If you’ve been involved in an accident, you really need a good Boise personal injury attorney. Most of the time, they will not be the ones you see on TV or the ones with big Yellow Page ads. So how do you find one?
The obvious way is to ask friends or relatives that live in Boise or Meridian who they have used before. You can also contact other lawyers, usually ones who don’t do personal injury, and ask them who they would recommend to handle your injury case.
Schedule a Visit with Prospective Boise Injury Attorneys
Once you have a couple of names of Boise personal injury attorneys, you need to make an appointment and visit with them. Most accident and injury attorneys give free consultations. Just because a friend or relative or another lawyer liked a certain attorney, doesn’t necessarily mean they are right for you. Get to know the personal injury lawyer’s personality and ask about their background and experience.
For example, you may not feel comfortable using a hard charging super aggressive attorney and they may not get you the best deal in the end. Attorneys like this can often alienate opposing counsel, make it difficult to get a case settled and may be difficult for you to work with. On the other hand, you need a Boise injury attorney who has the skill and ability to aggressively pursue your case with the insurance company.
Get an Experienced Boise Personal Injury Attorney
It’s really important that you choose an experienced Boise personal injury lawyer. There are a lot of attorneys advertising for business but not all of them are experienced trial attorneys. Find out how many trials, mediations, arbitrations, and settlements they have had.
If an attorney has the reputation for settling every case, then the insurance company knows it and knows they can hold out with a lower offer until the attorney caves in and settles. On the other hand, if the attorney has a strong reputation for winning cases at trial, the insurance company knows they need to get serious about settling the case or they could lose big time in court. Believe me, the insurance companies and their attorneys know the experienced Boise trial lawyers and it does make a big difference.
You should know up front whether the injury attorney you choose will be the one handling your case. It is not unusual for several lawyers in a firm to work on a case and for less experienced attorneys to handle more routine tasks. However, if more than one attorney will be involved in your injury case, it is good for you to know who they will be and what their experience is. Also, it is important to know who your contact person will be so you will know who to get in touch with.
You should check out the Boise injury attorney on the Idaho State Bar website to see if the attorney has ever been professionally disciplined. If so, you may want to explore the reasons further or find a different injury attorney.
Ask if the personal injury attorney has professional liability insurance in case mistakes happen. This may be a good question to ask his or her secretary. Good attorneys follow good business practices and have professional liability insurance.
Ask the attorney to explain up front their fee arrangement. Most personal injury cases are handled on a contingency basis, which means you pay attorney fees only if there is a settlement awarded or jury verdict obtained. Typically, personal injury attorneys charge 1/3 of the total settlement or jury verdict.
Does the Boise Personal Injury Attorney Have Time for Your Case
Find out how busy the Boise personal injury lawyer is. Make sure they can devote sufficient time to your case. It also helps for you to know how and when you can expect to be informed about important developments in the case. Ask them to explain how they foresee the case progressing so that you will have some idea of what to expect time wise.
After you have explained the facts and circumstances of your case, you may be able to get some sense from the Boise injury lawyer about how much he or she thinks your case is worth. Also ask what they think are the weak points of your case and how hard it may be to get the insurance company to pay a fair and reasonable amount.
It really helps for you to explain to the lawyer what you really want them to do for you. In other words, do you want them to:
1) Obtain a quick settlement amount for you with as few costs and as little hassle as possible;
2) Obtain an amount higher than what the insurance company has offered as soon as possible; or
3) Obtain the largest settlement possible, no matter how long it takes.
Conclusion
If you are satisfied with the lawyer’s experience and are comfortable with his or her personality and approach to your case, then chances are you’ve found the right Boise personal injury lawyer for your case.
Let the personal injury attorneys at Montgomery Law use their experience and knowledge to help you. Our firm has established a reputation for the individualized service and the results we’ve achieved for previous clients. Many of our clients are referred to us by other attorneys. In more than 35 years of personal injury experience, Gary Montgomery has tried over 100 jury trials and settled several thousand more cases.
We understand that many people, especially those that have suffered severe injury or harm, are unable to cover the high costs of an hourly attorney who charges for every minute of his time. We don’t work that way. We are contingency fee lawyers, meaning we don’t get paid unless you get paid. Our success for our clients has kept us in business for over 35 years.
Most importantly, we pride ourselves on our commitment to helping our clients achieve the monetary recoveries they deserve.