How To Choose a Personal Injury Lawyer
Not All Personal Injury Lawyers Are The Same!
Recent conversations with Washington and Oregon insurance adjusters who specialize in automobile accident injury claims left me stunned. It is obvious that most of the people holding themselves out as capable personal injury lawyer are not. They are not ready to try a case. They are not willing to try a case and, they are not able to try a case. The insurance companies know this and they use it to full advantage. “We are seeing jury verdicts with hardly any damages for pain and suffering” one adjuster told me. Who is trying these cases? What are they doing wrong when instead of a multiple of the medical bills the verdict for mental and physical pain, suffering, inconvenience and loss of enjoyment of life are fractions of the monetary damages incurred? Have we really reached a point where human suffering has no value? No, we have reached a point where anyone can claim to be a personal injury lawyer, training and experience not required.
First, many of these folks are not even members of the trial lawyers association much less active members. They don’t understand basic principles of personal injury law such as “when does my client have to pay back medical payments for injuries sustained in the crash?”
Second, many of these folks are not working for the client. They have concluded in advance that the best they can do is collect most of the medical bills. They are collecting for chiropractors, personal injury protection carriers and health insurers not representing clients with personal injuries. They are happy to take a third of the medical bills, which often exceed the settlements they get. These attorneys do no one a favor when they roll over for the insurance companies.
The next time I hear an adjuster say “but we settle cases like this for that amount all the time”, I won’t have to ask “who actually takes these offers?” I will open the nearest Vancouver or Clark County Washington phone book and turn to the personal injury lawyer ads. I can tell who takes those inadequate settlements by looking at the phone book because I know who does not try cases.
If there is one question you have to ask before you hire a personal injury lawyer it is “how many personal injury cases have you tried?” Make them tell you.
Ask about the seminars that lawyer has attended while you are at it. Have they been to any of the advanced trial practice seminars such as the TLC, AAJ College of Advocacy or Ball-Keenan?
If you are in an auto accident, have a personal injury claim, are injured by a defective product or premises do yourself a favor and hire an experienced personal injury lawyer, not someone fishing for a case they can settle quick and cheap.
