After suffering an injury, most people feel vulnerable, overwhelmed, and confused. Physical pain has that effect on us. Then, the financial turmoil the injury caused ratchets up the stress even more.
The right personal injury lawyer can remove a lot of this stress from your life by protecting your rights and helping you resolve money problems. The wrong personal injury lawyer, however, could make everything worse.
How do you know the difference between the right personal injury lawyer and a wrong one? We’ll explore that topic in this post.
When it comes to personal injury representation, we’re, naturally, biased toward our firm. For more than 35 years we’ve been helping clients in Anderson and the entire Upstate of South Carolina successfully put their lives back together after they’ve been injured.
But we also know we aren’t the right choice for everyone. Your legal representation is a personal choice, and it’s important to make the best decision for you.
No matter what, we recommend being proactive in your search for a personal injury lawyer, whether that search leads you to our firm or to a different legal team.
The following strategies can help your search:
Injuries often result from car accidents, workplace accidents, falls on private or public property, using defective products, or being exposed to contaminants.
When you’ve been injured by these or another hazard, you’ll likely be busy getting medical care and recovering your health. You might not have time to learn about your personal rights and learn how to best protect them.
The right personal injury lawyer will be your advocate, taking care of these details for you. He or she will explain your rights to you and then explain the actions required to protect your rights.
Depending on your specific needs, these actions can include:
Before doing any of this, a personal injury lawyer should listen as you explain how you were injured and why you need help. The lawyer should also discuss strategies with you.
When you’re injured, you have the right to advocate for yourself instead of working with an attorney. The same is true in most professions. For example, you could do your own plumbing or electrical work or your own car repairs or landscaping. Some people do this and succeed.
But in any profession, people who do the work every day tend to get the best results. Their experience has taught them to be efficient and effective. When you’re dealing with legal issues after an injury, legal experts can be invaluable. A good personal injury lawyer should know more about your rights than you do.
Plus, there’s the fact that you’ve been injured and need to spend time working on your recovery. The right personal injury attorney should work just as hard to protect your rights as you’re working to recover your health.
Different law firms reach different agreements with their clients. Typically, your personal injury attorney will work on a contingency basis.
In this kind of arrangement, the attorney does not require upfront payment but receives a percentage of the money you’re awarded. The percentage can vary, and it will depend on the amount of work your case will require. For example, a case that requires a lot of investigative hours may cost more than a simpler case.
It’s normal to be concerned about the cost of legal services. Make sure you understand the fee structure before entering an agreement with a personal injury attorney.
A complicated personal injury case can take months, or even years, to resolve. The complexity of your case — along with the nature of your specific goals — will affect the time required to achieve your goals.
The best personal injury attorneys will tell you upfront how long certain legal proceedings should take. As a client, it’s your job to make sure you understand the process. Ask your attorney any time you’re not sure about something.
Personal injury cases require lawyers with the experience and knowledge to maximize your results.
Some people who have been injured feel like they have too many choices for lawyers. When they feel this way they’re more likely to sign on with the first attorney they meet. Or they’re likely to respond to an ad or solicitation without considering other alternatives.
Protecting your rights is important. It’s important enough to remain proactive and intentional, to ask questions, and to expect results. If you have any questions as you search for the right attorney for your personal injury case, let us know.
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