Here are 20 questions you must ask a Georgia accident attorney or Atlanta personal injury lawyer before hiring to represent you for your specific legal needs. Understanding the best questions to ask Georgia personal injury lawyers can make all the difference in finding the right attorney for you.
1. Does your case need a Georgia personal injury lawyer?
Sorry, not every situation requires the expertise of a lawyer. If the property damage of your case is less than $1,500-2,000 then there may not be enough damage to pursue further legal action. In these instances you may be able to handle the insurance claim yourself. If you are in doubt call an attorney anyway, most offer an initial consultation.
2. Who is at fault and can your Atlanta personal injury lawyer prove it?
If you have been labeled the at fault person in the accident you may need an attorney to help prove your innocence. If you admitted guilt your insurance carrier may most likely cover your liability up to the contracted amount. If the claim is serious enough to warrant civil litigation, you may also require the services of a litigation experienced attorney.
3. Does your Georgia accident attorney have litigation experience?
Not every attorney litigates cases and represents them in court. Many attorney’s primarily settle with insurance companies for claims and have little to no experience in court.
4. How much experience does your Atlanta personal injury lawyer have?
If you are settling a case or taking the case to litigation it is important to work with an attorney that has plenty of experience in the personal injury arena.
5. Can your Georgia accident attorney speak with you in person and over the phone?
At Link and Smith, PC our lawyers offer a free initial consultation where we fully discuss your legal rights and options surrounding your personal injury case. Many law firms offer consultations, but we don’t stop there. Our smaller firm size allows us to provide a personal experience for our clients. You will not get “lost in a large firm” with our office, we only take those cases we are confident we can win.
6. What kind of settlements has your Atlanta personal injury lawyer won?
It isn’t enough to litigate a case if you cannot win a verdict for your client. Here are some of the settlements we have won for our clients. $11 Million Verdict – A jury awarded our client in excess of $11 million when a tractor trailer collided with him in an intersection $2.75 Million Verdict – A Coweta County jury awarded the family of a teenager $2.75 million for injuries sustained when the driver turned left in front of a speeding commercial truck.$2.1 Million Verdict – A jury awarded our client $2.1 million for injuries sustained on a motorcycle when he was struck by a truck that failed to maintain its lane.
7. Who will be working on your Georgia personal injury case?
In large firms it isn’t uncommon to have a case passed among multiple attorneys. Sometimes a case may be entirely “outsourced” to another firm. Having multiple attorneys working on your case may be necessary because of the complexity of the case, but you may need to ask to be certain, otherwise you could show up in court with a lawyer you have never met.
8. What organizations does your Georgia accident attorney belong to?
Although it isn’t a requirement, lawyers who belong to other organizations are typically well informed about trends in personal injury law. The lawyers of Link and Smith, PC have the highest “AV” rating by Martindale-Hubbell, the nation’s leading attorney rating service. Our attorneys are also published legal authors as well as members of the Georgia BAR Association.
9. How does your Georgia personal injury lawyer structure reimbursement from a settled case or what that has reached a verdict?
Be sure to clearly discuss how expenses are handled if and when your case should go to trial. It is also important to discuss exactly how a settlement is split between an attorney and the client. Sometimes it is necessary to involve a third party lender to help fund a client before going to trial. Be very leery as these lenders often charge high interest rates which eat into a settlement payment.
10. Does your Atlanta personal injury lawyer have the resources to take your case to court?
Catastrophic injury cases involving auto accidents often require multiple paid expert witness testimony from doctors and other professionals related to the case. These witnesses often require payment well in advance of a settlement reached on a clients behalf. Often a client may not have the resources available. At our firm we are experienced litigators and can help our clients through the maze of legal requirements in order to bring a case to trial and get the settlement and verdict desired.
11. How many case has your Georgia personal injury lawyer handled that are similar to your case?
Knowledge is important in understanding law, but first has experience in handling similar cases make for an effective personal injury attorney. Wisdom comes with years of experience and first hand knowledge in handling complex cases. The attorneys of Link & Smith, PC stay up to date with the most current in legal trends as well as personal experience handling complex cases involving litigation.
12. Approximately how long will it take to settle your personal injury case?
Your Atlanta personal injury lawyer should be able to help you establish a reasonable time frame when you can expect to settle your case as well as any projected areas where complications may arise.
13. Will your Georgia accident attorney change his fee’s?
Sometimes an attorney may agree to represent a case at one percentage and another percentage if the case goes to suit. Be sure your lawyer spells out these details in writing before you agree to retain them for your case.
14. How will your Georgia personal injury lawyer provide disbursement following a settlement or case verdict?
It is important you know how your personal injury lawyer will pay you once your case has been resolved. Knowing when and how you will be paid allows you to properly budget and have realistic expectations on your cases settlement time frame. It is also helpful to discuss tax implications with your disbursement. We are not tax attorneys or financial advisors, however, we can offer you some guidance that other clients have benefited from or provide you a referral to professionals who can more thoroughly advise you in this area.
15. In the event you lose your case how will your Atlanta injury lawyer handle your case?
Taking a case to trial has expenses, as we discussed earlier, such as expert witness testimony. In the event your attorney does not win your case be sure to clarify who is responsible for these expenses. At Link & Smith, PC every case has unique circumstances surrounding it, after a thorough evaluation we are better able to provide an answer to this question and many others you may have.
16. How does your Atlanta personal injury attorney expect to keep you informed?
At Link & Smith, PC we strive to always keep you informed about the progress we are making with your personal injury case. We are able to keep you updated by phone, however, some instances may require your signature on paper which we are able to mail directly to you or host you in our office if that is convenient for you.
17. Will your Georgia personal injury lawyer return your phone calls?
Our attorneys make it a habit of returning phone calls within the same business day. If you have an urgent matter we will make every effort to respond to you promptly.
18. Will your Georgia accident attorney provide other staff to help you?
We have staff who are specially trained in helping you once we have accepted your case. They are trained in helping you to gather the necessary information needed to properly represent your case. In the event they do not answer your questions our attorneys are here to help. Make sure your Atlanta injury lawyer provides you with the names and numbers of staff members who are familiar with your case and can help you.
19. Will your Atlanta personal injury lawyer communicate with you through e-mail and fax?
When appropriate communications via e-mail and fax can be effective at communicating details about your case. However, certain circumstances require a phone call or written communication to properly transmit the message to you. Our attorneys can tell you when and why those circumstances are needed.
20. Does your Georgia personal injury lawyer have any disciplinary actions pending against them or BAR rulings against them?
You can review this list of disciplinary actions against Georgia lawyers at the State BAR of Georgia website. Make sure any attorney you are considering hiring is not on this list.
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