How To Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer: Step-by-Step Guide
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How To Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer: Step-by-Step Guide
Learning how to hire a personal injury lawyer can help you protect your rights and get the help you need after an accident.
Key Takeaways
- Knowing when to hire a personal injury lawyer matters, especially if fault is unclear or the insurance company pushes back.
- Researching and interviewing lawyers helps you find someone who handles cases like yours.
- Understanding a lawyer’s trial readiness, fees and caseload helps you hire someone you know you can rely on throughout your case.
After an accident, you’re suddenly faced with medical bills, insurance calls, and legal questions. If someone else was at fault, you have the right to seek compensation, but you may wonder where to start. That is why it is so important to know how to hire a personal injury lawyer so you can get the help and guidance you need. This guide walks you through the process step by step so you can make informed decisions and protect your claim from the beginning.
Know When You Should Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer
After an accident happens, you may not know right away if you will need a lawyer. People often assume that it’s not worth pursuing damages if their injuries are minor.
In reality, though, many accidents are worth significant compensation even if the injured person doesn’t notice the full extent of the damage right away. Symptoms can worsen over time, and insurance companies often move quickly to limit what they pay.
You should consider hiring a personal injury lawyer if:
- It’s not clear who is at fault
- The insurance company denies your claim
- You’re entering negotiations with the insurance company
Ultimately, you need a personal injury lawyer anytime another person’s negligence causes damage to you. Whether it’s a major accident or just a slight scuff, talk to an attorney so you can know for sure if it’s worth filing a claim.
Research Local Personal Injury Lawyers
When researching local personal injury lawyers, start by reviewing their websites to see what types of cases they focus on and how long they’ve been practicing. You’ll often see lawyers with experience in:
Most accident lawyers manage a wide variety of cases, but they may not have experience with a case like yours. For example, you don’t want to hire a lawyer who specializes in car accident claims if you’re dealing with a
slip-and-fall. Different claims involve different evidence, legal standards and strategies, which can affect how your case is handled from the start.
Interview Your Lawyer Before Hiring Them
To learn more about the attorney you’re considering hiring, don’t be afraid to ask them if they can share their:
- Experience
- Case results
- Client reviews
- Professional memberships
The goal is to learn more about the personal injury lawyer’s case success and overall reputation. Comparing a few local lawyers can also help you understand your options. Many offer free consultations, which allow you to ask questions, learn about their approach and decide who you feel most comfortable working with before moving forward.
Factors To Consider When Hiring a Lawyer
Once you’ve narrowed down your options of possible personal injury lawyers you could hire, the next step is deciding which one is the right fit for you. Think of the factors below as a checklist to help you compare lawyers and choose someone you can trust to handle your claim from start to finish.
Will the Lawyer Be Willing To Take Your Case to Court?
Most injury cases settle outside of court, meaning the insurance company offers compensation before trial. But in some cases, negotiations fail, and litigation becomes necessary. Litigation in a personal injury case is the process of taking a lawsuit to court, where a judge will provide a ruling on the outcome.
However, you can never know for sure how the process will pan out. Even if it seems like the other party is perfectly reasonable, negotiations can still fall through after months of back-and-forth settlement offers. Though most cases do settle outside of court, it can still be worth your while to hire an experienced trial attorney from the outset.
If your case goes to court, your lawyer needs to be ready. Some personal injury lawyers rarely take cases to trial, which can affect how seriously insurance companies treat your claim. A lawyer with trial experience is better prepared to push back if negotiations stall.
What Type of Fee Does the Lawyer Use?
Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you only pay if compensation is recovered. The lawyer’s fee is usually a percentage of your settlement or court award. However, it’s important to understand that there may be additional costs involved in your case.
These costs may include:
- Filing fees
- Expert witness fees
- Medical record charges
- Costs related to investigations or depositions
In some cases, these expenses are deducted from your settlement after the case is resolved. In others, you may be responsible for certain costs even if the case is not successful. Before hiring a lawyer, ask how these costs are handled and whether they are taken out before or after the lawyer’s fee is calculated.
Who Will You Be Communicating With During Your Case?
You should also ask who you’ll be communicating with throughout your case. Some law firms have lawyers mangage most client communication, while others rely more on paralegals or case managers. Neither approach is necessarily “wrong,” but you should know what to expect.
Ask how often you’ll receive updates and how questions are typically handled. Find out whether you’ll be able to speak directly with your lawyer when important decisions need to be made. Knowing how accessible your legal team will be helps you feel more confident and informed throughout the process.
How Does the Lawyer Communicate With Clients?
You should also know how your lawyer communicates. Ask whether they can explain legal terms in plain language and keep you informed about major developments. You should also find out whether they prefer phone calls, emails or a mix of both. A lawyer who is clear, upfront and responsive can help you feel more confident and involved in your case.
Will the Lawyer Have Time To Focus on Your Case?
IAsk how many cases the lawyer is currently working on and whether they have the support staff needed to manage them effectively. Some lawyers handle a large number of cases at the same time. While having experience is a plus, if you choose a lawyer with an overloaded caseload, they will usually be slower to respond and pay less attention to your claim.
How Hard Is It To Win a Personal Injury Lawsuit?
The timeline for a personal injury lawsuit can range from several months to multiple years. This is because winning an accident lawsuit is not always straightforward and can be very difficult in some circumstances. A lack of clear evidence can place a greater burden on the negotiation process.
If your case goes to trial, the process becomes even more complex due to the need to schedule additional court dates and adapt your strategy to the litigative setting.
Can You Schedule a Free Consultation Before Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer?
Most personal injury lawyers offer free consultations, either over the phone or through an in-person appointment. This consultation is an opportunity to discuss the details of your claim and get a professional’s opinion about how much compensation you may be eligible to receive.
At Sargon Law Group, our personal injury lawyers in Phoenix discuss the claims process openly during consultations so you can know exactly what to expect as your case unfolds. We also operate entirely on a contingency basis, meaning you won’t pay us until we recover compensation for you.
Communicate Openly With Your Personal Injury Lawyer
Once you decide on a lawyer to represent you in your personal injury case, it’s important to be open and honest with them every step of the way. Fully explain what happened during the accident. Make sure your lawyer has access to all the evidence you have, including medical records and photographs of the accident scene. This can go a long way toward helping your legal team establish the other party’s negligence.
Negligence is at the core of every personal injury case. Your ability to prove the other party’s degree of negligence will affect how much of your damages you can recover. In states like Arizona, where comparative negligence applies, the amount of compensation you can receive may decrease unless you can prove that you did not share any of the fault for the accident.
Rely on Your Injury Lawyer To Handle the Case
After experiencing a personal injury, it can feel like your life has come to a standstill. You might be dealing with extensive medical treatments, missed work and financial obstacles. It’s completely understandable that you might wish to resolve the case as quickly as possible. However, injury claims can take several months or more, even if it never goes to trial.
Your lawyer’s role is to handle the legal work so you don’t have to. This includes dealing with insurance companies, gathering evidence, tracking deadlines and negotiating on your behalf. When you rely on your injury lawyer to manage these tasks, you can avoid unnecessary stress and focus on your health.
Rushing to accept a settlement can mean receiving much less compensation than you deserve. Once you sign a settlement agreement, you usually can’t seek additional compensation for the same accident. That is why the best course of action after hiring a personal injury lawyer is to trust them to guide the process while you concentrate on rest and recovery.
Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer From Sargon Law Group
Sargon Law Group is a trial-focused firm with decades of combined experience handling complex injury claims. Our lawyers are known for being prepared, persistent and willing to take cases to court when necessary. This reputation helps put pressure on insurance companies and protects your right to fair compensation.
When hiring a personal injury lawyer from Sargon Law Group, you have direct access to the attorney managing your case. Most importantly, we treat every client with care and respect. Our goal is to ease the burden you’re facing, handle the legal work on your behalf and fight for the best possible result.
If you’re ready to take the next step, contact Sargon Law Group today to schedule a free consultation and learn how we can help you win your injury case.