Thursday, February 9, 2012

Locating The Best Personal Injury Lawyer For The Case

By Adriana Noton


If a person suffers an injury that causes disability that person should hire a personal injury lawyer because that person might be entitled to money damages from the party responsible for the injury sustained. There are many attorneys willing to take a case that involves money damages. But, it is important to ask the right questions when shopping for the right legal counsel.

Find out what experience an attorney has before putting him on retainer. Some attorneys practice personal injury law in the general sense while others practice exclusively car accident personal injury law. This is the era of specialization so find the attorney with the expertise to match the case.

If the attorney charges a percentage of the settlement ask if that includes costs for expert witness testimony and other costs incidental to the lawsuit that most plaintiffs fail to take into account. Most plaintiffs have a common complaint when they are asked about how they are treated by their attorney. The most common complaint plaintiffs have is that their attorney keeps them in the dark.

Many clients believe that attorneys intentionally keep them in the dark, but the truth is that attorneys are very busy with other cases and fail to call their clients to let them know the status of their lawsuit. But, attorneys should assign the task to keeping clients updated to a paralegal or other office staff member. Ask, during the initial consultation how his law office plans to provide updates because it is easy to become stressed when one is not kept informed throughout the case's progression.

Do not be afraid to ask that the fee arrangement includes provision for law office updates and do not be afraid to ask the attorney about his trial record. Not all lawsuits are settled out of court, many cases end up going to trial. Choose an attorney with a winning trial record, an attorney with extensive court room experience.

The experienced attorney will be able to calculate what a potential client's case is worth. That is the attorney should be able to provide during the first consultation the potential client a general idea of how much money he can expect to win if his lawsuit is successful. Damages are usually based on medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost wages.

If the plaintiff has suffered permanent disability, damages should include lost earning capacity. There are times when an expert has to make the determination of lost damages due to a permanent injury based on lost earning capacity. The defendant will counter with his own expert testimony regarding lost earning capacity and the jury in some cases will decide somewhere between the two estimates.

Retain a personal injury lawyer based on the attorney's expertise and trial experience and record. Retain an attorney who keeps clients informed as to the status of their case. The experienced attorney will be able, usually in the first consultation, determine the amount of money his client's case is worth.




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