According to the CDC, 200, 955 people died from unintentional injuries in 2020. That makes accidents a leading cause of death in the United States. And many of those accidental deaths are the result of negligence on the part of a third party.
If you’ve lost a loved one due to someone else’s negligence, you might be entitled to compensation. A good wrongful death attorney can help you get the money you need to pay your loved one’s medical bills, make up for losing his or her financial contribution to the household, and compensate you for your suffering and your loss. But it can be hard to find a good attorney when you’re grieving and settling your loved one’s affairs – not to mention coping with the new realty of your life without them.
To find a good wrongful death attorney, you need to take the time to talk to all of the personal injury firms in your area. Get references from former clients and other attorneys. Ask the right questions to make sure you’re getting a lawyer with the experience to handle your specific case. Research your lawyer’s credentials to make sure they don’t have any ethical complaints lodged against them, and make sure you understand how and when you will pay the attorney for his or her services.
Shop Around
It’s important to shop around when you’re looking for a wrongful death lawyer. A search for “Denver wrongful death lawyer,” for example, will return a number of results for personal injury firms in the area. Consult with at least three or four different personal injury firms.
You’re looking for a couple of things when you consult with a personal injury lawyer. To start with, you want someone who will respond to your initial call promptly, because that suggests an attorney who won’t struggle to keep communication lines open throughout working on your case. Meet with attorneys in their offices and assess whether the office is clean, well maintained, well staffed, and busy – these things suggest a prosperous firm that is getting settlements and awards for clients. Finally, you’ll want to make sure that the attorney you choose specializes in your kind of wrongful death case – the facts of your case and the strategy needed to win may be different for a police shooting case than for a car accident case, for example.
Get References
When you meet with an attorney, ask him or her what percentage of his or her clients come through referrals from other attorneys. A high rate of referrals shows that an attorney is respected by his peers. You should also get references from each attorney’s past clients. Talk to those people to find out how satisfied they’ve been with the attorney’s services. You can also look up reviews for a specific attorney on sites like Google, Facebook, or Avvo.
Ask the Right Questions
When you meet with an attorney, make sure you’re asking the right questions about his or her expertise. Ask how many wrongful death cases they handle each year. Ask how long they’ve been serving your area and ask for a list of previous verdicts and settlements to see what their success rate is. Ask how often they represent wrongful death cases similar to yours. You’ll need to discuss the details of your case to make sure you’re getting an attorney with the expertise you need to win.
Do Your Research
You definitely want to make sure you’re working with an ethical attorney, so contact your state bar to make sure there haven’t been any ethical complaints filed against an attorney you want to work with.
Nail Down Fee Arrangements
Most wrongful death attorneys will work on a contingency basis, meaning they take a cut of your settlement or award. They don’t get paid at all unless you win your case or get a settlement. You’ll probably want to make sure that the attorney you choose works on contingency, because if you had a lot of money laying around, you probably wouldn’t need to bring a wrongful death suit. Most contingency fees are 20 to 50 percent of the final settlement or award. Make sure you get the fee structure in writing when you decide to hire an attorney.
Hiring a wrongful death attorney can feel overwhelming. You’re already going through one of the most difficult periods of your life, and on top of it, you have to shop for and retain an attorney. But it’s worth it to get the compensation you need to recover financially and emotionally from your loss.
