When you are seriously injured in an accident, choosing the right personal injury lawyer is just as important as choosing the right doctor. You need to make sure you receive just compensation for your losses, and choosing the right lawyer is essential to making sure you recover the full financial compensation you deserve.
But how do you choose? There are plenty of personal injury lawyers in New York, so how do you make the right choice based on your individual circumstances and legal needs?
7 Considerations for Choosing the Right New York Personal Injury Lawyer
The time after a serious injury is full of uncertainty and stress. Finding an attorney who can represent you may seem overwhelming, but the following qualities can help you choose the right personal injury lawyer for your needs and goals:
1. Experience Handling Personal Injury Cases
Winning a personal injury case is not easy. It takes knowledge, skill, and dedication, and it requires the ability to gather an extensive amount of evidence and present it in a highly persuasive manner.
With this in mind, experience handling personal injury cases is extremely important. The more years of experience a personal injury lawyer has, the more familiar he or she will be with the processes, procedures, and strategies involved in winning just compensation for clients who have been hurt.
2. Results Obtained for Victims of Serious Accidents
In addition to simply researching an attorney’s number of years in practice, one of the best ways to evaluate an attorney’s experience is to review his or her results in personal injury cases. A highly experienced personal injury lawyer will have an extensive list of case results, including numerous million-dollar and multi-million-dollar awards.
While most personal injury cases are resolved through settlement negotiations with the insurance company (or companies) for the liable party (or parties), you will want to choose an attorney who has experience taking cases to verdict – and winning.
3. Focus on Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Representation
Some law firms handle many different types of cases. But, if you need to seek financial compensation for serious injuries you sustained in an accident that was someone else’s fault, you will want to choose a law firm that focuses its practice on personal injury and wrongful death representation.
Once again, these cases are not easy. It requires dedication, focus, and decades of experience for a lawyer to gain a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to secure maximum compensation for accident victims’ losses.
4. A Team of Lawyers and Legal Professionals
Due to the challenges involved in recovering financial compensation after a serious accident, one lawyer may not be enough. From working with your doctors to negotiating with the insurance companies and preparing your case for trial, there are numerous steps involved in successfully recovering compensation for your injuries. Lawyers who try winning cases have help to manage each claim effectively.
So, when choosing a lawyer, it is important to make sure you choose a law firm that has a team of lawyers and legal professionals who are capable of handling your case efficiently and with the attention it demands.
5. A Local Presence in Your Geographic Area
Even in today’s world, having a local personal injury lawyer you can meet with in-person is still extremely important. Your lawyer will likely need to hire investigators and/or other experts who are familiar with your local area. If your lawyer needs to take your case to court, he or she will need to be intimately familiar with the local courts, court clerks, and judges as well.
If you live in Kingston, Newburgh, or Poughkeepsie, this is something that most New York City lawyers will not be able to offer.
6. Availability to Answer Your Questions
When meeting with prospective personal injury lawyers, make sure you feel comfortable asking questions. Also, find out how quickly your phone calls and emails are returned, who on staff will be working on your case, and anything else that helps you gauge the responsiveness of the lawyer and his or her team.
The lawyer you choose should maintain consistent contact with you throughout your case. And, if you have any questions, you shouldn’t have to wait long before hearing back from your lawyer or a staff member.
7. Free, No-Obligation Consultations and Contingency-Fee Representation
Finally, the personal injury lawyer you choose should offer free, no-obligation consultations, and he or she should not charge any upfront costs or fees. You should not feel any pressure whatsoever during your initial consultation, and your lawyer should be able to clearly explain how his or her contingency fees will be billed in your case.
If you feel pressured, this may mean that the lawyer is desperate for clients, which is generally not a good sign. Instead, the lawyer you choose should be confident in his or her ability to represent you, and he or she should make clear that it is up to you to make the final decision regarding your legal representation.
Contact O’Connor & Partners If You Have Been Injured
If you have been seriously injured in an accident and you would like to speak with an attorney in Kingston, Newburgh, or Poughkeepsie, we encourage you to schedule a free initial consultation at O’Connor & Partners, PLLC. To speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer in confidence, call (845) 303-8777 or contact us online today. You pay nothing unless we win.