If you have sustained serious injuries due to someone else’s negligence or fault, you should avail of the expert services of a personal injury lawyer in Clermont, Florida to obtain the compensation you deserve. Obviously, you want to ensure that you are hiring the right personal injury attorney in Florida to represent your personal injury case.
Here, the experienced personal injury attorneys at MANGAL, PLLC have put together the most important questions to ask a personal injury lawyer before you hire them.
Have You Represented Injury Cases Like Mine Before?
Just because a professional is a practicing lawyer does not mean that they have the experience representing cases like yours. The law practice is a fairly large field, including many different categories, as well as sub-categories.
That said, you might meet with several different lawyers with experience handling the most common personal injury or negligence cases. These may include cases involving defective products, medical malpractice, car accidents, dog bites, slip and falls, and so on.
You may need to choose a lawyer with skills and experience managing similar cases in the state where you want to file a claim or lawsuit. Laws differ from state to state and even if personal injury laws follow similar concepts across the US, every state may have unique provisions.
Therefore, it is best to hire a personal injury lawyer in the state where the incident that led to your injuries took place. You should contact a reputable law firm in that state to fight for your rights in a personal injury claim or lawsuit.
For example, if you are from Georgia and sustained injuries during a visit to Florida, it would be best to get help from a personal injury lawyer based in Florida, instead of Georgia. While you have the right to hire a lawyer in the state you live in, your hired lawyer from your state may need extra time to prepare themselves and understand the subtleties of the laws of the other state.
Do You Have Any Reviews or References?
When you meet with different personal injury lawyers, you might notice that most of them are pretty confident in their ability to win your case. However, you should avoid believing them at face value.
Always ask them whether or not they have references or reviews from their previous clients for you to read. For example, personal injury victims from Georgia may want to read such reviews of attorneys in the Sunshine State to find their credibility before hiring one on their case.
Established lawyers in Clermont, Florida will never attempt to hide the cases they won or the settlements they reached for their past clients. So, always ask for press mentions, contact numbers, and other similar records that can tell you about their expertise and reputation.
Who Will Doing the Job?
Contrary to popular belief, your hired attorney will not be the only professional working on your injury case. Since established law firms in Clermont, Florida often handle several clients at a time, personal injury attorneys hire additional professionals like junior associates and paralegal professionals to help them on their clients’ cases.
Hence, it is important for you to ensure that your lawyer will handle the bulk of your case, without leaving it fully to professionals you are not aware of. If your personal injury lawyer heads a team of legal experts, it is best to meet with them as well before they start working on your case.
What Will Your Legal Service Fee Be?
Most personal injury attorneys take on a case free of charge, but they will be owed a portion of your settlement, should your case meet a favorable outcome. The fees that personal injury attorneys in Clermont, Florida are entitled to are set by the Supreme Court and range from 1/3 of the settlement amount to 40%, depending on the circumstances, the complexity of the case, etc. It is good to discuss an attorney’s fee prior to hiring them to avoid any disputes later.
Who Will Pay the Court’s Fee?
If you win the case, you may need to pay the accumulated court fees. These usually include:
- Court filing charges
- Information-gathering charges
- Expert witness fees
- Administrative fees
If you are paying the court fees “off the top,” these will be paid from the money awarded to you. However, if the court fees are paid once your personal injury lawyer receives their fees, they would perhaps see a greater payday.
Do You Have Any Experience in the Courtroom?
Unlike most people think, not all claims and cases go to trial, and not every attorney has courtroom experience. Some may be excellent settlement closers outside of the courtroom, but they may be not that great at handling everything if your case goes to trial.
Since both clients and lawyers want to keep the fees as low as possible, an out-of-court settlement is generally considered the best option. This way you prevent yourself from putting an extra burden on the already burdened legal system – and the procedure works out for both parties involved, most of the time. However, for your peace of mind, you have to be sure that your personal injury lawyer in Clermont Florida has the skills and experience to handle and win your case, just in case your case enters the courtroom.
What Will Happen If You Fail to Reach Your Expected Verdict or Settlement?
In general, if a lawyer doesn’t agree on a settlement, they take the case into the courtroom. If the defending party has been not found guilty, the plaintiff gets no recompense. The lawyers will likely then talk about appeals, and you know that lawsuits can take years to settle.
Let your lawyer explain thoroughly what your options are if you reject a settlement or receive an unfavorable verdict. Ask them about the risks involved and the measures to counteract them. Never hire someone who gives you a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Choose the one who honestly tells you about your odds to win.
Final Words
The questions above show some key questions to ask a personal injury lawyer in Clermont, Florida before hiring them to handle your case. You should ask these questions before you make up your mind. Picking the right legal expert for your specific case and ensuring that your hired personal injury lawyer is honest and straightforward when making claims will help you achieve faster settlement and the compensation you truly deserve.
