Personal Injury lawyers provide each potential client with a no-cost consultation, so that the same possible client should be able to present their case. Following the consultation, the consulted lawyer would know whether or not he or she wanted to take on the presented case. By the same token, the accident victim would know whether or not to move forward with retaining the consulted attorney.
Essential questions
Could you offer some details on your fee arrangement? Since you are a Personal Injury Lawyer in Richmond Hill, please explain what percentage of any compensation or court-ordered judgment you would expect to receive. How would that percentage change, if my case were to advance from the stage of negotiations to the litigation stage?
How would you charge me, so that you could be reimbursed for payment of any expenses that had arisen, while you were handling my claim?
What services do you promise to perform for your clients? Do you help with composition of a demand letter? Do you represent the client during negotiations? Do you have experience with tasks such as that of questioning a witness during a deposition or questioning a witness during a courtroom trial?
Do you feel comfortable with the length of time between today’s date and the deadline for filing a lawsuit, if I felt compelled to pursue a lawsuit?
Other questions that should provide a client with useful information
How do you prefer to receive requests from a client? Do you favor communications by phone or by email?
Would a client be able to reach you by phone, or do most clients simply leave a message with members of your office staff?
Do you specialize in helping clients that have been traumatized by any specific type of accident? Do you specialize in seeking compensation for clients with any sort of accident-linked medical condition?
Would I have to pay a penalty, if I chose to change lawyers before the legal process, as related to my claim, had reached an end point?
How a smart victim and possible client ought to make use of the suggested questions
Smart victims take the time to go online and exam a lawyer’s website. If the answer to a question had been posted on that website, then there would be no reason for anyone to pose it, during a consultation.
Victims with a unique problem, such as reliance on medical payments from Medicare, might want to learn whether or not the consulted attorney has ever worked with a client that had a similar problem.
The same approach would be suggested for any victim/potential client with a pre-existing condition. In such a situation, a good lawyer would be one that had access to an expert.