What to look for When Selecting a Personal Injury Attorney.

Posted by Steve Rodemer in March 12th, 2010
Published in Cars

After being hurt in a car accident one of the most intimidating tasks you face is choosing an attorney to represent you. Accident victims are bombarded with television ads, billboards, yellow page ads, and in some instances, even direct mail advertisements. All of these ads have a few things in common. The attorney usually states they will “fight aggressively” for you, or that they’ve gotten their clients large settlements, and sometimes they even have flashy nicknames or catch phrases. Ignore the ads.

When looking for a personal injury or car accident attorney the best way to ensure you are going to be getting good representation is to ask questions and watch out for red flags. The first red flag is whether or not you get to meet with an lawyer for an initial consultation. Many firms tell you that the case is screened by a “case manager” or a “case specialist”, or sometimes even a paralegal. These firms will sometimes try and get you to sign up over the phone without even letting you talk to an attorney. They will send an “investigator” to bring papers for you to sign and will work hard to get you to sign up as quickly as possible. Ignore these firms. If the attorney will not even give you the courtesy of an initial consultation, imagine how much time the attorney will spend on the case. These firms generally assign huge numbers of cases to each lawyer and consequently, the attorney’s cannot dedicate very much time to each case.

The second red flag is that the attorney tries to have you pay some up front costs or retainer. Unless you elect to pay the attorney hourly, personal injury attorney’s work on contingency, meaning that they are paid their fees out of the settlement or verdict. Sometimes, an attorney will request you give them a certain amount of money to cover the costs of the case. This may be a red flag; in that it may indicate that the attorney doesn’t have enough capital to front the costs of the case, which brings me to my next topic: Ask questions.

It is important to be an advocate for yourself, and in being an advocate, you must ask questions. Ask the lawyer how many cases each attorney handles at any given time. Make sure that you feel comfortable with the lawyer handling that many other cases on top of yours. Also, ask the attorney if they will be personally handling your case, and if they will not, ask to meet the attorney who will be handling the case. Make sure that you are comfortable with that lawyer. Ask how frequently you can expect to hear from the attorney, not the paralegal or case manager, but the lawyer. Find out how much trial experience the attorney handling your case has, and more importantly, the percentage of cases that the firm files a lawsuit on. This is important because, while most cases settle before going to trial, it is imperative that insurance companies know the lawyer is willing and capable of filing a lawsuit if necessary, it is the only way they are willing to offer top dollar on the case. Simply filing a lawsuit doesn’t mean that the case will go to trial. Finally, don’t limit your questions to the lawyer. Ask around. Ask friends or family members who have used an attorney if they would recommend their lawyer. If you know any attorneys ask them, or ask your doctor who they would recommend. The bottom line is that you must trust your lawyer, if at any point you don’t feel as though you are connecting with them move on.

Choosing a lawyer is a decision that should not be taken lightly. It’s good to visit a few before making your selection. Don’t be pressured into hiring a lawyer until you are confident you are selecting the attorney who will get you the best recovery and treat you respectfully throughout.

Steven Rodemer is a Colorado Springs personal injury lawyer at the Law offices of McDowell Laybourne and Rodemer, LLC. His practice includes Colorado car accidents truck accidents, slip and fall cases, medical malpractice and all other personal injury cases.

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Motorcycle Accidents- Common Causes and How to Avoid Them

Posted by Jim S. Adler in August 10th, 2009
Published in Motorcycles
by Jim S. Adler

Motorcycle accidents are much less common than car accidents, and somehow still manage to be a more popular topic of discussion. Society tends to blame riders for accidents that are often not their fault. In reality, very few motorcycle accidents are actually caused by the rider, but instead caused by other drivers or elements out of the riders control.

There is no seat belt, no airbag, and no frame to protect a motorcyclist in an accident, which is why they are far more dangerous. Drivers have accidents every day, and often walk away without a scratch because they had these safety features. Even motorcyclists that wear helmets are often injured or killed in motorcycle accidents at times. Another surprising fact? Motorcycle accidents that result in death often occur at relatively low speeds, and at the fault of someone other than the rider.

When a driver completely fails to see a motorcycle and hits it, something needs to be done. Its rarely the motorcyclists fault for accidents, and yet they take most of the blame because of their reputation. Even in some cases where the driver of the car is clearly at fault, the public still tends to blame the rider simply because of the stigma of motorcycle riders.

Drivers today are far too comfortable in their cars. They chat on cell phones, text message their friends, do their makeup, eat, and anything else they can accomplish while driving because their schedule is so jam-packed. When they do this, they quit paying attention to the road, making it that much more likely that they’re going to cause a motorcycle accident because they don’t see the motorcycle in time.

Another cause of motorcycle accidents is the manufacturers defective products. There are often cases where a motorcycle malfunctions due to negligent production, and everyone once again blames the rider. This is why it is always a good reason to keep your bike tuned up and check it regularly for maintenance defects before you go riding, but even this cant protect every defect-related accident from happening.

Its really unfortunate that motorcyclists have to place so much attention and care into their rides that they can hardly enjoy the experience. If other drivers aren’t going to pay attention to the road, though, someone has to do it. Its best if you just give extra attention and try to stay out of the drivers way, even though it shouldn’t be your responsibility when they’re not driving carefully. At the end of the day, it’ll be worth it when you make it home safe.

About the Author:
If you do get involved in a motorcycle accident, you can file a lawsuit with the help of Jim S. Adler & Associates. For more details call 800-505-1414, or you can click on to www.JimAdler.com for a free case review.
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