If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, whether it was a workplace accident, truck accident, or maritime accident you will need the help of a personal injury lawyer to maximize the amount of compensation you could be owed.

The problem is, there are a huge amount of personal injury law firms out there. Each one of them will claim to be the best and often it can be incredibly difficult to figure out how to judge them. That is why we have put together this list of questions that you should ask every personal injury lawyer in order to choose the best representation for your case.

Here at Abraham Watkins, our team of personal injury lawyers has been practicing for more than 70 combined years. Our law firm is dedicated to getting you the best possible outcome for your case. You can find out how we could help you today by calling for a free consultation at no obligation. Our lines are always open and your details are always protected by the attorney-client relationship of confidentiality.

For more information on how our law firm can help you, call us today at 713-535-9319.

The Questions to Ask All Potential Personal Injury Lawyers

Below you can find a list of all the questions we would advise you to ask a personal injury lawyer interested in taking on your case.

For each one, we will go into the relevant details of how to ask it, why it is important, and what a good answer looks like.

We encourage you to ask all of these questions to an attorney at our firm. So, if you find yourself feeling adequately prepared after reading this article, the best thing you can do is call us today for a free consultation. Generally speaking, the quicker you raise your case after your accident has occurred, the higher chance you have of achieving fair compensation.

What Area of Law do you Specialize in?

Texas law is complex, most of which take years to master. For that reason, you want to be sure that you have a lawyer by your side whose primary focus is in the area of the law you will be dealing with.

If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, you will want to ensure they specialize in personal injury law, rather than property law or something else unrelated. Similarly, we would caution against going with a lawyer who claims to be a ‘generalist’.

Building upon this, it helps if they are more specialized to the type of personal injury case you were injured in. If you suffered injuries due to a car accident, you will want someone experienced in dealing with these specific types of personal injuries.

How Long Have You Been Practicing Personal Injury Law in Texas?

This is a good follow-up question from the previous one.

Even if they are now a specialized personal injury attorney, they may have only just embarked upon this part of their career. They may also have spent most of their career practicing personal injury law in a different state with different specifics in your desired area of personal injury law.

Asking this question can shed more light on whether they are appropriate for your needs, and help to prevent cleverly misleading answers.

What is the Most Similar Case to Mine that You Have Dealt With?

Again, this one follows a similar line of questioning as the two before it. Asking this question, phrased in this way, can help identify if this personal injury attorney will have the experience necessary to handle the small details of your specific case well. For example, they may be a car accident attorney with no experience dealing with Uber or Lyf-related cases, which have specific complexities.

This question is more valuable the less common your personal injury case is. If yours is a case is a straightforward minor collision case, where there are likely to have been many similar cases, the stakes are not as high. However, if there is unlikely to be a large legal precedent for your particular case, this becomes a much more important question.

What is the Fee Structure for Your Services?

This is a particularly vital question for making an informed decision on whether you can afford a particular personal injury lawyer or law firm.

Some personal injury lawyers will charge an hourly fee, and others will give you a quote for the entire case. Others still will work on a contingency fee basis – this is how we handle cases here at Abraham Watkins.

Personal injury lawyers working on a contingency basis will give you access to a no-win-no-fee service. This means that you are not charged if your case is unsuccessful, and that your legal fees are only taken as a percentage of your final settlement if your case is successful.

Fees taken as a fixed percentage of your settlement also mean that a personal injury lawyer has a vested interest in ensuring their client achieves the highest settlement amount possible. This can be a good reassurance that your best interests are aligned.

How Much do You Expect my Case to be Worth?

Most personal injury attorneys with a good level of experience should feel confident giving you a rough idea of your case worth once you have made them aware of all the factors involved, for example during a free consultation.

They should be able to estimate this by looking at similar cases, the amount of evidence involved, the severity of your injury and the complications it caused, and other similar factors.

It may also be worth asking for the difference expected between settlement offers and the amount that you could get if your case goes to court.

Do You Expect my Case to Settle Outside of Court?

You should ask a personal injury attorney whether they anticipate being able to achieve a positive outcome from the settlement process or whether they believe your case will need to go to litigation in order to get you fair compensation.

This will set your expectations for the process, as personal injury claims that end up going to court are likely to take quite a lot more time overall, and can be a more stressful experience. It is especially important to get the right lawyer to represent you if it seems your personal injury claim will go to court.

What Do You Think my Chances of Success are?

This may seem like an obvious question, but the answer can be incredibly helpful.

If your attorney has handled personal injury cases similar to yours in the past, and they have a good understanding of your claim, they should be able to give you a reasonable idea of what your chances of success are.

How Long do You Expect my Case to Take?

Personal injury cases can drag out for a long time, especially if the insurance companies involved drag things out unnecessarily – which they often do.

You should ask, in your lawyer’s experience, how long similar cases take. Ideally, you should ask separate questions about how long it would take if the insurance company settled for an appropriate amount of compensation and how long if it was to go to trial.

How Much Time do You Have to Dedicate to my Case?

When choosing the right personal injury attorney to represent you, you need to know that they have the time and free resources to work on your case – whether it settles early or goes to trial.

You should ask this outright. That way, if your personal injury attorney has a busy schedule that cannot accommodate your needs, you can find better representation elsewhere.

How do You Communicate with Your Clients?

As we mentioned above, a personal injury case can go on for a long time. When hiring, you want to make sure that your personal injury lawyer will keep you informed of any changes or developments in a timely manner. The last thing you want is to be left anxiously in the dark.

If you have specific communication preferences, this may also be an important thing to consider when hiring. Would you prefer contact via regular phone calls, or would emails work better for you? Ensure the personal injury lawyer you choose will accommodate your preferences.

Do You Offer a Free Consultation?

On the subject of communication, you should always ensure your Texas injury attorneys offer a free consultation over the phone or in person before you agree to be their client. This will give you a chance to ask all the questions in this article and get a feel for the way they practice law.

Here at Abraham Watkins, we offer all of our prospective clients a free case review and consultation with no obligation.

How Many Lawyers will Work on my Case?

Not all law firms work the same. Some will assign a single personal injury lawyer to your case, whereas others will work your case as a team.

Having multiple personal injury lawyers working your case can actually be better than having just one attorney in some cases. This is because other attorneys may be able to bring multiple sets of skills, wisdom, and experience to the table. This is especially true with complex cases.

However, it is important to interrogate why and how a law firm uses multiple personal injury lawyers. That way you can tell whether you are getting multiple brains on your case via other lawyers with experience, or if the firm will just be palming some of the less interesting work off on their most junior member – which could impact your chances of success.

Will You be the Attorney Handling my Case?

Building on the last section, this is also an important question to ask.

That is because you want to know that the relationship you have begun to build and the reassurances you have been given will carry over to the legal process itself. Some law firms will assign a different lawyer or lawyers to your case, and you might never speak to the person you called again. This can be a daunting and demoralizing way to begin your legal journey.

What is Your Success Rate?

It may seem rude to ask your Texas lawyer what their success rate is with past clients, but it is vital for understanding how many cases they have lost compared to cases they have won – which will give you a good idea of their competence.

Phrased in this way, as a percentage, you will not just get an idea of how many clients have had success. The pure number of successful clients can be misleading, as even a large amount victories may be overshadowed by a much larger number of losses.

Speak to a Texas Personal Injury Law Firm

If you have had an accident happen in the past two years due to circumstances that were not your fault, you need to ensure the attorney or attorneys you are hiring are competent and experienced enough to win you the level of compensation you deserve.

Here at Abraham Watkins, our team of lawyers has been practicing law for more than 70 combined years. Over this time, we have honed the skills, experience, and compassion to make your legal journey as smooth and anxiety-free as possible, while being confident that we can maximize your compensation.

If you are interested in being our client, our attorneys are available around the clock for a free consultation that takes place at no obligation. All of your details will remain secure and confidential under the attorney-client relationship, whether you choose to let us represent you or not.

We encourage you to ask us all of the questions listed above, plus any others you may have. To do so, contact us at 713-535-9319 today!

Additional Questions?

Schedule A Free Consultation Today.

If you have additional questions about your accident or injuries – or if you wish to speak to one of our attorneys about your legal options – please complete our online contact form or call our Houston law office at 888-261-8831 or 713-244-5486.

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