Hiring A Personal Injury Attorney
Hiring a personal injury attorney shouldn’t be taken lightly. You’re going to have to be prepared for some paperwork, meetings, interactions with lawyers, and more. It’s not impossible or even difficult but it is necessary if you’ve been injured in an accident and need justice. When selecting a belleville il personal injury lawyer, there are a few things you should look out for beforehand to make sure the lawyer will best suit your needs:
Qualifications
It’s important that the personal injury attorney has experience handling cases like yours in particular. Handing a slip and fall case to an auto accident attorney isn’t going to work out in your favor if you’re the one who’s been hurt. It’s important that your lawyer has the experience necessary to represent you in the best way possible.
The Decision Maker
It’s important to find out if the lawyer will primarily be representing you or representing his employer as a whole. This is important because it will have implications on how much time you’re allowed to talk with your lawyer as well as the way you can work out a compensation plan. If your employer has hired the lawyer, they’ll be able to negotiate a fair amount of money on your behalf but if they are negotiating on your behalf, they’ll likely argue that they must first consult their employer before making any decisions. It’s important that you know who is handling the case.
The Process
Also of importance is finding out how long the process will take. I recommend asking about the expected time before hiring a lawyer to see if you can get an idea of how your case will be handled. You don’t have to have all the details worked out before hiring a lawyer but you should at least be able to expect when you’ll hear about your case and how much time it will take for all of it to settle down.
The Fees
You’ll need to be prepared for the fact that hiring a personal injury attorney will cost you in some way. Will the lawyer charge by the hour or by the case? Will you get a flat fee or will you have to pay per hour? Make sure that you know how much an hour of your time is worth so you don’t end up paying more than necessary. Also, find out what any extra fees are, such as court costs and reimbursement of any medical bills.