Hiring a Lawyer

When hiring a lawyer, it is essential that the attorney you choose has the financial resources to incur the necessary expenses to represent a client who has sustained serious injuries. Pretrial expenses in these types of claims can run upward of $50,000-$100,000. Trial expenses can exceed $50,000.

The lawyer will need to hire a team of medical experts and doctors who specialize in the areas of medicine that relate to your injuries. For example, if you have sustained a brain injury, a neurologist must be retained in addition to vocational and economic experts.

When retaining an attorney, be sure the attorney and his/her law firm has the ability to pay the necessary costs and expenses needed to hire all the important experts needed to prepare the case properly for trial.

It is also important to realize that in virtually every state in the United States, personal injury attorneys are paid on a contingency fee basis. This means you will only be charged a legal fee if the attorney is successful in obtaining a recovery for you. Under a contingency fee, the attorney will be entitled to a percentage of the recovery. In New Jersey, for instance, by law an attorney is entitled to 33 1/3 percent on the first $500,000 recovered, thereafter it is less. Another reason why the firm you choose must be financially stable.

When hiring a personal injury attorney, it is also recommended you retain a Trial Attorney who has extensive experience representing and trying complex injury cases. If your opponent knows that your attorney cannot prepare and present a winning trial strategy, you will receive low offer of settlement and be forced to take the many risks a trial possesses.

In short, experience, financial stability, trial ability and reputation are all key elements when choosing an attorney to represent you if you have been seriously injured.