Selecting A Personal Injury Attorney San Diego
When you are living in San Diego and suffer a personal injury resulting in significant hurts you will need to hire a Personal Injury attorney. Problem is, there are well over 30 pages of personal injury attorneys listings in the San Diego phone book. How do you pick the one that is best for you? What do you look for? What questions should you ask?
Here are six important tips before you hire your San Diego attorney
1) It is better to hire your personal injury attorney sooner than later. Start looking within a week or two after your accident. If you got hurt bad and are not physically capable, ask a friend or family member to help you. The sooner you start building your case the better.
2) Hire a San Diego lawyer that specializes in your specific type of injury. Do your homework before signing the retainer agreement. Visit the lawyer’s website and read her or his bio. Ask for references and how much experience the law firm has in handling similar cases. Find out what settlements they got in previous cases in San Diego.
3) Have a face-to-face meeting with your prospective attorney. Your attorney will be your closest adviser during the next weeks or months of the law suit. You must feel comfortable and have trust. The only way you get an impression whether you feel comfortable with the lawyer is by having an initial meeting to discuss your case. Any respected personal injury lawyer in San Diego will give you a free initial consultation.
4) Hire an attorney who will take your case on a contingency fee basis, meaning your lawyer won’t get paid unless you get paid. She or he will take his fee out of the compensation you receive. You can expect your attorney to get paid about 33% of your final settlement after expense. Make sure you fully understand the payment structure before you sign the retainer agreement.
5) Watch out for law firms that make a living of going after minor personal injury cases and settle them quickly such making their profit from high turnover. Naturally they won’t put much time and effort into a case. If you’re shooting for a quick settlement be prepared to accept less than what your case is really worth.
6) Always be completely honest and open when discussing your case with your attorney. Tell her or him all you remember about what happened. The smallest detail can be very important. Any documentation or photos you have of your injuries and your treatment will be valuable when evaluating your case.
Attention: Never give a recorded statement to a representative from any insurance company until you’ve consulted your personal injury attorney San Diego. When asked, simply say, “I’m not prepared to give a statement at this time.” A recorded statement can be used as evidence! If you’re not prepared you might overlook vital details and anything you miss or misrepresent, even unintentionally, might be used against you in settlement negotiations or in the trial.

