Every year in the US, there are around 39.5 million personal injury cases that require medical treatment.

An injury is never ideal, and what you do after can be very important. If you hire a professional personal injury lawyer, they could help you out a lot in terms of medical bills, lost wages, and other issues that arise. But with so many personal injury lawyers out there, how do you find one that’s suitable?

In this guide, we’ll go over six tips that can help you find the right personal injury lawyer for you. Keep reading for more.

1. List Your Needs

The first thing to do is establish what you need from your personal injury attorney. An injury lawsuit is very complex and a lot goes on. As each case is different, you need to give as much detail about your situation as you can.

Doing this will ensure both you and your lawyer are on the same page so that you can move forward together. Some of the things you need to specify are:

• What was the type of injury sustained?
• How severe was it?
• Specific details of the incident
• Where did it happen?
• Who was at fault?
• Has the injury led to any hardships? If so, what?
• What are you hoping to gain from the lawsuit?

You might be looking for compensation for things like medical bills, pain/suffering, lost wages, or a combination of all three.

The details you provide here will serve as the foundation for your case. It will also help you find the attorney best suited to help you.

2. Ask Your Friends and Family

When looking for a good mechanic, restaurant, contractor, or other services in your area, many people will ask their friends and family first. Getting recommendations through word of mouth is a surefire way to find a lawyer you can rely on.

It’s good to keep things local, so if you’re in Bellaire, a Bellaire, TX injury lawyer is ideal. If you know anyone who’s been through a personal injury lawsuit before and they had a good lawyer, then you’ll want to consider going with the same one.

When discussing a lawyer with someone you know, ask certain questions:

• Were they responsive?
• Did they explain how your situation factors into the law?
• Did they seem compassionate about your situation?

This is a great way to get started on the right foot. It can also help you save a lot of time as you might find the ideal lawyer very quickly.

3. Look for Injury Lawyers Who Have Worked On Similar Cases

There’s a lot involved in personal injury law, and as such, different lawyers tend to specialize in specific areas. You might find lawyers that specialize in nursing home injuries, for example, but if yours was caused by a car accident, then they’re probably not the best lawyer for your case.

This can be the most important part of your search. When speaking to different firms, discuss with them the types of cases they’ve handled before. Some questions to ask include:

• What was the outcome?
• Was there a trial?
• What challenges were there?
• How long did it all take?

They might not be able to give specific details, but they’ll tell you about cases similar to yours and how things went. Some lawyers will say they can handle your case even if they haven’t taken on a similar one in the past. This is generally a sign that you should avoid them.

4. Prepare Some Key Questions for the Consultation

Before heading into a consultation, you should prepare some questions for the lawyer. These are to help you determine if they’re a good fit. Some suitable questions to ask are:

• What are your priorities in a personal injury lawsuit?
• What are your costs?
• What do you think my claim is worth?
• Roughly how long should it take to resolve my personal injury case?

You want to make sure they’re focused on things like communication and education so that you can understand what’s happening throughout the case. Costs should never come upfront and should come out of the amount rewarded – essentially, you should never pay out of pocket.

They should be able to give you a rough idea of what your claim is worth, but not an exact figure. This is similar to when asking about the time frame. Precise answers and big promises are red flags, so be cautious.

5. Look Into Their Testimonials

On top of asking your friends and family, you can look at other testimonials for personal injury lawyers. This will show you what people who have worked with them before think of their service.

If a lawyer has plenty of positive testimonials, it’s a good sign you can rely on them. Conversely, a lawyer with a lot of negative testimonials is one that you’ll probably want to avoid.

6. Don’t Be Intimidated by the Fees

At the end of the day, a good personal injury lawyer isn’t likely to be cheap. Despite that, you shouldn’t let the fees scare you off.

As mentioned above, you shouldn’t be paying anything upfront to hire a personal injury lawyer – they’ll take their pay out of the money awarded after winning the case. A good personal injury lawyer will only take on a case if they’re confident they can win, so as long as you find someone you can rely on, you’ll have no issues.

Finding the Right Personal Injury Lawyer

An injury can be life-changing, so you shouldn’t hesitate to hire a personal injury lawyer to help you seek justice when you’ve been hurt. Heard Merman Trial Lawyers is a Texas-based law firm that operates across the entire US. Our lawyers have more than 90 years of combined experience and can take on a variety of lawsuits.

Take a look at our personal injuries page to see the different types of cases we’re prepared to take on.