If you are hurt in a car accident, you may be entitled to compensation from any of the parties responsible for allowing it to happen. These parties may include the driver of the truck, that person’s employer or the manufacturer of any part that malfunctioned just prior to the crash. Ideally, you will hire a top truck accident attorney to represent your interests during the legal process. Let’s take a look at how you can find the right person to serve as your advocate in court.
Look for an Attorney Who Specializes in Truck Accident Cases
Any person who is licensed to practice law will have a basic understanding of how to defend a truck accident victim. However, those who specialize in such cases will be able to rely on years of experience to develop a strategy to help you obtain a favorable outcome in your case.
Furthermore, someone who specializes in one area of the law is more likely to have already obtained favorable outcomes in previous cases. This track record of success may convince the attorneys representing the defendants in your matter to agree to your representative’s proposed settlement terms instead of going to court.
Talk to at Least Three Different Attorneys Before Choosing an Advocate
It’s generally a good idea to approach selecting a lawyer much the same way that you would go about choosing a plumber, roofer or dentist. This means that you should talk to at least attorneys before you decide on a legal representative in your case. Generally speaking, personal injury attorneys will consult for free.
Therefore, you’re only risking a few minutes of your time in exchange for the right to talk to a legal professional. While many consultations take place in an attorney’s office, it’s not uncommon for them to occur by phone or online. This can be ideal if you are physically unable to leave your home without assistance.
Do You Need to Hire Someone From a Large Firm?
In most cases, the outcome that you obtain in your case is largely correlated to the performance of the attorney handling it. Therefore, it really doesn’t matter if your legal adviser comes from a large firm or one that only has a couple of attorneys handling personal injury cases.
It’s worth noting that the attorney who you hire at a larger firm may not be the person who you interact with during the legal process. Instead, you may get your phone calls returned by a junior associate or your emails returned by a paralegal. Therefore, if you want to be sure that the person who you hire is the one overseeing your case, it may be best to work with someone from a smaller practice.
However, regardless of who you choose, it may be worthwhile to talk to someone from a small, medium and large practice. This will help you get a better idea of the potential pros and cons of choosing someone based on how much volume they handle on a monthly or yearly basis.
What Should You Look for From an Attorney During a Consultation?
It’s critical that the person who you are talking with takes an interest in both you and your case. If this individual seems bored, doesn’t take much time to answer your questions or doesn’t provide good answers to your questions, you should simply move on to the next consultation.
A reputable legal adviser should be able to tell you how he or she would represent your interests as your case evolves. For example, this person might suggest seeking a settlement before filing a lawsuit. Furthermore, a prospective legal representative should mention whether he or she would file a lawsuit after being hired.
It’s not uncommon for attorneys to file lawsuits on your behalf to preserve your right to take the matter to court. You typically have two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. However, you don’t actually have to resolve the case within two years to retain the ability to seek a positive outcome through litigation.
If you have been hurt in a crash involving a commercial vehicle, it’s important to have a top truck accident attorney on your side. This person may be able to ensure that you obtain maximum compensation as allowed by law. Furthermore, it may be possible to obtain a financial award without going to court. In most cases, a legal representative will be able to negotiate with the defendants in your matter even if you’re physically unable to attend settlement talks on your own.
My sister was recently in a truck accident and we’ve been wondering what steps we should take now to make sure she can get better and is compensated. We’ll be sure to take your advice into account when we look for an attorney since I don’t think any of us realized that lawyers could specialize in accidents like this. It seems like it could give her case a bit more of a chance of succeeding if someone who is experienced in these cases were to take it on.