The situations in which you should handle the personal injury claim alone are not many and are restricted to when injuries are minor or you know how to deal with an insurance company. However, when seriously injured or when you want to be completely safe, the best thing you can do is to look for Detroit personal injury lawyers. But how do you find someone that is really good to represent your best interests? Here are the main things to look at.
Locating Experienced Lawyers
Basically, you need to get referrals and then compare what you found. You should get names for different lawyers to then actually meet with them. This will help you to decide who to hire. You might be rejected in some cases since some lawyers only take cases if they meet a potential recovery amount but this does not mean you should not look for them.
Your best sources for referrals are:
- Friends and family – Do you know anyone that hired a personal injury lawyer in the past? Talk to them and get some referrals since this will help you find professionals that you can trust since those close to you would only recommend those they were comfortable with.
- Online lawyer directories – This gives you access to huge databases of personal injury lawyers close to where you live. In many cases, you can even see reviews, ratings, and extra details that let you easily make a final choice of who to consider.
- Other Lawyers – Only personal injury lawyers should represent you in a personal injury case but if you were represented by someone for something else in the past, that professional is a great source of referrals. Lawyers often refer cases and there is a good possibility the lawyer you hired in the past for something completely different knows someone that is trusted and good.
Comparing Personal Injury Lawyers To Make The Final Choice
After you make a list of potential personal injury attorneys to hire, it is time to choose the one that is the very best for you. This is possible only if you actually meet with them and you talk about your case. Make sure to bring copies of all important documents, like medical bills, police reports, and correspondence with insurance companies. The initial consultation is usually free so you will lose nothing.
During your meeting with the considered personal injury attorney, make sure you assess the following:
- General experience – You need to know what experience the personal injury attorney has and a good place to start is to be told the percentage of personal injury cases out of the entire work load of the attorney. Is the lawyer usually representing plaintiffs and will he/she actually handle the case? Sometimes, lawyers pass cases to someone else in the same office. You do not want this to happen as you want your personal injury attorney to be as experienced as possible.
- Settlement goals – After the conversation with the personal injury attorney, you will get some sort of understanding about the worth of the case together with how difficult it is. As you talk about these things, you need to discuss settlement amounts and how the case will be handled. If you want to get a settlement fast and get rid of the problem, this is what the attorney should do for you. If you want to get as much as possible, the attorney needs to handle the case with this in mind.