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Choosing a Personal Injury Lawyer

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Life can, through its every day rough and tumble, cause one to receive an injury. Be it at home, at work or just while out with friends, as the adage goes, “accidents happen.” Personal injury refers to physical or psychological damaged caused to you by another’s action or inaction – wilfully or negligently.

Whether the cause of your injury is an accident or a medical condition, it is possible to claim compensation.

A personal injury solicitor is a solicitor specialising in the legal process which may result in you receiving some monetary compensation.

To throw out another adage, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch,” so if you are looking to hire a personal injury solicitor, you should expect to have to front up legal fees. That being the case, it would be wise to ensure that the service you are paying for is the best service you can get.

To help you in your choice of a good personal injury solicitor, bear in mind the following four guidelines:

As with any professional service provider, you want to be sure that your potential solicitor is qualified to do the job. The easiest way to verify his qualifications is to ask to see his academic papers. Academic certificates and legal documents of operation will let you know whether you are dealing with a qualified and legally authorized entity. The last thing you want to have happen is to have your case in the hands of some unqualified cowboy or illegal fraudster.

Your most reliable yardstick for the measurement of a solicitor’s performance is his reputation. Ask friends and family to get their recommendation on solicitors – almost anyone will have had some dealing with a solicitor at some time or another. Word of mouth is so much better than any amount of publicity as a personal recommendation is given with nothing to gain and so is usually the straight dope. If you find a solicitor whose name comes up as recommended more than once, then you might well want to consider hiring him.

Find yourself a solicitor with experience in the personal injury field, not just some new kid on the block, fresh out of law school. The veteran in the field will have a far deeper understanding of the legal system than the beginner and thus will increase your chances of a successful compensation claim.

Look into the way your potential solicitor handles his fees. Different solicitors prefer different methods of charging. Generally, one of four different methods are followed: flat rates, contingency fees, hourly payment rates and retainers. The most common is through contingency fees. In this model, no payment is submitted to the solicitor unless the case successfully goes through and compensation is awarded. With the flat rate, the client simply pays a fixed sum which is the amount taken if the solicitor takes up the case. With the hourly rate, the solicitor and client must agree upon a fixed sum to be paid for every hour spent on the case. The retainer model is one whereby a fee is paid by the client before the legal proceedings even begin. Make sure that the solicitor you choose employs a fee collection method that you can agree with and which works for you.

Bearing these three points in mind, you should be able to secure the services of a lawyer who will be able to fulfil your needs in an affordable manner and who will be able to secure the best possible outcome for your case.

Pearson Rowe’s Personal Injury Department is headed by Mike Deeley. He has worked in the field of Personal Injury for some years. He is a member of both the Law Society's Personal Injury Panel and APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers), and specializes in higher value cases.

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