Choosing the right personal injury law firm to work with on your injury claim is one of the most important aspects of getting a good settlement. If you choose the wrong one, that doesn’t have much experience handling injury claims, then you are most likely not going to get the maximum amount of compensation out of your case which could leave you with extra financial costs that you have to pay out of pocket. A great injury attorney will know exactly how to handle your case and put together an evidence based case so that the at fault party has no choice but to settle. Let’s go over some of the most important things you should consider before making a decision on which personal injury lawyer to work with.
Online reviews are a great place to start when figuring out which attorney to work with. You will see the good and the bad experiences that their previous clients have had when working with that law firm, so make sure to read through most of their client reviews. Google business profile reviews are an excellent source for this as most people don’t write reviews unless they are extremely happy with the service they received or if they were not impressed at all. If you see a bunch of reviews saying that the law firm didn’t communicate well with the client, they had a hard time getting in touch with their lawyer, they did a poor job on their case or any other issue that is repeatedly reported on their reviews, then you should probably stay away from that firm.
Now if they have nothing but glowing reviews from their past clients, like Rector Stuzynski Law Firm does, then you should put that law firm at the top of your list and give them a call to set up a free case consultation.
If you are receiving mail letters from attorneys after getting into an accident, that law firm is probably what we call an ambulance chaser, meaning that they are just looking to make a quick buck from easy injury claims. If they don’t offer a payment option of only pay if we win then you should definitely stay away from them as they most likely are just looking to bill you for the hours they spend on your case, which could turn into a lot of money. Great injury lawyers will use their online presence and referrals to get cases and they will always offer a contingency fee payment meaning they only get paid if they win a settlement for you. This is your best bet so you don’t have to pay out of pocket if they lose the case.
Any quality personal injury lawyer will happily look over your case and speak with you about the details for free to determine if you have a valid case and if that case is worth pursuing a settlement for. Many small accidents don’t warrant the hiring of a personal injury lawyer and some cases just aren’t valid for a personal injury claim. During your free consultation, they will look over all of the details and make sure you have a valid claim that is worth pursuing because they don’t want to waste your time or theirs unless it is worth it for all parties involved. At Rector Stuzynski Law Firm, we always offer free initial consultations and our attorneys will be happy to look over your case and give you our honest opinion on possible outcomes and whether your case is worth pursuing or not.
It might go without saying that before you sign up with a law firm, you’d want to meet with the lawyer who will handle your case, but it is not always something that is offered. If a free consultation is offered with a case intake assistant or paralegal, this is a good sign that you might not be getting the quality of representation that you would want. Before signing a fee agreement, it should be explained to you by a licensed attorney, who will also offer to answer any questions you may have about the agreement, or your case in general, before you make the decision to sign up.
If the legal process for your case is going to take a lot of time and resources to get a great settlement, then the law firm you hire needs to be able to handle that case as well as the rest of the cases they have at the same time. This can mean having multiple paralegals on staff to help them with paperwork as well as having the monetary resources to be able to cover the costs associated with taking on cases with a heavy workload as sometimes these cases can take months or years to reach a fair settlement. So always look into this and make sure your law firm can actually handle your case on top of their current workload.
When hiring a personal injury lawyer, you don’t want an attorney that doesn’t handle injury cases on a regular basis. You wouldn’t hire an estate lawyer to handle criminal law, so make sure your lawyer specializes in personal injury. By having many years of experience handling personal injury claims, you can be sure that your law firm knows what they are doing and how to go about each and every step of the settlement process to ensure they get the best possible results for you. Without that experience, they might miss some very important pieces of your case and get you a fraction of the settlement that another, more experienced law firm could have gotten you. And remember, once a settlement is signed, it cannot be reopened at a later date, so this is a key aspect of getting the best settlement.
Let’s say you were involved in an accident with a semi truck. Having a lawyer that has dealt with countless commercial vehicle and tractor trailer accidents can come in very handy because they will know about specific things to check for when determining liability and fault. Each different types of injury claim, such as motorcycle accidents, truck accidents, car accidents, slip and fall accidents and more have their own unique nuances that can make or break a case if the lawyer is not familiar with those types of cases. At Rector Stuzynski Law Firm, we have handled countless cases of every different type of personal injury law you can imagine, which makes us an excellent choice because we have the experience you need to get maximum compensation.
A long track record of success is another important aspect of finding a great lawyer to hire. The difference between hiring an amateur and a professional in any case can mean drastic differences in results. And when it comes to personal injury cases, that difference could mean tens of thousands of dollars in settlement payouts that you may lose if you work with someone that lacks the necessary experience to handle your case properly and build a strong case for you. Negotiation is also a big part of each case and having a lawyer that knows how to negotiate a fair settlement on your behalf can make a big impact.
Most personal injury claims are settled outside of court, but in some cases, the opposing parties may not be able to agree on a fair settlement package, so the case will then go to trial where a judge will determine fault based on the case that each parties presents. For the trial process to go well for you, you need to have an experienced trial lawyer such as Michael Stuzynski on your side because they will have plenty of experience presenting cases in court and getting the judge to see that they have a valid claim that the at fault party should be paying a settlement for. This is a completely different skill set than just negotiating a settlement outside of court, so having a lot of experience with trials is very important to the success of your case.
If your lawyer asks for you to pay an hourly fee throughout the process of working on your case, then run for the hills. Most great personal injury attorneys will only charge contingency fees, meaning that you only pay them if they win your case. This keeps you from having to pay anything out of pocket if they do not get a settlement for you and if they do win a settlement, they can add their fees on top of your settlement, so you still get the maximum amount of compensation and don’t have to take on any unnecessary risk in the process.
As with anyone that you would hire to do work for you, you should get a good feeling when you interview them and go over your case details. Is their staff friendly and welcoming? Do the lawyers seem confident that they can win your case? Does the law firm have plenty of staff members to support the resources needed to do a great job on your case? All of these things should be considered and most importantly, you should leave your case consultation with a solid feeling that the law firm is qualified and confident that they can get you a great settlement for your injuries. Make sure to interview a few different law firms and then decide which one seems like the best fit for you.
Lawyers with great success rates means they know what they are doing and that is the kind of lawyer you want on your side. They are going up against insurance companies, other law firms and dealing with tons of small details that have a huge impact on your case with things like insurance policies, local laws, state laws and many other details that cannot be overlooked. By finding a law firm that has an exceptional success rate with their claims, you know that they do a good job for their clients and should do the same for you.
At Rector Stuzynski Law Firm, we check all of the boxes that we mentioned in this article and we strive to maintain that level of service for each and every client that we have. Our staff is friendly and keeps you informed of case developments promptly, we have hundreds of raving reviews from past clients, we have an exceptional win rate, the resources needed to handle any size injury claim, we work on a contingency fee basis, we have excellent trial attorneys, decades of experience in personal injury litigation, we have won many cases of all kinds of accidents and injury claims and we always offer free consultations 24/7. If you want the best legal representation in Colorado, then give us a call today and see why our past clients have such great things to say about us. You’ll be glad you called us!
We serve clients injured anywhere throughout the state of Colorado, but we focus on residents of these areas: Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Fountain, Briargate, Monument, Black Forest, Pueblo, Canon City, Larkspur, Security-Widefield, Peyton, Castle Rock, Teller County, El Paso County, Elbert County, Park County, Douglas County and beyond.
Consultations are always free and available 24/7 over the phone.