Sadly, car accidents are a fact of life. They are just something that most motorists have to deal with at least once in their driving lifetime. If you are lucky it will just be a scrape in a car park. An incident that only requires you to exchange insurance details with the other person and get your vehicle repaired.
If you are not lucky, and things are more serious you will likely need the services of a car accident lawyer. In fact, anyone who has an accident which involves an injury or fatality should always seek legal advice. It is never wise to rely solely on your insurance company. The lawyers they use are working for them, not for you. So, their priority is protecting the insurance company, rather than you. Speaking to a lawyer as soon as possible after a serious vehicle accident really does make sense.
Get yourself prepared before searching out a lawyer
Before you ring round, sit down and make a note of the salient facts. When, where and how the accident happened, who was injured and what the damage was. Also have to hand, your insurance details, those of the other parties, photos and the police report if you have them. That way if the lawyer asks you any questions, you will be able to easily answer them.
Start with the ones that offer a free consultation
Most car accident and personal injury lawyers do not charge for their initial consultation. They will happily talk to you for a short period of time about your case.
Look for a lawyer you feel comfortable with
You are not going to get a huge amount of free legal advice. But, these free consultations will enable you to get a better sense of the situation you are in.
More importantly, it will give you the chance to get to know each lawyer a little bit. So, you can identify the ones you feel the most comfortable with. You will soon work out which ones are able to answer your questions in full and have a clear understanding of what needs to be done next.
Check out their credentials
Before hiring a lawyer, of any kind, you should double-check the relevant bar association website. That way you will not end up inadvertently giving money over to a scammer.
It is also worth doing a Google search to see what you can find out about him or her. If there are online reviews available for the firm you are considering hiring, read through them. When you do, bear in mind that some unscrupulous firms have fake reviews posted. They do this so they look like they offer a better service than they do. Those same firms may even have fake negative reviews posted about their rivals. Naturally, you want to avoid hiring a law firm that acts like that. So, remember to keep an eye out for fake reviews and do your best to filter them out, when doing your research. This article will help you to do that.