After you have been involved in an accident you may feel like your world has been turned upside down. It doesn’t matter if it was a car accident, bike accident, or even just a slip and fall, you probably feel overwhelmed and shaken up. On top of everything else, you need to find an attorney that you can trust and will make you feel like everything will be taken care of. You are probably wondering, what can I expect from my personal injury attorney?
Hiring an Personal Injury Attorney
The first step is choosing an attorney. You might be thinking, I can’t afford an attorney. Well, most personal injury attorneys will take on your case on what is called a contingency basis. Your attorney will pay for all your fees including your court fees upfront. After winning your case they will take a percentage of the amount that you have been awarding in your case. Seems fair right?
Free consultation?
Most personal injury attorneys do offer a free case consultation or evaluation of your case. During this consultation, an attorney will determine if you have a strong enough case and if they want to take your case on. You will probably meet with an average of three attorneys before you decide, or you will choose the attorney that wants to take on your case. Here are some of the most common questions that you can expect from your consultation.
- Details questions about your accident. The attorney needs a much information as possible to be able to determine if you have an strong enough case.
- Challenge your story. This might seem uncomforable but a attorney needs to see if there are any gaps in your story. It is important to be completely open and honest.
- Will set expectations. You might not like everything your attorney has to say about your case including worst and best case scenarios however, you want an honest attorney who will be truthful with you as well as fight for your case.
A personal injury attorney who cares
This might sound corny, but you want an attorney that you feel is taking care of you. Your personal injury attorney should be providing the following things for you;
- Empathy and compassion for your situation
- Respect (like you are their most important client)
- Be able to directly talk with your attorney if you need to, not their support team
- Promply address your question, issues, and concerns
- Gives you support and encouragement during this difficult time
Choose someone who you feel has your best interest at heart.
Here’s one of our client reviews, so you can see we absolutely care about our clients. Our clients are very important to us.
Let me tell you how amazing they are. James is who I worked with personally. Very understanding, and explains everything in a way to help you understand. They give you the feeling that you’re not just a number, but a person. Helped me get the best settlement I could. Would definitely recommend this group over the big guys!!!
Emily Garcia
Ok, now The Legal Process
Once you have chosen your attorney and your attorney has agreed to take on your case. Here is what you can expect to happen next.
- Your attorney will serve the defendant in your case and the defendant will file a reply
- Once the other side has filed a reply this will begin the case
- Both sides gather all evidence by interviewing witnesses, witnesses statements, collecting evidence, police statements, exchanging information, etc.
Your attorney may be ready to take the case to trial if needed however they try to resolve the case with a settlement instead. There are steps that may be involved in a settlement including a negation or mediation. If both sides can come to a settlement then you will receive a payment based on the amount negotiated by both sides. The case would end and your attorney would take their percentage and then you will receive the rest of the funds.
If both sides are unable to come to a settlement agreement then the case would go to court. Your attorney will present your case before a judge and jury. The jury and the judge would then decide on the outcome.
We can help!
If you are ready to take the next steps? If you are ready to meet with an attorney you can contact us and call 833-4TheWin to speak with one of the experienced personal injury attorneys from Georgia Trial Attorneys.