A good attorney is crucial to maximizing compensation after a slip and fall. Here’s how to select the best attorney for your injury case.
- 1. Ask for Recommendations
- 2. Review Attorney Ratings
- 3. Don’t Overvalue Fancy Trappings
- 4. Evaluate the Attorney’s Experience
- 5. Schedule a Free Consultation
- 6. Ask How Your Case Will Be Handled
- 7. Know How the Attorney Will Be Paid
- 8. Get Feedback About Your Injury Claim
- 9. Evaluate Your Meeting Experiences
- Can the Firm Advance Legal Costs?
You may be able to settle a slip and fall claim without a lawyer. Minor injuries with clear liability should not meet much resistance from the insurance company. However, severe injury cases require an attorney. There’s too much at stake in a serious injury case to risk handling it yourself.
There’s no shortage of personal injury attorneys. You’ve probably seen advertisements for them on TV, billboards, buses, and online. With so many to choose from, it’s hard to determine the best one for your slip and fall claim.
Here are nine tips to help you find and evaluate an attorney. These steps require some time and effort, but it’s worth it to know you’re hiring the best attorney to handle your case.
1. Ask Your Network for Recommendations
You can use your own social network to add to your list of potential slip and fall lawyers. If you’ve previously hired a lawyer for another civil matter, such as a divorce, bankruptcy, or a contract dispute, they’re an excellent place to start.
If you had a positive experience with them, ask if they can refer you to a slip and fall attorney that they trust. They can likely refer you to at least one other lawyer who has similar philosophies and values about practicing law.
Ask your family, friends, neighbors, or coworkers if they’ve worked with a personal injury lawyer in the past. Maybe they used one they liked and had good results.
Even if the people in your life haven’t used an injury attorney, they may have needed legal help for other reasons. You could ask them to reach out to that attorney for a referral.
2. Review Attorney Ratings
After you find an injury attorney you want to learn more about, review their ratings. First, check with your state and local bar association to make sure the lawyer is in good standing.
Online rating directories provide information about the lawyer’s practice and standing. Typically, the ratings are objective and gauge an attorney’s reputation and skills.
Consider the following sources:
- Avvo Ratings: Avvo provides attorney ratings, law school attendance, and contact info. It also tells you if the state bar association has ever disciplined the lawyer.
- Super Lawyers: This site is part of Thomson Reuters and gives an attorney’s contact information, education, and biographical information.
Attorney Websites and Social Media
It’s okay to review attorney websites and social media accounts. You can find out their office location, what types of cases they handle, and get a general idea of how they approach injury claims. Many attorney websites describe the types of slip or trip and fall cases they settled and the amount of money recovered for the accident victim.
You can also read reviews from former clients. However, don’t let these reviews determine who you hire. A lawyer might have paid for some reviews or fielded some from friends trying to help.
3. Don’t Overvalue Fancy Trappings
You want an attorney with a law degree who has passed the state bar. But, their standings in their law school class or what law school they attended don’t truly matter that much.
At the end of the day, you want an effective attorney who knows the personal injury law in your state, has excellent negotiation skills, and has a history of obtaining high settlements. These attributes are more important than if a lawyer graduated from an Ivy League school at the top of their class.
Board certification requires the attorney to have extensive courtroom experience and a passing grade on the state bar examination. Having a personal injury board certification means that the lawyer is an expert in personal injury trial law.
Office Appearance
Some attorneys have law offices in modern high-rise buildings. Others have basement offices in older buildings. It doesn’t matter how fancy a lawyer’s office is if they can’t get the case results you need.
Your goal for legal representation is to receive compensation, not to hire the lawyer with the most appealing office. Looks can be deceiving. An attorney with a luxurious office won’t necessarily be the best one for your claim.
Instead of focusing on a lawyer’s education and office, concentrate on their legal experience and financial stability.
4. Evaluate the Attorney’s Experience
The attorneys on your list may have only been in practice a couple of years, or maybe they have decades of personal injury experience. There are benefits to each.
A less experienced lawyer could welcome new cases and have the time and resources to give your claim the attention it deserves. Those that are just beginning their law career are eager to prove themselves and build a reputable practice. Their clients benefit from their enthusiasm.
A more experienced attorney might have an intense caseload that makes them unavailable to personally handle every detail of your case. More experience can also mean a lawyer has a working knowledge of what to expect from the adjusters from any given insurance company.
Experienced lawyers might also have a proven reputation for receiving high settlements or getting the job done in court.
5. Schedule a Free Consultation
At this point, you should only have a couple of potential attorneys on your list. The next step is to meet with them. A consultation is the best way to learn more about a lawyer, how they practice, and how they’ll handle your case.
Most personal injury lawyers offer a free consultation. Bring your medical bills, pictures of the hazardous condition, names of the business owner or any other at-fault party, and all other claim-related documentation with you for the meeting.
If you are consulting an attorney on behalf of a loved one, bring your Power of Attorney or other documentation of your relationship.
The attorney-client relationship must be based on mutual trust and respect. First impressions count.
Pay attention to details when you call to schedule a case review:
- Was the persona who answered the phone polite and professional?
- Does the lawyer charge for an initial consultation?
- Will you be able to meet directly with a lawyer?
- How long will you have to wait for a consultation?
6. Ask How Your Case Will be Handled
Prepare for your consultation by making a list of your questions or concerns. Leave room on the list to jot down the answers.
Potential questions include:
- How many slip and fall cases have you handled?
- Do you have time to work on my case now?
- Are you willing to take my case to trial?
- How will you notify me of settlement offers?
- What’s the best way to reach you with questions?
If there are any specific points about your slip and fall claim that you think are essential, jot them down so that you don’t forget to bring them up at the meeting.
7. Know How the Attorney Will Be Paid
During your meeting, the lawyer should discuss their costs and fees. You need to know how your attorney fees will get paid and what other costs you’ll need to pay, such as photocopy charges and court filing fees.
Most slip and fall injury lawyers receive payments on a contingency fee basis. With a contingency fee, you won’t need to pay them up-front from your own pocket. When your claim settles, they’ll receive a pre-arranged percentage of your settlement. If your claim doesn’t settle or you lose in court, you won’t owe any attorney fees.
Depending on the circumstances, if you “fire” an attorney before settling your claim, you may still have to pay some or all of the attorney’s fees.
8. Get Specific Feedback About Your Injury Claim
You want to leave your consultation feeling confident that the attorney addressed all of your concerns.
During your consultation, the lawyer should typically discuss:
- The strengths and weaknesses of your case
- How long it might take to settle your claim
- If your case might go to trial
- A settlement estimate
Do you feel comfortable and confident with the lawyer?
Once you consider the above questions, you might have a gut feeling about whether this is the right attorney or not. The right one will make you feel comfortable and confident in their abilities. Sometimes it’s important to trust your gut.
9. Evaluate Your Meeting Experiences
After meeting with several slip and fall lawyers, reflect on your experiences and observations. In doing so, consider the following questions to help determine whether a particular lawyer or law firm is the right fit for you and your case.
Does the lawyer’s office appear clean and organized?
You want an attorney who is orderly and organized. Those who aren’t might have problems properly handling their cases, keeping track of important documents, and meeting deadlines.
How long did you wait to meet with the lawyer?
Understandably, there might be a wait to see an attorney. If you were forced to wait, it’s good customer service for someone in the office to greet you and give an estimate of your wait time. You want to place a value on a firm’s customer service skills in evaluating your experiences.
Did you receive the attorney’s undivided attention?
Your slip and fall attorney must give your case the time and attention it deserves. If your potential lawyer couldn’t stay focused on you and your case during the meeting, it’s probably not a good sign.
Did the attorney answer all your questions?
You want to leave your consultation feeling confident that the attorney addressed all of your concerns and explained your legal options.
Do you feel comfortable and confident with the lawyer?
After you evaluate your experience, you might have a gut feeling about whether this is the right slip and fall accident lawyer for your case. The right one will make you feel comfortable with them and confident in their abilities. Sometimes it’s important to trust your gut.
Can the Firm Advance Legal Costs?
Most personal injury attorneys are prepared to cover common administrative costs while handling personal injury claims. Complicated cases that result in a lawsuit require significantly more costs in preparation for trial.
Litigation often requires hiring expensive experts:
- Hiring an engineering specialist to prove how the property owner caused the dangerous condition
- Medical experts to explain how the slip and fall accident resulted in broken bones
- Vocational experts to verify the victim’s head injury prohibits them from returning to work
- Medical expert testimony on the accident victim’s future medical expenses
Serious injury cases, like traumatic brain injuries or wrongful death, often end up in court and can take years to resolve. Even though they’ll recoup these costs once they successfully negotiate a settlement or win at trial, not all attorneys are positioned to pay upfront for these services.
If you’re unable to cover costs out of pocket, look for law firms with significant financial resources that specialize in handling complex and expensive premises liability litigation. They may offer a free case evaluation, but they won’t take on your personal injury case unless there’s a strong likelihood of a very large settlement or jury verdict.
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