Written by: Michael Roberts, June 30, 2021
After sustaining injuries in an accident, life can become much more hectic and stressful. More than likely, you will be dealing with repairs to your vehicle, attending doctor visits, receiving medical bills, missing time from work, and dealing with insurance companies. For all these reasons, we strongly encourage you to consult with a personal injury attorney soon after the accident. However, the question is: what should I be looking for in choosing a personal injury attorney for my case?
Similar to most relationships, good communication between the client and attorney is key to obtaining a good result for your case. You will certainly have questions that require legal advice throughout the case, especially in the beginning of your case. Moreover, your attorney will need to obtain information from you in order to provide you with competent legal representation. For this reason, one of the first things you should note is whether your initial consultation is with an actual attorney, or with the attorney’s staff. Many large, high volume firms will put you in contact with an intake person or paralegal, not an attorney. This person will take down the information regarding your case and have you sign the fee agreement. Consequently, you may not speak with an attorney at all during the initial stages of your case.
Next, while you may not want to always hear it, you should look for an attorney that will be completely upfront and honest with you about your case. Remember, no case is perfect. Every case has issues that need to be addressed. For this reason, you should look for an attorney who will not only tell you the positive aspects of your case, but also the potentially negative aspects of your case. For this reason, during your initial consultation with the attorney, you may want to consider asking the attorney about the negative aspects of the case or where the attorney expects there to be some difficulty or pushback from the insurance company. It is important that you have reasonable expectations as your case proceeds forward. These expectations should be addressed by your attorney through up-front and honest communication.
Finally, you should look for a competent attorney. As you are aware, there are a number of personal injury attorneys in the Phoenix area. How do you differentiate them from one another? During your initial consultation, you should ask the attorney about his or her background and experience in handling personal injury cases. In addition, you should ask about their experience taking cases into litigation. Remember, while most cases do end up settling, you want to choose an attorney that is ready, willing, and able to take your case to trial. If your attorney is prepared to take your case to trial, it can increase the value of the case, and it also can increase the likelihood that the case will settle.
If you have been injured in an accident, we encourage you to call us for a free, upfront, and honest consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. We have over 25 years of experience handling personal injury cases. It is all we do!
