Have you ever been involved in an accident that was caused by another person’s negligence? Or maybe you fell and hurt yourself because someone around you was indubitably careless. Some people get severely injured in their line of duty in a company or factory. In such cases, you stand a chance to compensation. The compensation covers your pain and suffering, medical expenses and lost wages that come as a result of your injuries.
This compensation, however, may take a lot of time and effort to come your way or materialize. It can take months for you to receive, least of all, a penny from the person or the company you are suing. This is because of the complex nature of the injury cases. They are not just like open and shut cases.
This explains why so many people ask a lot of questions revolving around the value of selecting the best law firm to boost your chances for a personal settlement or compensation from injuries. Perhaps you have some questions too on what constitutes a personal injury case that qualifies for a settlement. Well let’s look at three of the top-most asked questions regarding personal injury case settlements:
Q. 1: What is a Personal Injury?
This is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions. It refers to a type of tort lawsuit in which the plaintiff seeks compensation for the harm he or she suffered on his or her mind or body.
Q. 2: What is included in Personal Injury Claim?
A personal injury claim seeks to compensate victims of injury. The plaintiff in the lawsuit is the person who is injured, and the defendant is the person whose negligence caused damage to the victim or even death in extreme circumstances.
Q. 3: Who is a Personal Injury Lawyer?
This is the lawyer or attorney who provides legal services to people who claim to have been injured physically or emotionally because of the negligence of another person, government agency or company.
Importance of Choosing the Right Law Firm
Selecting the right law firm is essential to help you get the maximum compensation amount for your injury. There are millions of law firms, but not all of them have qualified attorneys to handle your injury case to success. It is hence imperative that you go for the right lawyer. Here is why?
- Personal injury cases are complex:You will need the right law firm with skilled attorneys to handle injury cases. This is because injury cases are complicated. There are cases with unique complexities, and an inexperienced lawyer might not manage to handle them well, for example, matters touching on medical malpractices. If you are suing your doctor for negligence, you need an attorney who can maneuver well through the world of medicine and, who understands well the medical terminologies. Look for expert attorneys to handle your unique cases.
- You need help in calculating compensation:Calculating compensation on your own can prove quite a challenge. For example, you might be awarded different kinds of damages by the court. These can either be non-economic or economic. The non- economic damages are awarded to cover the emotional suffering as a result of injuries. The economic damages cover medical bills, lost wages and other expenses you might have incurred as a result of the injuries. Calculating these compensations can be a challenge to you, especially if you are doing it for your first time. You will definitely require the help of an experienced attorney to guide you in getting maximum benefit.
Choosing between Settlement of the Case versus going to Court
In many occasions, the parties responsible for the negligence will attempt to settle the matter with you first, possibly out of court or before going to court. The party’s insurance company will try to negotiate a settlement with you. If you agree to the agreement, then you rule out taking the case to court or continuing with an already progressing court process.
You will, therefore, need the services of a reputable law firm with qualified attorneys to negotiate for you a fair settlement with the party responsible for your injuries. The right attorneys in a law firm will do the following:
- Guide you through negotiating the best agreement.
- Advice in offers to accept or reject.
- Prepare your case for trial in case you fail to reach an amicable settlement with the defendant.
How to Choose the Right Law Firm
Choosing the right law firms to handle your case is very important. Here are some tips that can rely on when selecting the right law firm:
- Determine the area of specialization for the attorneys in a law firm – Go for law firms with lawyers who specialize in handling injury cases. Different attorneys specialize in different areas of the law. It will be absurd if you go for a lawyer whose specialty is quite different from your injury case. If you want the best results, then pick lawyers whose specialty areas are personal injury law.
- Determine the number of similar cases the attorneys in your chosen law firm have handled before –It is not enough to hire a lawyer pegged only on their specialty. Don’t hesitate to go an extra mile in your probes. Look out for the number of similar cases they have handled before, including the number of cases won and those lost and why.
- Get to know the team handling your case – Sometimes the attorneys you are hiring won’t in a law firm be the specified attorneys handling your case. At times the work is dealt with by junior lawyers in the law firm or even non-attorney case managers. It is essential to find out whether the junior attorneys in a specific law firm are qualified enough to handle your case. Find out also if you can get a specific lawyer from the law firm to handle your situation.
- Find out from the law firm the duration of time the case will take – It is essential to know how long your case will take before you finally receive your compensation. Although, no attorney can give you the exact time the case will take, go for the ones who will prioritize your case and who, from past records, have taken a shorter time to resolve similar cases
- Look at the credentials of the lawyers in a law firm – It won’t help your case if you go to lawyers with poor credentials. Find out whether the law firm has been censored before by the regulators. If so, find out why. This might affect their effectiveness in representing you in court. Your money in their trust accounts could also be at risk.
- Ask the law firm whether they can give you reference from other clients –You will get relevant information on satisfaction levels from previous clients with similar cases. You can also get to know the time frame your case will take and the expected end results.
Lastly, finding the right law firm with competent attorneys to handle your injury case can significantly increase your chances of getting compensation for your injuries.