be of great help.

In your initial consultation, assess the following:

• Communication Style: Check if their communication style aligns with your preferences regarding clarity and detail or even tonality.
• Quality of Response: Evaluate if they can answer your questions adequately and if they can provide more elaboration.
• Frequency of Updates: Ask how often they can update you about the accident case process.
• Urgency of Response: Confirm how long it typically takes them to respond to clients.
• Accessibility: Find out how to reach your personal injury law firm or accident lawyer and how often you can contact them with questions and concerns.
• Availability of Support Staff: Check if your attorney has support staff who can adequately answer your queries in their absence.

Our team at Frantz Law Group takes pride in making communication and client service a priority. We are committed to giving our clients the best experience. You can expect us to provide regular updates about the progress of your case and to have open lines of communication should you have any needs or concerns. Rest assured that supporting you is our top priority.

Setting Realistic Expectations for Your Case

If you’ve filed a personal injury claim for the damages incurred after your motor vehicle accident, here are some things to keep in mind to have realistic expectations regarding the progress of your case:

• Complexity of the Case: How quickly your case moves depends on how complex it is. More complicated cases like those involving multiple parties, like in a pile-up multi-vehicle collision or in a medical malpractice case involving several healthcare and medical professionals, may take more time because it takes longer to collect evidence, gather witness and expert statements, determine liability, computing for the equivalent financial compensation, or arrive at a fair negotiation settlement offer.
• Difficult Negotiation: In some instances, a settlement agreement cannot be reached, which means that the case will be escalated to the courtroom for litigation. This means that both parties will have to deal with a personal injury lawsuit, which may take even longer to resolve.
• Availability of Evidence and Witnesses: If evidence and documentation are scarce or difficult to obtain, it may take longer to move the case along because of a lack of adequate support. Inviting witnesses, if any, to give their testimony may also take time.
• Cooperation of the At-Fault Party and Insurers: In some cases, the at-fault party and their insurance company may fail to respond promptly to communications or even engage in several back-and-forths due to disagreements. This may significantly delay the case as well.
• Paperwork and Communications: Depending on the state and court, some may require more paperwork to be done or multiple levels of channels to go through, making the process more tedious and time-consuming.
• Law Firm Caseload: Some law firms and personal injury lawyers in private practice may have a ton of cases on their desks, which means that it might take some time for them to attend to your case.

An experienced personal injury lawyer is crucial in providing a realistic assessment of how quickly the case will progress, considering the specifics of the case, legal standards and processes, and unforeseen challenges. For an auto accident victim, knowing what to expect is important to help ease their mind and be prepared in every step of the legal process.

Partnering with Frantz Law Group

Ask the right questions and look in the right places to confidently find a personal injury lawyer who is a perfect match for you and your needs.

At Frantz Law Group, you can expect top-notch service from our experienced personal injury lawyers, who are ready to provide you with the best legal assistance, support, and guidance until you receive the justice you rightfully deserve.

Call our phone number 855-735-5945 to book an appointment with our law firm and get a free consultation and case evaluation about your personal injury case.