Image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/A1g0oeX29ec
Workplace accidents are inevitable. The good news is that after a workplace injury, you may be eligible to recover compensation for medical bills and lost wages, regardless of who is to blame for the accident.
While you can handle a workers’ compensation claim or lawsuit yourself, getting fair compensation can be challenging, especially if you suffer a life-altering injury and your employer’s insurer does not like the idea of a large payout.
Therefore, letting a reliable lawyer handle your case is an excellent idea.
But, How Do You Hire a Good Workers’ Compensation Lawyer?
You shouldn’t settle for any lawyer when searching for someone to trust with your workers’ comp claim. Instead, you must do sufficient due diligence and compare several options before identifying a good fit.
Here are several things you may want to consider.
Go Local
When picking a lawyer, one thing you want to ensure is that they are locally based.
For example, you will want to pick a New York lawyer if your workplace accident happened in a company in New York. Similarly, if the company you work for is in Florida, you may want to hire a local lawyer from Dolman Law’s website to ensure whoever you pick is familiar with Florida workers’ comp laws.
Besides having an in-depth understanding of state laws, a local lawyer is familiar with local court procedures, court officials, and defense practices and tactics. Such information and contacts can be very helpful to your lawyer when pursuing the rightful compensation.
Establish Their Success at Trial
While picking a local lawyer is important, it doesn’t always mean they will guarantee favorable outcomes. Therefore, you will need to go a step further to investigate their success rate at trial.
The success rate at trial shows that the lawyer doesn’t back down on the value of a claim and risks taking it to trial if the defendant’s offer is below what the claim is worth. On the other hand, inexperienced lawyers may not want to go to trial, meaning they can settle for any deal to avoid going to trial.
So, if your lawyer does not have a record of winning cases in trial, there is a high chance they do not like putting up a fight, meaning you may want to take your business elsewhere.
Do Personal Research
If a friend refers you to a workers’ compensation lawyer, it is best not to take their word for it and do some probing to prove their suitability. The first place to look at should be their website. If it has testimonials and reviews, check them out. You can get a lot from people that have worked with the lawyer earlier.
If the testimonials and reviews suggest anything shady about the lawyer, it is best to avoid them. You can also go beyond their website to check out a local lawyer review site and see if their name will pop up somewhere. The rest of your life could depend on your lawyer of choice, so you may want to be extra careful.
Visit the Office
Technology has made life much easier, meaning you can hire a lawyer from the comfort of your home. While it may seem convenient to do so, it is not a good idea unless they have been referred to you by somebody you can trust.
After your internet research on the best lawyers near you and coming up with a shortlist, the next step should be paying them a visit to their offices. Fortunately, most workers’ compensation lawyers offer a free consultation, creating an excellent opportunity for you to gauge their interpersonal and organizational skills.
