So you had a car accident. It went very bad. You and the one who had an accident with, the other “party”, wait for the police for investigation.
The police came, made some investigation based on what’s left with the accident, your statement and the other party’s statement, witnesses’ statement (if any), and so on. You file reports afterwards, but the case must still be cleared.
Car accidents are one of the most stressful cases around despite it’s a very common scenario and not a big case like murder or robbery. Still, it’s complicated that some lawyers actually specialize on this field – called “car accident lawyers”.
As with any case, it’s important to know how to find a lawyer that will best help you. This sounds easy at first – just look at a lawyer directory and you can choose whom to hire!
But we want a lawyer who’s best fit to help you, a lawyer who is capable and experienced in your case.
So, here are the 5 tips on choosing your car accident lawyer:
- Get recommendations – Get recommendations from family, friends and colleagues (or from their friends). Recommendations are good because they tell the exact truth, unlike ads where it’s always tailored to sweet messages to get your attention. As long as you ask from someone you trust with, that’s a worthy consideration.
- Look for a lawyer with extensive experience – You can also background check on a lawyer and see how experienced is he/she on the matter. The better experienced that lawyer is, the better of course. Keep in mind of his/her fees, though; and as you’ll see later, experience is not the only factor to consider.
- Choose an attorney who communicates well – You can find with a very experienced lawyer but talks to you as if you’re not there. If the lawyer isn’t responsive in your inquiries, look for another one. Even if he/she finally answers back and you even get to hire him, he may give you a hard time during the procedure of your case. Once he doesn’t answer much again, that’s a headache on your part!
- Choose a lawyer who can stand up from insurance companies – Your lawyer should settle your case for you, not your insurance company. Some people go to their insurances to help them solve their case. The result? They usually get less than they deserve because it’s not necessarily in the interest on the insurance company to give you your maximum compensation. Your lawyer will do that for you, but he/she must be strong enough to stand up from insurance companies and ensure you get the fair settlement in the case.
- Select someone who is trusted by their clients – It boils down again to recommendations. Usually, if a trusted friend of yours recommended you a lawyer, he/she trust that lawyer. However, do a little more background check. It’s possible that, that lawyer is good at your friend, but not good to most of his/her clients. But when a lawyer is trusted by many of his clients, that’s a good sign.
Keep these tips handy; should you unfortunately come into an accident, you know now how to find a car accident lawyer.