Choosing a Personal Injury Lawyer

When you’ve suffered a serious injury due to someone else’s actions, inaction, or negligence, you need a personal injury attorney on your side. Finding the right attorney, however, may seem like a daunting process.

If you need a personal injury attorney, contact our office at (800) 529-6600. And if you’re just looking for tips about how to choose a personal injury lawyer, the following information may be helpful.

What To Look For In a Personal Injury Attorney

There are plenty of personal injury and wrongful death attorneys in Philadelphia and New Jersey. If you Google “Find a personal injury attorney in Philadelphia,” you’ll get pages and pages of results – but to get the results you need for your case, you’ll need to look at these details:

  • Experience – Seasoned trial attorneys know the intricacies of the judicial system and how to best persuade judges and juries. That doesn’t mean new or young attorneys are inferior, though – as long as a firm is well established and employs experienced personal injury attorneys, you can count on attorneys there either having the experience or the mentorship to handle your case.
  • Verdicts – On most law firm websites, you can read about cases the firm has handled and the verdicts they won on their clients’ behalf. Look for a firm that has a proven ability to win settlements for personal injury victims.
  • Testimonials – Client testimonials are good indicators that a lawyer or firm has gotten results for clients.

Specialty – Within the field of personal injury, there are several areas in which attorneys may have specific experience or expertise, including:

  • Medical malpractice (such as cases involving surgical mistakes, missed diagnoses, hospital-acquired infections, and childbirth-related injuries)
  • Vehicle accidents (some attorneys may have extensive experience with injuries caused by intoxicated drivers, or with cases involving commercial truck driver negligence)
  • Traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury (these types of injuries can result in temporary or permanent disability, which means injured parties will need more compensation to cover their long-term medical care)
  • Elder abuse (these cases typically involve nursing homes, but they may also arise when a family member injures or neglects an elderly relative in their care)
  • Wrongful death (survivors of family members who were fatally injured need an attorney experienced in wrongful death cases).

Other Considerations When Choosing a Lawyer

Experience and qualifications are important, but so is personality. If, during your initial consultation with an attorney, you feel like they are impatient, insensitive, or aren’t really listening to you, that’s probably not someone who’s going to do outstanding work on your behalf.

Depending on the nature of your case, you may be spending a lot of time with your attorney. Think about what qualities or traits you might prefer your attorney to have. Some clients find they relate better to an attorney with whom they share something in common – age, gender, ethnicity, religion, hometown, college alma mater, or any number of factors that contribute to personal identity. You should be able to learn more about a firm’s attorneys by reviewing the staff biographies online.

First Impressions

Businesses have evolved over time, with technology changing the way they communicate with clients. Instead of a phone call, a client’s first communication with a law firm may be an online live chat or an exchange of emails. But one thing that has not changed over time is the importance of a first impression.

No matter when or how you first contact an injury law firm, the response you receive, along with the timeliness of that response, is a good indicator of how that firm does business.

At Wapner Newman, we know people in Philadelphia and New Jersey have many options when it comes to finding a personal injury attorney to represent them. But we believe we offer a mix of experience, personality, and approachability that’s unique in our profession.

We handle personal injury cases on contingency, meaning you don’t pay for services up front – our fee comes from any settlement you may receive. We never pressure prospective clients to move forward with a case. You can request your free case consultation online, or by calling us, without any obligation. Don’t wait to get the help you need. Call us at (800) 529-6600 or fill out our online form to get started.