Six Tips For Finding The Best Personal Injury Lawyer- Why Big Is Not Better

As I have posted before with regard to workers’ compensation lawyers,  big can be a good thing like when you can go to Walmart and meet all of your shopping needs, groceries, clothing, auto supplies, etc.  However, big is not better when hiring a personal injury lawyer to represent you in a personal injury claim, such as an auto accident, slip and fall or medical malpractice.

If you have never hired a lawyer you may not know how to find a personal injury lawyer other than think calling the attorney that is advertising on television or a billboard.  What you need to know is that advertising lawyers are paying lots and lots of money to place their ads on television or to buy billboards.  In order to pay for that advertising the law firm must carry a high volume of cases.   To service those cases the firm must have numbers of support staff, which means that you will not have the special attention that you deserve for your personal injury lawyer.

Beware of the Walmart approach when it comes to finding a personal injury lawyer to represent you in your workers’ compensation or personal injury claim.

Many personal injury firms, especially those that advertise heavily will send a so-called, “investigator” to your house to meet with you.  This person is a paid employee of the firm and is not a lawyer.  You must trust that the lawyer you hired will do the best job for you.  If the lawyer does not have time to meet with you initially about your claim and instead sends a non-lawyer employee for the first meeting then you should be wary of hiring that personal injury lawyer.  How can you trust a lawyer you have not met?  How can you have a trusting relationship with someone you have not sat down with and looked in the eye?

Paralegals will handle the gathering of your medical records, bills and other evidence to present to the insurance company in a settlement package and can answer questions during the process but you should not be passed off to support staff if you have a legal question about your case.  You hired the personal injury lawyer to represent you and that representation includes advising you along the way.

So, how do you find the best personal injury lawyer to represent you in your claim?

1. Ask for a recommendation from people you know that had a good experience with an attorney.
2. Research the  personal injury lawyer!  Don’t just call a personal injury lawyer that you saw on television and assume that you will get the best possible representation because they seem big.  You are better served by a personal injury lawyer who talks to you personally and who receives most of his or her cases from referrals from satisfied clients, not from spending money on television or billboard advertising.
3. Make sure the attorney will go to court and is not just pushing settlement of your case in order to move on to the next case.  A smaller, more personalized firm that does not rely on volumes of cases will work on your behalf for the best result and will go to court if necessary.
4. Meet with the personal injury lawyer initially and don’t accept meeting with a non-lawyer in the office.
5. Ask questions and don’t just accept the initial sale’s pitch.
6. Trust your gut.  You know when you feel good about  a person or when you feel just a little uncomfortable.  If you feel good when you meet with the lawyer then move forward.  If your internal radar is giving you pause then trust that innate wisdom and keep searching for the right lawyer to represent your interest.  It is important that you trust your personal injury  lawyer.