subject: 8 Truck Accident Attorney Selection Tips [print this page] Don't Negotiate Alone - Mishaps are part of existence. Although you can be as watchful as you want to be to avoid misfortunes, sometimes they still happen. When they happen, however, it is best that you have full shield and you are geared up. Your main protection from this is your personal injury attorney. Your personal injury attorney should be the one who will defend your privileges as someone who becomes part of the misfortune. Whether it is a car misfortune, a truck or motorcycle mishap, your attorney should be able to help you through the process of the law so that you will be remunerated. You have to watch out for insurance companies as they will take advantage of you. It is for these reasons that hiring a personal injury lawyer should always be your first step, even if it is expensive.
Qualification - You look for the perfect personal injury legal representative through the American Bar Association. This is famous group of lawyers who specialize in their fields. Find a lawyer here who knows the twist and turns of personal injuries. An attorney who is a member of the American Bar Association is surely regarded well by his peers and clients. Other than being a member of the American Bar Association, your lawyer should have other training and awards. This will tell you how good he is at what he does. You should also see the schools where he studied, which can also determine the kind of legal representative that he is.
Free Consultation - You also need to find a lawyer who charges least amount for your initial consultation and lawsuit review. Personal injury cases require a lot of one-on-one time with your lawyer to settle matters. It is best if you find an lawyer that does not charge for your initial consultation, this will enable you to swap attorneys if you do not feel comfortable with the original lawyer you choose.
Availability - Your legal representative should make you feel that he is always accessible for you. In cases like these, there will always be something new about the lawsuit, which you would want to talk to your lawyer. It is quite annoying for other clients to have an legal representative who always gives the phone to the secretary; it does not feel very personal.
Direct Contact - Many times if you pick a bigger personal injury law firm or more famous attorney that particular firm will not actually be handling your case... it will instead be passed on to to a junior attorney at the firm or an assistant of some kind. The reason for this is that when certain firms and lawyers get popular, or spend a boat load of money on ads the lawyer who founded the firm can simply not take all the cases that come in, so they must pass them on. The problem with this is that the quality of representation could suffer even if the case is being supposedly overseen by the firm attorney. To be certain avoid the biggest firms with huge spreads in the yellow pages and instead opt for lesser know or even younger lawyer that is just as qualified but is more eager and will in most cases give your case more time, devotion and fight harder for you.
Communication - Always have a attorney that you can relate with and makes you feel that he/she cares about you and not just someone who is there because you paid him to do so. The relationship and communication you have with your attorney is crucial to the outcome of your case. An lawyer who is aggressive and caring at the same time is more likely to get you the highest results.
Aggressive - In order to get the most desirable settlement possible make sure your personal injury lawyer is aggressive in how they negotiate with the insurance companies. All else being equal aggressive lawyers who are skilled in dealing with insurance companies negotiate better settlements for their clients. How do you know how aggressive a lawyer is? You ask them and hear their response. If they are not confident with you they will not be confident with the insurance company.
Stereotypes - Be careful not to fall prey to stereotypes when picking a lawyer such as age, race gender etc... For example women lawyers are not less aggressive then male lawyers, older lawyers do not always have more experience or are a better choice than younger attorneys. It would also be a mistake to choose a lawyer because they are the same race or have the same cultural background as you. You must look beyond stereotypes in order to make the best decision.
