4 ESSENTIAL TIPS
by Contributor
(Oct. 15, 2019) — When you lose a loved one due to someone’s negligence, you are entitled to receive some compensation. Compensation extends to so much more than medical and burial expenses. Other forms of compensation one can get include loss of earnings, loss of companionship, loss of decedent’s earnings, future financial losses, and children’s loss of guidance among others. The best way to settle your case is with the help of an experienced wrongful death attorney. Without the help of a good lawyer, you risk getting less than you deserve or worse still, not getting anything at all. When hiring a lawyer, consider the following tips.
Ask For Recommendations
If you know someone who pursued a similar case in the past and won, call them and ask for the name of the Miami wrongful death attorney they worked with. This is one of the easiest and fastest ways to locate a potential lawyer. Where you can’t get a recommendation, make use of the search engines to locate some law firms in your area. Most attorneys have websites and listings on directories and thus, this too should be easy.
Check the Expertise and Experience
Once you have some names, proceed to check their expertise and experience. Check how long they have been working as lawyers, how long they have been handling wrongful death cases and their track record. Go with a law firm that has handled numerous cases similar to yours and has high success rates. They don’t need to have decades of experience but at the very least, the number of wrongful death cases they have handled should be substantial.
Review the Reputation
In addition to experience and expertise, the lawyer you hire should also have a good reputation. You can check a lawyer’s reputation through two key ways. One, you can read online reviews posted by their past clients. Two, you can talk to the lawyer in person. In today’s digital world, when clients are happy, they share their experiences online and when they are unhappy, they also vent online. Using the name of the lawyer or the law firm, go online and check if there are any reviews from past clients. You can find reviews on Google, Yelp, BBB, social media, and attorney directories.
When you talk to the lawyer on phone, in email or in person, pay attention to the language they use, how prompt they are to respond to you, and whether their responses are comprehensive. Don’t go with an attorney who takes forever to get back to you or one who isn’t kind and doesn’t pay keen attention when you talk to them.
Ask Questions
Once you are satisfied with an attorney’s reputation, ask them a couple of questions before hiring. Ask how they intend to handle your case, the chances of winning, the fees, and how long the case should take.
Don’t wait too long to hire an attorney. You should do it as soon as possible as this will increase the chances of success for your case.