Personal Injury Questions Archives

What to Ask In A Free Consultation with A Personal Injury Lawyer

The first consultation with an attorney can be nerve-racking, and you should consider in advance the questions you need to ask. Always ask any specific questions to find the right personal injury attorneys in Austin.

It is difficult to know the exact questions you should ask in order to properly assess whether a personal injury lawyer is a right choice to represent your case.  In a free consultation, there are some crucial bits of information you should uncover about a personal injury attorney in Austin before deciding whether to hire them for your case.  The following are some topics for questions that you should be prepared to ask any attorney in a free consultation to vet whether they are qualified or the correct attorney to represent your case.

Track Record & Experience

The most important thing you need to find out about your potential attorney is how experienced they are in the area of personal injury law.  You should ask or inquire into how many similar cases like yours, such as a car accident claim, the attorney and their firm have handled.  You are going to want a firm whose primary focus is personal injury law and that has the resources dedicated to this area of law necessary to effectively represent your case.  

Asking for some examples of successful settlements or jury verdicts in cases similar to your own is a good starting point.  Another would be asking just how often the attorney and their firm deal in personal injury cases.  On top of this, you should ask how they were able to settle or win cases in the past like your own.  Did they have a substantial network of experts they relied upon to prove their past client’s injuries were caused by the other party’s negligence, and what did those experts do to help the case?  All these questions relate to the attorneys’ capacity to properly represent your case successfully and should be asked during a free consultation with any personal injury attorney or firm.

Payment 

The next question of importance has to do with the system the lawyer or law firm uses to collect fees.  Ideally, in personal injury, you are looking for a firm or attorney that represents you on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you only pay after your case is successfully resolved and you receive compensation for your injuries. This payment plan pays the lawyer through the money you receive from your claim, so you don’t have any out-of-pocket expenses.  

It is also useful to ask whether you will be responsible for any case-related costs should your claim fail and nothing be recovered.  This would involve being on the hook to pay for expert testimony and work done on your case or filing fees and other incidental costs of pursuing your claim.  It is crucial to know this to estimate just how many out-of-pocket costs pursuing your claim will incur with the attorney or firm providing the free consultation.

Other Questions

Other good questions to ask include how much time that lawyer or firm will be able to devote to your case.  You don’t want a law firm or attorney that is handling your case on top of too many other ones simultaneously, and you want an attorney who will be able to devote the time necessary to adequately pursue your claim. 

It is also good to ask what an attorney thinks your case will be worth.  This is good to know in deciding whether to even pursue your case, ensuring it will be financially worth the time and expenses involved in pursuing a personal injury claim.  This will also provide a good indication of how much time and effort the firm or attorney will devote to your case. 

Contact Personal Injury Attorneys in Austin For Your Personal Injury Claim 

At Terry & Kelly PLLC, the answers to these questions are all positive.  We are an experienced team of personal injury attorneys in Austin with an excellent track record of resolving personal injury claims, ready to work for you and yours.  Our firm has an established record of success and the resources necessary to successfully represent your personal injury claim.  Contact us today online, or call (512)-910-2000 for your free consultation today.