Being injured because of another party’s negligence can be devastating. The good news is that Texas personal injury laws give you the right to demand compensation for your injuries and damages from the at-fault party. Filing a personal injury claim can help you recover money for your lost wages, medical bills, pain, and suffering.
The best way to understand your legal options is to meet with a Laredo personal injury lawyer. Most lawyers offer free consultations so you can get answers to your questions without worrying about paying for legal advice.
You want to ask specific questions to take advantage of the free appointment with a personal injury attorney. Therefore, making a list of questions before the meeting can help you remember what to ask. Here are six questions to ask a personal injury lawyer during a free consultation.
What Types of Personal Injury Cases Do You Handle?
Experience matters when hiring a personal injury law firm. You want to hire an attorney with experience handling personal injury cases similar to yours.
For example, you would search for a Laredo car accident lawyer if you were injured in a collision. However, suppose your injury was caused by medical malpractice. If so, you want to search for a medical malpractice lawyer in Laredo, TX.
An attorney with experience handling similar cases understands the law related to your claim. Through years of experience, they have developed skills and built resources they can use to benefit your case.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Laredo Personal Injury Lawyer?
You need to be clear on how much the attorney charges for fees and costs. Most personal injury law firms in Texas work on a contingency fee basis. You only pay attorneys’ fees if the lawyer recovers money for your personal injury claim.
A contingency fee is a percentage of the settlement amount or jury verdict the attorney secures for you. The attorney deducts the contingency fee from the award proceeds. Therefore, you do not pay any money upfront to hire a lawyer for your personal injury case.
However, if an attorney charges by the hour, you pay the lawyer regardless of the outcome of your case. Typically, an hourly fee agreement requires payment upfront to retain the law firm.
The costs of the case can be handled in several ways. Many personal injury law firms pay these expenses as they are incurred.
Costs include filing fees, deposition costs, and expert witness fees. The attorney deducts these costs from the awarded compensation. Make sure to ask if you are required to reimburse the law firm for costs if the attorney fails to recover money in your case.
How Much Is My Personal Injury Case Worth?
Experienced personal injury attorneys will explain that they cannot give you a specific amount for the value of damages until they complete an investigation and you complete medical treatment. Numerous factors impact how much a personal injury case is worth, including the severity of your injuries and the strength of the evidence.
However, the attorney can discuss the types of damages you could receive in a personal injury case.
Typically, injured victims can recover economic damages, such as:
- The cost of medical treatment, including rehabilitative therapies
- Past and future lost wages and benefits
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Cost of personal care and/or long-term nursing care
- Decreases in future earning capacity
In addition to financial losses, injured victims can receive compensation for their pain and suffering damages. These non-economic damages include:
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Physical pain
- Impairments and disabilities
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality of life
A lawyer can explain how damages are calculated in a personal injury case, including ways you can help maximize compensation by documenting your losses. The lawyer might also discuss punitive damages, which are awarded in a small number of personal injury lawsuits.
How Long Will It Take for Me to Receive a Personal Injury Settlement Check?
The time it takes to settle a personal injury case depends on many factors, including:
- The parties involved in the case
- The types and severity of injuries
- Whether causation and fault are disputed
- The duration of your recovery
- Whether you’re partially at fault for causing the accident
- The willingness of the insurance company to settle
- Whether you sustain permanent impairments or disabilities
- The need to hire expert witnesses
More complex personal injury cases, such as medical malpractice, product liability, and wrongful death, take longer to settle.
The response you want to receive to this question is that the lawyer cannot give you a definite timeline for settling your personal injury case. This response indicates that the attorney is being honest. The attorney can explain the steps involved and that they will move your case as quickly as possible without jeopardizing the outcome.
How Often Do You Take Personal Injury Cases to Trial?
While most injury claims settle through negotiations with the insurance company, some cases go to trial. Therefore, you want to hire a lawyer who is an experienced trial lawyer and a skilled negotiator. The civil court in Webb County handles personal injury lawsuits.
You can also ask the attorney about their success rate. For example, how many cases do they win in court versus settlements? What are some of their average settlements and jury verdicts for personal injury cases?
What Is the Policy for Communicating With the Law Firm?
You can judge an attorney’s communication skills by how much they listen and respond to you during the free consultation. The attorney should not do all of the talking. Listening to a client gives a lawyer the information needed to analyze the case.
Good communication is essential for an effective attorney-client relationship. Therefore, ask about the office policies for returning telephone calls and emails. How will the office communicate with you, and how often will you receive case updates?
You should also ask who will handle your case. For example, will the personal injury lawyer be the primary person working on your case, or will the case be given to a paralegal or associate? Ideally, the attorney personally supervises and manages the case, but has sufficient support staff to work on it with them.
Schedule a Free Consultation With a Laredo Personal Injury Lawyer
You deserve a settlement amount that fully compensates you for all your damages in a personal injury claim. Schedule a free case evaluation with the attorneys at Roderick C. Lopez Personal Injury Lawyers by calling (956) 529-7336 to learn how a Laredo personal injury attorney can help you obtain the financial recovery you need.
