Personal injury lawyers are often asked questions early on in the process by prospective clients wondering what they can get out of working with a personal injury lawyer.
Here are some of our most frequently asked questions:
Question: What does your law firm need from me? Answer: Tell us about your injury and how it happened.
Question: What will a personal injury law firm typically do for me?
Answer: Most personal injury lawyers will tell you what steps we can take to access insurance money for you in the shortest time with the highest likelihood of success.
If you agree, most personal injury lawyers will prepare the documents and details needed to persuade the insurance company to compensate you.
Question: Do I have a good case?
Answer: If you have suffered an injury and think it is someone else's fault, then you may have a valid personal injury claim. Contact a qualified personal injury trial lawyer who will evaluate your case and tell you whether you have a claim.
Question: What do you need to evaluate my claim?
Answer: Accident lawyers need to know how the accident occurred. Immediately after the accident you should write down all you remember. A police officer investigating the accident will write down some important information in the accident report. We will get the report. We will also need to see your medical records, or at least the records you have, if you are still being treated by your doctor.
Question: What are the fees to handle a personal injury case?
Answer: Most personal injury firms get paid only if we win your case and you get paid. You would want to verify the arrangement before signing any contract.
This is called a contingent fee because our fee depends on whether we win your case. If we do not win your case, then we don't get paid. The amount of our fee depends on the type of case it is, and whether the case goes to trial. In most personal injury cases, our fee ranges between 20% and 33% of the amount of money we collect for you. This percentage can vary depending on the facts of your case and whether a trial is needed. We will evaluate your case and tell you at that time what our contingent fee would be.
Question: Will the insurance company pay for my injuries?
Answer: It depends on the type and size of your claim. If you call a personal injury lawyers, we'll ask you a few simple questions over the telephone. Then we'll explain how to protect your legal rights and the steps we should take to make the insurance company pay you the money you deserve.
Question: Can you help with expert witnesses and investigators?
Answer: Check with the lawyer you plan to hire. Many have qualified, experienced professionals we depend on in many different fields. No matter which professionals we need, our personal injury lawyers take care of everything.
Question: I live in Northern Ontario, can you still help me?
Answer: Yes. You can hire personal injury lawyers anywhere in Ontario. With today's technology, we can communicate with you by phone, e-mail, fax and mail. So your location, and your law firm's location, are not too important, as long as we can reach each other when we need to.
Question: Is there a charge for an initial consultation?
Answer: Check with the firm when you shedule the appointment. Many firms will review your situation and discuss your claim at no cost. If your case appears to be a winner, the lawyers will usually tell you. If we think your claim is a loser, we'll tell you that too. And if we think we can help you, we'll invite you to our office, where we can go into your claim in more detail.
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Brenda Hollingsworth and Richard Auger are personal injury lawyers representing accident victims in Ontario, Canada. Their law firm is Auger Hollingsworth, located in Ottawa. They are the authors of "An Injured Victim's Guide to Fair Compensation". To get free copy of this book, contact
http://www.personalinjuryottawa.ca ; email info@personalinjuryottawa.ca or call 613.233.4529.
