Questions Your Accident Lawyer Must Answer

If you’re planning to visit an accident lawyer because you want to retrieve damages due to someone’s negligence, you may be intimidated about going into your meeting. After all, many people put attorneys and other high income professionals on a pedestal, as if they are better than the average person. This is, of course, ridiculous. They may have more education than you, but that’s all that separates you from them. This is not the time to be intimidated. Remember, they are the ones selling a service, and you are the one looking to hire someone. Go into your consultation with this in mind and you’ll be fine. 

The first question you want your accident lawyer to answer is how much they charge. Ask them this up front, so there is no confusion about it later. Many such attorneys work on a contingency basis only. This means they get paid out of a settlement or a jury reward, rather than from their clients’ pockets. This is probably the kind of fee schedule you want to look for. It won’t cost you a dime, and this is likely very important at a time when you already have bills piling up from medical treatment. Your purpose here, after all, is to get money from a negligent defendant, not to run up additional bills for an expensive law firm.

Now, even if you find an accident lawyer who works on a contingency basis, you may still be responsible for court fees and other costs. Make sure you ask about this as well. You don’t want any financial surprises hitting you down the line. Some law firms will pay for the court costs and the costs of investigation, while others expect their clients to pony up the money. Neither way is right or wrong; they are simply different ways of doing business. Either way, it’s something you’ll want to know up front.

Of course, one of the most important questions you’ll want your accident lawyer to answer is: Do I have a case? If the answer is “probably not”, don’t panic. This is what free consultations are all about. This particular attorney has told you that they don’t wish to take on your case. That doesn’t necessarily mean that another attorney won’t feel differently. Here, however, is where you have to be careful. Don’t walk away rejected from an attorney who works on contingency and then hire someone who works for a fee. The firm that takes these cases on contingency needs suits they can win, because otherwise they won’t get paid. The attorney who works on a fee doesn’t care much either way. So if you get rejected by several of the former, you may not want to waste your money on the latter.