We’ve probably all used flawed products at one point or another, but that doesn’t mean that getting severely injured because of a device or other item is normal. You certainly won’t be the first person to need a product liability attorney. If you’re worried that you’ll suddenly have to memorize lots of “personal injury law 101” information to make it all work, rest assured that it doesn’t have to work like that.

Personal injury victims like yourself may or may not have legal backgrounds that can help them after they’re harmed by a consumer product of some kind. That knowledge can help you, but you definitely won’t have to rely on it. If your case is solid enough, your lawyer could even work toward personal injury arbitration.

Doing legal research is valuable, but you can focus more heavily on looking up someone’s “personal injury lawyer reputation” at the same time. You should do more reading on the law as you go through the process, but there’s no reason to try to turn yourself into a specialist overnight. During research, it’s always important to make sure that your sources are trustworthy. You can have a similar approach when you’re finding a lawyer.

The thing about needing a personal injury attorney is that it usually occurs when you are the least equipped to find one. You’ve been in an accident and your injury has rendered you incapable of working. Maybe you need a personal injury attorney because of a wrongful death situation. Perhaps the circumstance involve being injured on the job. Whatever the reason, you’re likely in the most difficult position of your life. You’re likely stressed out just surviving life with your injuries. You might be coping with financial hardship as a result of your injury. The last thing you have the bandwidth to do is to figure out which personal injury attorney is best for your circumstances. To help you out, we’ve put together a quick guide for simplifying your personal injury attorney search:

1. Specialization.
   
   We want to let you in on a little secret… personal injury attorneys are doing their jobs to make money. In most cases, they’ll take your money even if they aren’t best equipped to represent you.
   
   
   You might be thinking, many personal injury lawyers charge their fees based on a percentage of what you win. Why would a lawyer who can’t win you any money (or thereby win themselves any money) agree to represent you if they weren’t equipped to? Many personal injury cases involve a settlement of some degree, and a personal injury lawyer who doesn’t specialize in your particular type of legal situation might recognize that they stand to gain some money, even if you only win pennies on the dollar of what you could win.
   
   
   That being said, make sure that you use a personal injury lawyer who specifically handles cases like yours. If a lawyer has handled cases like your before, they’ll understand the best approach to get you the best settlement. They’ll have experience under their belt that you can use to your advantage. They might have relationships with other legal professionals in that your case involves that will work to your benefit. While considering personal injury lawyers, make sure that you ask for examples of similar cases the attorney has worked on.




2. Track record.
   What do you call the lowest scoring law student to pass the bar? A lawyer. Just because a lawyer has the piece of paper that says they went to law school doesn’t mean they are able to get you the settlement you deserve. However, if they have a long list of personal injury cases that they were successful in, it’s a really good indication of what they can do for your case. While interviewing personal injury attorneys, make sure you ask about the outcome of cases that they’ve worked on that are similar to yours. A lawyer most likely won’t win every single case they work on, but you want them to have at least a few good outcomes.




3. Payment policy.
   
   Many times, the occasions that you need to hire a personal injury attorney are the occasions that you are least equipped to pay the legal fees. You might have medical bills out the you-know-what. You might be out of work. If your personal injury case involved a car accident, you might have car repairs or no transportation to deal with. The last thing you can handle is an expensive legal fee.
   
   
   Fortunately, many personal injury attorneys recognize this, and charge you based on the settlement you receive. That means if you don’t get any money, you owe the attorney nothing. It also means that you don’t have to pony up the cash for a lawyer when you are out of work and can barely keep a roof over your head. This also benefits you because it gives your lawyer incentive to get you as much money as possible!

   The point is, when you are in search of a personal injury attorney, you should make sure that you ask about the payment structure, and make sure it works best for your situation.
   
   

4. Rapport.
   
   This is about as straight forward as it gets. You’ll be working closely with your lawyer, you need to make sure you guys communicate well and jive together. Schedule a free consultation before you sign a contract and talk to your lawyer. Make sure you like them.

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