Car accidents can be incredibly destructive, causing catastrophic injuries, fatalities, property damage, and more. When you are seriously hurt in a car accident that was caused by someone else, it only makes the whole thing worse. When you find yourself in such a situation, sometimes the only thing you can do is seek compensation for your injuries and hope to hold someone accountable.
Injured in a Philadelphia car accident? Get help Winning Your Car Accident Case!
If you have suffered serious injuries, you are likely in pain, struggling to work, and facing mounting medical bills. It can be hard to decide what to do next. We hope the following information will provide some help – and that you find an Illinois car accident attorney soon who will stand by your side during this challenging time.
How to Choose a Car Accident Lawyer in Philadelphia
Your lawyer is going to be the main person you rely on to get compensation for your injuries. It’s important to choose your legal representative carefully. Some of the most important things to look for include:
- Car accident law experience. It’s not enough to just hire a lawyer. You need someone who has experience with car accident cases in your state. And ideally, you want someone with recent experience. They should have a proven record of helping other car accident victims win their cases and get compensation for their injuries.
- Great reputation. Word travels fast in legal circles. Lawyers who don’t take care of their clients, do shoddy work or otherwise fail to do their job quickly develop a bad reputation. You don’t want someone like that. Instead, you need someone that former clients are happy with and that are respected by their peers.
- Enough time to really work for you. Even the best lawyers need time to commit to your case if they are going to do it right. You want to find someone who is not so overloaded with other cases that they can pay attention to your needs.
- Compatibility. It’s really important to feel comfortable with your attorney. You are going to be talking frequently, especially at the beginning, and you want someone that you find easy to talk to. Your story is a major part of what helps win your case, and you need to work with someone that’s interested in that story and that you feel comfortable telling it to.
Steps to Find the Right Car Accident Attorney
You are looking for a car accident lawyer now – which means you need to be able to take action steps to find the right person. Here are some guidelines on how to go about hiring an attorney.
- Ask friends, family, and coworkers that you trust. There is a good chance that someone you know has hired a car accident or personal injury attorney before. And if they liked the attorney – and you like them – it’s worth meeting that attorney to see how you feel about them. You could wind up getting an excellent recommendation that meets all of your requirements and that you enjoy communicating with.
- Research attorneys on trusted legal sites. If you can’t find someone through word of mouth, you can look online just like you do for other professionals. There are a variety of sites that list attorneys, some of which include ratings and reviews. The American Bar Association and the federal court system both provide attorney listing services. There are also sites like Avvo where clients can review attorneys, and you can read those reviews.
- Look closely at ratings and reviews. It makes sense to look for attorneys that are highly rated. Just make sure you pay attention to the number of ratings and the specific things former clients say in the reviews. A highly-rated attorney may only have a few reviews. Hopefully, you can find someone with plenty of positive reviews that include information you find helpful, such as specific mention of car accident settlements and satisfied clients.
- Make sure they focus on car accident law. You want someone who understands car accident law as it stands right now when you need to make it work to your advantage.
- Verify that they have practiced recently. While an attorney who has been practicing car accident law for 25 years is great, if they haven’t worked on a car accident case in five years, you might want to look somewhere else. Recent practice is important because it means they know how to get the job done in the current system and don’t have to relearn anything.
Make Sure to Interview Several Different Possible Attorneys
It can be tempting to just pick the first person that seems promising. But remember, you are the one hiring the attorney. Like hiring for any position, it’s helpful to interview multiple candidates. That way, you get to see how they answer your questions, get familiar with their perspectives, and see how you click with each one.
As an accident victim dealing with serious injuries, you are in a tough position. You are likely in pain, trying to recover, and experiencing a wide range of emotions. The person you pick to represent you needs to be someone you are comfortable with, someone you can trust to listen to you and truly represent your needs.
When you interview different attorneys, you will discover that some are easier for you to interact with than others. They are people, and some people are more compatible than others. That’s to be expected. Even two or three different interviews will show you that you have options and that there’s someone out there that’s a great fit for your needs.
Choose a Lawyer and Get Back to Recovering From Your Injuries
Putting in the time and the work to pick a lawyer isn’t easy when you are injured. Fortunately, in the long run, it will give you much more time to focus on your own needs. You will have some long talks with your attorney. But once those are out of the way, your representative can get to work pursuing your case. That frees you to rest, heal, and move on. It also greatly increases your chances of getting compensation for your injuries.
If you have been in a serious car accident, the right lawyer can make all the difference in your personal injury case. The effort you put into finding a Philadelphia car accident attorney will be time well spent. If things go right, you will get the compensation you need to pay your bills, recover from your injuries, and take care of those that matter most.
