6 million car accidents take place in the United States every year. Of those 6 million accidents, about half result in injuries.
If you’ve been in an auto accident recently and are suffering from an injury that has hampered your quality of life and/or has left you in a precarious financial situation, your best bet is to find and work with an experienced accident attorney to get you the compensation that you’re entitled to.
The trouble is, there are a lot of attorneys out there. Many of them won’t give you the quality of help that you need to maximize your case’s results.
How then can you select the right person to partner up with?
Below, we share some simple considerations/steps to keep in mind to help you find and select the best lawyer for your unique needs.
1. Talk to Friends and Family Members
There is no better way to find professional services than to seek out a recommendation from somebody that you know and trust. That’s why we always advocate that people seeking an auto accident attorney talk to their friends and family members before doing anything else.
Many times, someone who’s close to you has worked with an attorney they can send you to. That referral could result in priority service, discounts, and a number of other benefits.
2. Take to the Internet
If you don’t know anybody that has experience dealing with accident attorneys, your next best bet is to scour review aggregation websites to find a respectable lawyer that works in your vicinity.
Websites like Yelp, Google and Facebook are all solid places to start that should enable you to put together a shortlist of prospects.
Be aware when noting high-reviewed attorneys that “review volume” counts. There are a number of legal professionals that boast 5-star averages but only have 4 to 5 reviews that make up that score.
To ensure positive results, we recommend looking for lawyers that have a considerable amount of favorable reviews like these experienced attorneys.
3. Skip Consultation Fees
Accident attorneys consult with a lot of people and only end up bringing on a small portion of them as clients. A lot of sneaky accident firms have started cooking up ways to monetize all of that traffic they’re turning away by charging them consultation fees.
Never do business with an attorney that’s going to charge you for a consultation. Especially an accident attorney.
Best-practices dictate that consultations for legal services should be free and any lawyer that’s not willing to extend you that courtesy is not worth working with.
4. Compare Contingency Fees
Once you’re sitting down with an attorney, one of the chief concerns that you should have is how much their services are going to cost you.
Most accident lawyers work on “contingency”. That means that they’ll only get paid if they win you your case by taking a portion of whatever your settlement it.
Contingency fees can range widely from attorney to attorney. To make sure that you’re getting the best deal, have your prospective lawyer tell you up front how much they plan on pocketing from your settlement.
5. Make Sure Your Prospective Attorney Has Adequate Information Before Hearing Their Pitch
How well an attorney manages to pitch you their services will have a large impact on whether or not you choose to work with them. Here’s the issue with that though…
A lot of attorneys are so focused on earning your business that they’ll tell you just about anything to get you to sign on with them.
Don’t fall for those empty promises.
Make sure that your prospective attorney has all information pertaining to your case. This should include photos, accident reports, doctor’s notes, and anything else.
Only when an accident attorney has all of the details on your case can they give you an accurate depiction of what they can do for you. Any promises they make before that is just fluff.
6. Ask If They’re Willing to Go to Court
Not every accident case results in a tidy settlement. Sometimes insurers will try to low-ball you which could result in you either having to take a cut-rate settlement or take the battle to court.
Make sure that your attorney is open to fighting your case in court if need be. If they have never taken a case to court before, you’re better off finding a lawyer that has.
7. Understand What Their Success Rate Is
Averages matter in the legal world.
If your prospective accident attorney boasts a 99% success rate over 100 cases, chances are, they’re going to win your case if they take it on. If they have a 50% success rate, you’ll probably want to knock on someone else’s door.
Ask your attorney what their success rate is in your initial meeting. If you don’t like what you hear, thank them for their time and walk away.
8. Watch Out for Reputation Red Flags
As a final step, if you’ve found an attorney that you like, make sure that their reputation checks out.
A good attorney should be a local bar member. They should also belong to a number of professional organizations that allow them to better network in their field and stay abreast on new tactics insurers are using to minimize settlements.
Furthermore, if you didn’t find your accident attorney online, make sure that their online reputation checks out by reading internet testimonials from past clients.
If everything looks good, shake their hand and proceed under their guidance.
Wrapping Up How to Find the Best Auto Accident Attorney for Your Case
You have a lot of options when it comes to hiring an auto accident attorney. To make sure that you don’t end up with sub-par legal representation, we recommend using our tips above.
With their help, you’ll be able to find an accident professional that you can count on to take good care of you from start to finish!
For more information on all things vehicle-related, read more of our content today at YouFixCars.com!
