Everything changed the day your loved one was hurt or killed. How do you find the right law firm to help you through it?
Closed head injury. Cognitive impairment. Paralysis. Death. These are the most devastating injuries that our clients and their families face. If your loved one has suffered a permanently debilitating injury or died as a result of someone else’s choices, there are several things you need to keep in mind as you decide what law firm you want to partner with to pursue those claims:
You need to interview the law firm and make sure they are the right fit for you and your family
A serious injury or death case is a marathon, not a sprint. Done properly, your attorneys will spend a great deal of time working on your case and with you. They will need to get to know you and your family. They will want and need to see photos, videos, etc. of what life was like before the accident or injury. You will need to share information with them about the most personal and intimate details of your life and how it has changed. If your lawyers have done their jobs right, at the end of the case, you will think of them as friends or family, not as lawyers.
In order to make sure that the law firm you are working with is the right type of fit for your case, ask questions. For example, ask: Is the lawyer who meets with me at the beginning of my case going to be the lawyer who represents my family throughout the case? How often can I expect updates on what’s going on with my case? Why do you take on cases like mine? What sort of experience do you have with serious injury or death cases?
In other words, you should interview the lawyer or firm. Do not hire a lawyer or firm until you feel comfortable with the team you are going to work with and have a clear understanding that they are there to help you and your family, not just make a quick buck. Serious injury and death cases require a serious commitment on your, and your attorney’s, behalf to work and fight together for justice. Don’t settle for a law firm that you don’t feel like you can trust.
Find out the firm’s experience with using experts in these types of cases
Serious injury cases require experts to explain all of the damages you have suffered. In death cases, you need an economist to project lost income for the injured person’s life expectancy. You may also need a forensic specialist to explain how and why your loved one was killed. In brain injury cases, you need a life care planner to price the costs of future medical needs and neuropsychologists to test the limitations and losses your loved one has experienced.
When you are picking a law firm to partner with on a serious injury case, make sure they have relationships with appropriate experts and a plan for how to utilize them in your case.
Find out how the firm is going to counter the insurance company’s attacks on you and your family
Often times the most painful part of a serious injury or death case for families is the attacks from the defense. The insurance company will blame your loved one for what happened. They will claim that your loved one’s life wasn’t all that valuable in the first place because they did not have much of an education or were old or spent all the money they made anyway. They will pick apart your loved one’s life and attempt to paint the worst possible picture of them.
The law firm you hire needs to have a plan for how to counter these attacks. They need to explain to you how you can help them fight those attacks. And they need to do the hard work and due diligence required to bring together all of the witnesses and information to show the jury that the attacks on your loved one are baseless.