Experiencing a motor vehicle accident can be a stressful event, full of emotional upheaval and physical pain. It doesn’t help that so many injury victims don’t know what to do and what important steps should be taken to protect their interests. Often the injured are overcome with their injuries, not able to work and struggling daily looking for answers and trying to make ends meet financially.If this is you, it’s in your best interests to be represented by an experienced personal injury lawyer in Richmond Hill. Filing a personal injury claim in Ontario can be complicated and difficult to know what to do on your own. An experienced professional will make sure your interests are represented.
Get the Necessary Information
To make the best decision possible, it’s important to make sure you get all the knowledge you should about the situation. The more knowledge you have, the higher chance of having a successful personal injury claim. This holds true for when choosing a personal injury lawyer, too. Don’t hire the first lawyer you find, at least not without some preparation. Prepare a list of questions you’d like to ask each lawyer, and visit a few and put them through an interview like process. Look specifically for a lawyer who specializes in accident lawsuits.
General practice lawyers are good at what they do; however, they’re not specialized in anything which means they may not know all the little details of personal injury law that a lawyer specializing in this area will have. You should be aware that lawyers hired by the insurance company will be specialists in their field, and their goal is to represent the insurance company by making arrangements to pay out as little as they possibly can. You’ll need an equally specialized lawyer to make sure your interests are well represented.
Costs of Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer
If you’ve experienced an accident and are reeling from the shock of not having enough money to pay the bills because you can’t work, then you might be leery about hiring a personal injury lawyer because of the cost. In Ontario, personal injury lawyers offer free initial consultations. This will provide you with an opportunity to interview a lawyer and see if they have the knowledge to help you.Many personal injury lawyers also offer “no win – no fee” arrangements or something similar. This means that the law firm will pay, up front, for all costs associated with making your claim. When the claim is settled, the lawyer’s payment comes out of the settlement. This is referred to as a contingency fee.
Many lawyers offer this because they realize that the majority of people suffering serious injury as a result of an accident won’t have the financial means to pay the costly upfront legal fees. Contingency fees also motivate a firm to win your case or only take on cases where they feel there’s a good chance of receiving some compensation.You will work with your lawyer to determine if your injuries are eligible for financial compensation and, if yes, then how much.