Every year in the United States, there are six million car accidents. Accidents impact your own life and the life of your family. Many of these leave injury victims scrambling to put the pieces of their life back together and wondering how to find the best legal representation. When you retain an attorney and formally open a relationship with a lawyer, you'll get legal advice specific to your situation. There are many complex legal issues associated with a typical accident claim, which is likely what prompted you to search "how to hire the best accident lawyer near me" in the first place. 

Most accident victims or the surviving family members coping with the impact of a wrongful death find this experience overwhelming. While it can feel impossible to keep track of all the paperwork and action steps needed in car accident cases, it's extremely important to manage these details and ensure no deadlines or opportunities are missed. If you or someone you love has suffered or been injured in an accident, please contact us for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.

Protecting Your Right to Recover After an Accident 

When you're hurt in a car wreck, there's a lot to think about and it can feel like your entire life has been derailed. There are several important things you need to do in order to preserve the integrity of your personal injury claim, including: 

• Go to see the doctor even if you're not sure that you've been hurt. Many injuries are shielded by shock from the accident itself and some take time to appear, like whiplash. It's much easier to get medical attention upfront. 
• Start taking notes from all of your medical appointments. Ask for copies of your medical records so that you're prepared if you end up filing a personal injury lawsuit. 
• Refuse to sign any paperwork from your insurance company in the form of a release statement, which could end up hurting your claim in the future. 
• Continue to document how the accident has affected your life, including details on medical bills, lost wages, conversations with your doctor about serious injuries, and whether a loved one has been dramatically affected by the incident. 
• You have enough to think about when you're trying to recover from an accident. Dealing with phone calls from an insurance adjuster or navigating your own claim can be overwhelming. 

Research the Law Firm's Background on Their Website 

Before leveraging a free consultation with a car accident lawyer, do some research on the firm's website. You're looking for several things in a personal injury attorney that can tell you a lot about the way they'll approach your case. 

You're looking for things like past case results, testimonials from those they've worked with before, and biographies of the lawyers at the firm. 

This information can give you a window into how committed this law firm is when it comes to all aspects of an accident claim. Experienced attorneys can have a big impact on your confidence throughout the case and on the overall outcome. 

Additionally, consider looking at popular law firm review websites or Google reviews where you can read about the experiences of past clients directly. This is one of the best ways to see how the lawyers at the firm have handled the cases of other victims. Look for clues about what makes this law firm different from others, such as personalized service, a willingness to go to trial to fight hard, or even a high rate of success with meaningful settlement offers. 

Evaluate the Lawyer's Insurance Company Experience

One of the most overwhelming aspects of handling a car accident claim is working with the auto accident insurance companies. Both your own policy and that of the other driver might be connected to the case, meaning that it can be very hard to interface with those two coverage providers. Both will have questions, need paperwork signed, and might not respond to your calls. 

As a result, it's important when typing in "best accident lawyer near me" to dig deeper into the results and see what kind of experience the lawyer has in negotiating with insurance carriers. 

One of the most difficult aspects of moving through a personal injury case is that you have no way of knowing what's going on behind the scenes at the insurance company. The case might seem straightforward to you, but it's often the case that a car accident attorney is needed to dig through the complexity of these difficult claims. The insurance adjuster might provide confusing information to you about the status of your claim, so leverage the support of a good lawyer to ensure that the insurance carrier knows you're taking this claim seriously. 

Be Prepared for Your Initial Consultation  

Take a notebook so that you can keep track of the answers received from the lawyer during the initial meeting. The more details you have ready for this initial meeting, the more successful the conversation will be. 

Consider bringing things like your medical records, medical bills, the police report, and any photos or videos of the scene of the accident. This information will help your personal injury lawyer 

This initial consultation with an attorney experienced in personal injury law will help you determine: 

• The attorney's opinion about your case 
• The potential damages for your injury claim 
• What the next steps would look like 
• The law firm's approach in similar cases 
• How you can expect to communicate with attorneys in the firm 

Meeting in person is important after you've suffered in a motor vehicle accident. You'll know through this conversation how you feel about working with this person and even having them represent you in court or settlement offer conversations. Your legal rights matter, but as an accident victim, your focus should be on recovery. Finding the right lawyer frees you up to heal as much as possible while knowing that there's someone out there advocating for you. 

Determine the Firm's Overall Resources 

There's no doubt that the experience and approach of the individual attorney is important. However, the at-fault driver and their insurance company might fight back in a big way. For this reason, you want to work with a personal injury law firm with paralegals, connections to expert witnesses and medical professionals, and the resources to pull together a comprehensive strategy for your legal injury claim. 
How they treat your case evaluation is an important component to clue you in to their approach and strategy with car crash cases. Use this information to make an informed decision.