If you’re from Los Angeles and involved in an incident where you incurred injuries, such as during a motor vehicle collision, you’ll probably be looking for personal injury lawyers to represent you so that you can claim damages from the other party. The good thing is that there are many such lawyers in Los Angeles, but you’ll have to discern if they’ll protect your interests as needed.
To solve this problem, here are the qualities you should be looking for in the best injury lawyer in the city:
1. Knowledgeable and Competent
This is always the first concern of anyone seeking a personal injury claim. After all, you’ll be paying your lawyer so you should get your money’s worth of service from that professional.
There are some areas in personal injury that your lawyer should be knowledgeable about, such as:
- Motor vehicle collisions, such as motorcycle accidents and car accidents
- Animal bites, such as dog bites
- Medical malpractice
- Slip and fall accidents
- Wrongful death cases
There are still many areas in personal injury law, but these are some of the most common. You can ask your lawyer about whom they’ve represented in previous cases to get a good idea of how good they are in their law practice.
You can also do your research about their academic and legal background, which has gotten easier lately because of the Internet.
2. Experienced in Litigation
An injury lawyer should know how to represent you and your interests, especially if the case goes to court. A lawyer who’s inexperienced will not be ready for dirty tactics from the other party, which is why you should always seek out an experienced lawyer.
Sometimes, a law firm will assign an experienced lawyer to your case, but there may be a junior lawyer present who’ll serve as assistant and observer.
3. Has A Good Reputation In the Legal Profession
It’s important to seek out a personal injury lawyer who’s not just competent and experienced, but also reputable. Some lawyers are both competent and experienced, but they terrible reputation for resorting to dirty tactics to win a case.
If your lawyer is reputable and willing to represent you in court, then you just got lucky since your chances of winning a favorable judgment go up as well.
4. Courageous and Patient
It’s always difficult to find a lawyer who’s willing to take risks, especially if your case seems complicated or if the other party has a bigger advantage over you. One reason big business firms keep great lawyers on retainers is that the companies want to keep winning so they’re willing to pay lawyers to safeguard their interests.
Your lawyer should acknowledge this as early as day one and agree to represent you in court if they’re brave enough. Take note that some cases may also drag on for years, so you need to have sufficient financial resources to pay your lawyer so that they’ll bear with the risks that come with the case.
5. Realistic, Responsible, and Accountable
Your lawyer should know when your case is too weak to defend, such as when the fault for the injuries is actually yours. This also means that your lawyer should say when your claim is strong enough to justify going to court.
They should also acknowledge when their own skills as a lawyer are not sufficient to justify holding on to you as a client. Take note that your lawyer should know that they’re accountable when they realize that they gave you unsound legal advice. If this is the case, some lawyers are willing to forego some fees.
6. Has A Good Track Record in Securing Settlements
There may be times when the other party would rather enter into a settlement than let the case go to court for judgment. Your lawyer should know how to negotiate in this kind of case so that you get a fair settlement for the injuries you incurred in the incident.
However, your lawyer should also be aware about the facts of the case and should recommend going to court if the settlement amount being offered is too low or unfair.
Final Thoughts
These qualities that you should seek from an injury lawyer are universal. This means that this applies regardless of which area of Los Angeles the injurious incident happened, or even if the scope of the case goes beyond the boundaries of the city.
You should be meticulous when doing your research about which personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles is most suited to handling your case. If you’re not sure, schedule one consultation with each person in your shortlist of lawyers so that you can see firsthand which one you should choose. Then, you can proceed to process the case and your claim as required by law.
