If you’re thinking about suing someone because of a personal injury, then that’s never a decision you should take lightly. The process will take time and energy. If you feel like that’s your only option, though, then you will have little choice but to move forward.
If you’re going to sue someone, then hiring the right lawyer immediately becomes something that will likely help to determine the case’s outcome. You might make a short list of candidates and then meet in person with the one who tops the list.
Asking your would-be lawyer the right questions during this initial meeting can help you determine whether they’re the right attorney to represent you. Let’s talk about some of the questions that you should never forget to ask during this all-important first meeting.
First, you will likely want to ask your would-be lawyer whether they have ever handled similar cases to yours. If you visited this attorney’s website before coming to see them, then you might have noticed that the site mentioned the kind of lawsuit that you’re thinking about filing.
For instance, maybe you’re filing a lawsuit after a car crash. Perhaps you’re suing a doctor for medical malpractice, or maybe you’re filing a premises liability lawsuit if you fell and hurt yourself while shopping in a store.
You will want to hear directly from this lawyer that they have personal experience with cases much like yours, though. Otherwise, you will probably want to go with another option.
Assuming that this lawyer says that they’ve handled several cases much like yours in the past, you will next want to ask them how those cases turned out. If the attorney says that they won all of those lawsuits, or at least many of them, then that should make you feel more confident that you’re hiring the right lawyer.
If they say that they lost several cases like yours, though, that should give you pause. You definitely want someone with a proven track record not just in the personal injury niche in general, but with your kind of lawsuit specifically.
You should next discuss payment with your would-be lawyer. You will probably want them to say that you can pay them via contingency, meaning you only pay them if they can win your case for you.
That’s the only pay structure that makes sense for most personal injury cases. If you pay them a set fee when you hire them or they charge an hourly rate, then you might end up paying your lawyer and getting nothing in return if they can’t win your case for you.
You will want to follow that up by asking what percentage of your winnings they will take. They might take anywhere from 30%-40%, on average. That might sound like a lot, but remember that you’re getting this lawyer’s expertise, not to mention the help of their investigators.
You can ask about those investigators next. Most personal injury lawyers or law firms will employ individuals with investigative backgrounds to uncover evidence if they decide to represent you.
These investigators will look into the details surrounding your case. Sometimes they have former law enforcement experience.
They will look for video or photographic evidence that might help prove your case. They might look for eyewitnesses as well. They will try to uncover any documentation that will help establish that the defendant injured you or made you ill through their action or inaction.
If the lawyer assures you that they have a skilled, highly experienced investigative team working for them, then that should make you feel more confident that you’re hiring the right person to represent you.
You should next ask them if they feel that you have a good chance of winning your lawsuit based on the evidence or explanation you give them about what happened. You should make sure to answer any questions the lawyer has during this initial meeting, and to tell the truth.
If, based on what you say, they feel you have a good shot at winning this lawsuit, then they should tell you that. However, if they feel like, based on what you told them, that you’ll have a hard time proving your version of events, then they might decide that they don’t want to take you on as a client.
You should also ask whether they have the time to put toward your case at that moment. Maybe they think you have a good chance of winning, and you feel they have the background and the investigative team to help you do it. However, this lawyer also has several active cases and clients.
If that is what’s happening, then you might have to go with someone else simply because you don’t feel like this lawyer can put all of themselves into winning your case for you. You’ll want someone who won’t have any distractions, or they might make a costly misstep. A mistake might prevent you from getting the money you feel you deserve.
You should ask one final question when you hire this lawyer. You should ask them how much in damages they feel you can get, based on the facts about the case that you told them.
They probably can’t put a specific dollar amount on what they feel you might get if you win, but they can at least give you a ballpark estimate through their knowledge of previous cases. That should give you some idea of how much money you might have at stake in this lawsuit.
