If you’ve been injured through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to compensation for any injuries suffered, lost work time, or a reduction in your quality of life.
In these circumstances, seeking qualified legal help is a good first step to determining whether such compensation is worth pursuing. Personal injury attorneys, including those at Herrling Clark Law Firm, are usually available for no-cost consultations to help people determine if they have a legal case to pursue compensation.
The following are basic questions to be aware of when first meeting with a personal injury attorney:
What are your fees?
In most cases, personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis, meaning the attorney will only get paid if financial damages are awarded as a result of any legal action or pre-suit settlement. If financial damages are obtained, the attorney typically gets a percentage of the amount obtained, so it’s important to understand what that percentage is.
What if legal action is taken, but there’s no financial damages awarded?
It’s possible there could be some “case-related costs” charged by some personal injury attorneys in addition to the contingency fee. It’s important to ask the attorney who will be responsible for such case-related, or “out-of-pocket” costs if there are no financial damages awarded, and how much those costs will be.
What’s your experience, have you taken a case similar to mine?
It’s important to know an attorney’s level of experience, whether they’ve worked on cases similar to yours, and the results they’ve been able to secure. There are personal injury attorneys who specialize in certain types of cases such as auto accidents or slip and falls, so it’s important to know the type of work to which an attorney devotes most of their time.
How long will it take to resolve my case?
While this is an important question, it’s a difficult one to answer specific to any one case as no case is exactly alike and there are many variables involved that can impact how long it will take to complete. An attorney should be able to provide a rough estimate along with a general idea of what might prolong the case or what may help the process move along quickly.
Who will handle my case?
At some firms, a potential client may initially meet with an attorney, but then have only limited contact once an agreement is signed. At Herrling Clark however, you will work closely with your lawyer, and their paralegal and/or legal assistant. It’s important to understand who exactly you’ll be interacting with and who you can go to with questions when they arise.
Will my case go to trial, what’s your success rate in court trials?
A good personal injury attorney should prepare as though every case will go trial. You should also ask about the attorney’s experience when cases they’ve worked on have gone to trial and make sure they’ve won cases before a jury.
For more information, visit HerrlingClark.com.