1. Quels sont leurs examens par les pairs?
2. Quel pourcentage de leurs affaires sont des renvois d'autres avocats?
3. Envoient-ils des lettres de «sollicitation» aux domiciles de clients potentiels après un accident?
4. Ne facturent-ils des frais qu'en cas de recouvrement?
5. Qu'est-ce que cela signifie lorsque les avocats disent «pas de frais si pas de recouvrement»?
6. Ont-ils les ressources financières et humaines pour prendre en charge mon cas?
7. Quels types de cas traitent-ils quotidiennement?
8. Depuis combien de temps traitent-ils des cas de blessures corporelles?
9. Essayent-ils réellement des poursuites devant les tribunaux?
10. Enseignent-ils ou donnent-ils des conférences lors de séminaires de formation juridique?
11. Sont-ils membres d'organisations juridiques spécialisées dans la représentation des blessés?
12. Sont-ils certifiés par le National Board of Trial Advocacy?

Nous décomposons ces questions et pourquoi elles sont importantes à poser ci-dessous.

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Si vous avez été blessé à la suite de la négligence de quelqu'un d'autre, vous devrez faire face à de nombreuses décisions importantes dans les jours, semaines et mois suivant une blessure. 

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Trouver le «bon» avocat pour vous représenter est souvent le facteur le plus critique pour réussir votre rétablissement.

Les compagnies d'assurance ont les ressources financières pour embaucher des avocats qualifiés qui se spécialisent dans la défense des réclamations pour blessures corporelles. L'expérience et les compétences de votre avocat joueront un rôle central dans le montant de l'indemnisation que vous recevez.

La plupart des victimes de blessures ne savent pas que les meilleurs avocats en blessures corporelles qui réussissent le mieux dans votre communauté facturent des frais qui sont les mêmes que ceux des avocats inexpérimentés qui n'ont aucun antécédent de succès dans la salle d'audience.

Ne faites pas l'erreur de choisir un avocat spécialisé dans les blessures uniquement à partir d'annonces. Il y a des avocats sans scrupules qui régleront votre dossier rapidement pour tout ce que la compagnie d'assurance offrira, car ces cabinets travaillent sur une base de «volume élevé» et de «rotation rapide». Chaque communauté a un certain nombre d'avocats «en herbe» qui voudraient saisir votre cas et le régler rapidement pour peu d'argent pour vous (mais un rendement élevé pour l'investissement en temps de l'avocat).

Alors, comment trouvez-vous un bon avocat pour un procès pour blessures graves?

Comme pour la plupart des décisions importantes, vous devez faire des «devoirs» sur les avocats de votre communauté. Lorsque vous décidez de rencontrer un avocat pour discuter de votre cas, vous devez poser les bonnes questions pour savoir si l'avocat a fait ses preuves.

Le but de ce rapport gratuit est de vous fournir des informations que la plupart des victimes de blessures ne prennent jamais la peine de connaître les avocats qui traitent les réclamations pour blessures corporelles. Si vous suivez les conseils contenus dans ce rapport, cela peut faire la différence entre gagner votre cas ou rentrer chez vous avec rien ou beaucoup moins que votre cas ne vaut.

1. Il existe des sources qui évaluent les avocats spécialisés en dommages corporels en fonction de ce que leurs collègues disent à leur sujet.

Comment trouvez-vous un avocat de premier ordre pour un cas de blessure grave? Il existe des ressources que vous pouvez vérifier avant de décider avec quel avocat planifier une consultation. L'un des moyens les plus fiables de rechercher les qualifications d'un avocat est de vérifier les sources qui évaluent les avis des avocats sur les lésions corporelles en fonction de ce que leurs collègues avocats (et leurs concurrents) disent à leur sujet. Veuillez comprendre qu'il n'y a pas d'autre système officiel de «cotation» pour les avocats spécialisés en dommages corporels que l'examen par les pairs d'autres avocats. Voici les systèmes d'évaluation par les pairs que vous devriez vérifier:

• Le registre du barreau de Martindale-Hubbell ( www.martindale.com ) a évalué les évaluations par les pairs de plus d'un million d'avocats à travers le pays. Il publie de courtes biographies de ces avocats. Depuis plus de 130 ans, Martindale-Hubbell est la source d'information la plus respectée et la plus fiable sur les membres de la communauté juridique aux États-Unis. Une note «AV» identifie un avocat et un cabinet avec une capacité juridique très élevée à prééminente et est le reflet le plus élevé de l'expertise, de l'expérience, de l'intégrité et de l'excellence professionnelle globale. Les cotes de Martindale-Hubbell sont établies par les avocats pour les avocats et il indique: "indique clairement une démonstration des normes professionnelles et éthiques les plus élevées."
• Les meilleurs avocats d'Amérique. ( www.bestlawyers.com ) Les avocats répertoriés dans Best Lawyers ont été sélectionnés par leurs pairs comme «les meilleurs» dans 57 spécialités, y compris le droit des lésions corporelles et la faute médicale.
• Super-avocats. ( www.superlawyers.com ) Super Lawyers est une liste annuelle d'avocats exceptionnels de plus de 70 domaines de pratique qui ont atteint un haut degré de reconnaissance par les pairs et de réussite professionnelle. Law & Politics effectue le sondage, la recherche et la sélection de Super Avocats dans un processus conçu pour identifier les avocats qui ont atteint un haut degré de reconnaissance par les pairs et de réussite professionnelle. Seuls cinq pour cent (5%) des avocats de chaque État sont nommés Super Avocats.

2. Demandez à l'avocat: «Quel pourcentage de vos affaires sont des renvois d'autres avocats»?

Si vous voulez savoir qui sont les meilleurs avocats en dommages corporels dans votre communauté, demandez aux avocats qui y pratiquent. Il est important de savoir si un pourcentage important de la charge de travail d'un avocat provient de renvois d'autres avocats. Dans n'importe quel domaine ou profession, les professionnels qui travaillent dans le domaine savent généralement qui est bon et qui ne l'est pas. Si vous avez un avocat ou un ami qui pratique le droit, cela pourrait être un bon point de départ. Même s'il ne s'occupe pas des cas de blessures, ils ont forcément des collègues qui connaissent les avocats responsables de blessures ou de fautes professionnelles reconnus par leurs pairs comme étant les meilleurs de votre communauté.

3. Faites attention aux avocats qui envoient des lettres de «sollicitation» à votre domicile après un accident.

Récemment, un nombre croissant d'avocats spécialisés en dommages corporels ont engagé des coureurs ou des «gophers» pour obtenir des rapports d'accidents de la circulation préparés par des policiers locaux et d'État. Une fois les rapports d'accident obtenus, un membre du personnel du cabinet d'avocats examinera le rapport pour trouver le nom et l'adresse de la victime de l'accident. Le cabinet d'avocats enverra ensuite une lettre de «sollicitation» à la victime de blessure l'informant que le cabinet d'avocats est prêt et disposé à représenter la victime d'accident dans un cas de blessure corporelle. Dans notre communauté, il n'est pas rare qu'une victime d'accident reçoive quinze à vingt lettres de sollicitation de cabinets d'avocats. Il existe un cabinet d'avocats dans le sud de l'Indiana qui envoie une sollicitation à chaque victime d'un accident de la circulation dans tout l'État où il y a un rapport de police.Il existe des cabinets d'avocats qui continueront d'envoyer des lettres de sollicitation après l'envoi de la lettre initiale et demanderont même à un membre du personnel d'appeler la victime de l'accident et de lui demander s'il a reçu les lettres de sollicitation.

La grande, la grande majorité des cabinets d'avocats qui s'appuient sur des lettres de sollicitation fonctionnent sur une base de «volume élevé et rotation rapide». Ils ont du mal à attirer les références de clients satisfaits ou d'autres avocats, ils ont donc recours à l'envoi de centaines (et parfois de milliers) de lettres de sollicitation dans l'espoir de recevoir des réponses à leurs envois de masse. Il est probablement sûr de dire que les victimes de blessures qui choisissent un avocat sur la base d'une lettre de sollicitation qu'elles reçoivent par la poste ne font pas beaucoup de recherches sur le cabinet d'avocats qu'elles embauchent. De nombreux États sont en train de promulguer des règles et des lois pour interdire aux avocats d'envoyer des lettres de sollicitation aux victimes d'accidents.

4. Pratiquement tous les avocats spécialisés en dommages corporels offrent une consultation gratuite et ne factureront pas d'honoraires sauf en cas de recouvrement.

Quiconque a déjà vu ou reçu tout type de publicité (publicités télévisées, pages jaunes, sites Internet, lettres de sollicitation de publipostage, etc.) de cabinets de dommages corporels apprend rapidement que chaque avocat spécialisé dans les blessures fait les mêmes offres:

• "Pas de frais si pas de récupération."
• "Consultation initiale gratuite."
• "Nous vous rendrons visite à la maison ou à l'hôpital."

Un avocat qui vous offre une «consultation gratuite» et vous dit qu'il ne facturera pas d'honoraires à moins qu'il y ait un recouvrement dans votre cas (connu sous le nom d'entente «d'honoraires conditionnels») ne vous offre rien d'extraordinaire. Presque tous les avocats spécialisés dans le traitement des blessures corporelles feront la même offre.

5. Qu'est-ce que cela signifie quand un avocat dit «pas de frais si pas de recouvrement»?

Presque tous les avocats spécialisés en dommages corporels traitent les cas de blessures sur une base d'honoraires conditionnels. Des honoraires «conditionnels» signifient qu'il n'y a pas d'honoraires d'avocat sauf en cas de recouvrement et que les honoraires représentent un pourcentage du montant recouvré. (soit généralement 33,33% du montant récupéré). Cela signifie que l'avocat ne facturera pas d'honoraires au client, sauf en cas de recouvrement. Cela semble simple, non? Pas si vite. C'est un domaine dans lequel les victimes de blessures doivent faire attention avant de prendre une décision concernant un avocat pour leur cas.

Si un avocat accepte de traiter votre cas de blessure sur une base d'honoraires conditionnels et perd le cas, il n'y aura pas de problème pour savoir si vous devez quelque chose à l'avocat pour ses honoraires d'avocat. Tu ne dois rien. Un tiers de rien n'est rien. Cependant, les consommateurs doivent comprendre qu'il existe une grande différence entre les honoraires d'avocat et les «dépenses». Presque chaque cas de blessure corporelle entraînera des «dépenses» de cas qui doivent être payées afin de bien préparer le cas. Les frais de dossier sont des sommes versées à des tiers pour faire avancer le dossier: honoraires de témoin expert, honoraires de sténographe judiciaire, frais de dossier médical, frais de rapport de médecin, frais de dossier et les nombreuses autres dépenses qui entrent dans une poursuite pour préjudice corporel.

Les frais de dossier sont traités différemment par différents cabinets d'avocats. Dans un cas typique d'accident de véhicule à moteur, où le règlement est inférieur à 100 000 $, les frais de dossier sont généralement inférieurs à 5 000 $. Cependant, dans un cas de blessures graves impliquant des blessures permanentes ou catastrophiques, ou dans un cas de faute professionnelle médicale, les frais de justice peuvent atteindre 50 000 $ ou plus. Il existe différentes façons de gérer ces frais de contentieux en cours par différents cabinets, en fonction, en grande partie, de la philosophie du cabinet et de ses ressources financières:

• Une façon consiste à exiger du client qu'il paie la totalité ou une partie substantielle des frais de procédure au début d'une affaire ou de façon continue. Cette méthode peut créer de graves problèmes financiers pour un client.
• Une autre façon consiste à ce que l'avocat paie toutes les dépenses au fur et à mesure que l'affaire avance, le client remboursant l'avocat de tout recouvrement à la fin de l'affaire, après déduction des honoraires conditionnels de l'avocat. Par exemple, si le recouvrement est de 270 000 $ et que l'avocat et le client ont convenu d'un honoraire conditionnel d'un tiers plus le remboursement des frais avancés par l'avocat, et que l'avocat a avancé 10 000 $ pour les frais de dossier, le décaissement final du règlement ressemblera à ceci:

  - vous recevrez 170 000 $
  - l'avocat recevra 90 000 $ pour ses honoraires d'avocat;
  - 10 000 $ seront remboursés à l'avocat pour rembourser les frais.

Qu'advient-il des dépenses en cas de perte du dossier? Certains avocats ont pour politique de ne pas demander au client de rembourser le cabinet d'avocat pour les dépenses personnelles. D'autres avocats s'attendent à ce que le client rembourse au cabinet tous les frais en cas de perte du dossier. En tant que consommateur qui a le choix, vous devez connaître la politique de l'avocat sur le remboursement des frais dans les situations où l'affaire est perdue. Si un avocat essaie de vous dire "ne vous inquiétez pas, je n'ai jamais perdu de cause", n'acceptez pas cette réponse. Même les meilleurs avocats en dommages corporels perdent des affaires de temps en temps.

6. Cet avocat a-t-il les ressources financières et humaines pour prendre en charge mon cas?

Comme indiqué ci-dessus, les poursuites judiciaires impliquant des blessures graves ou catastrophiques peuvent être très coûteuses à porter devant les tribunaux. Par exemple, un cas de faute professionnelle médicale typique peut impliquer trois, six ou plus de spécialités médicales, dont chacune doit avoir un témoin expert embauché pour traiter des problèmes dans cette spécialité. Un cas de blessure grave contre une entreprise de camionnage peut impliquer des experts en reconstruction d'accidents et des experts en sécurité du camionnage ainsi que les experts qui seront nécessaires pour témoigner de la nature et de l'étendue des blessures d'un client (médecins traitants, planificateurs des soins de la vie, experts professionnels, économistes, etc.). Si un avocat ne dispose pas des ressources nécessaires pour financer correctement un dossier, les coins peuvent être coupés aux dépens du dossier du client. Ou un client peut être contraint de prendre un règlement inadéquat.Il est avantageux d'engager un avocat qui a les ressources financières nécessaires pour porter l'affaire jusqu'au procès, si nécessaire.

7. Quels types de cas cet avocat traite-t-il quotidiennement?

Certains avocats sont des «médecins généralistes» qui traitent de nombreux types de cas juridiques, y compris les cas de blessures corporelles occasionnelles. Si vous avez une réclamation pour blessure grave, vous voudrez un avocat qui traite les cas de blessures corporelles jour après jour. La pratique du droit est devenue si complexe qu'il est pratiquement impossible pour un avocat de pratique générale de se tenir au courant de tous les développements en matière de droit des lésions corporelles et de faute professionnelle médicale. La plupart des avocats embauchés par les compagnies d'assurance pour défendre les cas de blessures corporelles sont des spécialistes chevronnés qui limitent leur pratique à la défense des cas de blessures corporelles. Un médecin généraliste risque d'être fortement désavantagé lorsqu'il se heurte à un cabinet d'avocats spécialisé dans la défense des cas de blessures corporelles.

8. Depuis combien de temps cet avocat traite-t-il les cas de blessures corporelles?

Dans la plupart des cas, les avocats qui traitent des cas de blessures corporelles ou de faute professionnelle médicale facturent aux victimes de blessures les mêmes honoraires «conditionnels», peu importe depuis combien de temps ils pratiquent. Si un avocat avec seulement 3 ans d'expérience va vous facturer les mêmes honoraires qu'un avocat avec 25 ans d'expérience et 100 procès avec jury pour blessures corporelles à son actif, vous devriez sérieusement envisager d'engager un avocat plus expérimenté. L'expérience de votre avocat peut faire une très grande différence dans l'issue de votre affaire.

9. Cet avocat a-t-il réellement recours aux tribunaux?

La plupart des profanes estiment que tous les avocats spécialisés en dommages corporels vont régulièrement devant les tribunaux et jugent les affaires. Rien ne pouvait être plus loin de la vérité. Un pourcentage important d'avocats qui se présentent comme des «avocats de première instance» ou des «avocats spécialisés en lésions corporelles» ont peu ou pas d'expérience du procès devant jury. L'une des premières questions que vous devriez vous poser est de savoir si l'avocat instruit les affaires devant les tribunaux et, dans l'affirmative, à quelle fréquence. C'est une question importante que de nombreux laïcs ne pensent jamais à poser.

Les avocats qui défendent des cas de blessures corporelles connaissent les avocats des blessures qui jugent les affaires et ceux qui ne le font pas. Les compagnies d'assurance utilisent ces informations pour évaluer leur risque. L'une des premières questions qu'un expert en assurance posera lors d'une réclamation sérieuse est la suivante: qui représente le demandeur?

Il n'y a qu'une seule façon d'obtenir le meilleur prix pour votre cas dans un règlement. La compagnie d'assurance doit croire que votre avocat est prêt, disposé et capable de juger l'affaire en justice. Si vous engagez un avocat qui s'installe toujours et ne se présente jamais au tribunal, préparez-vous à bénéficier d'une remise substantielle sur votre dossier.

10. Cet avocat enseigne-t-il à d'autres avocats?

Les avocats qui donnent fréquemment des conférences lors de séminaires de formation juridique (appelés «CLE» - ou formation juridique continue) ont l'estime de leurs collègues professionnels. On leur demande de prendre la parole lors de séminaires de formation juridique, car d'autres avocats veulent entendre ce qu'ils ont à dire. Les avocats qui écrivent régulièrement des articles dans des publications juridiques sont généralement les autorités du domaine et savent de quoi ils parlent. De nombreux avocats spécialisés en dommages corporels énuméreront les sujets de leurs allocutions ou leurs publications sur leur site Web. Si vous voulez savoir si un avocat enseigne à d'autres avocats l'évolution du droit des lésions corporelles ou écrit des articles sur les litiges en matière de dommages corporels, vous devriez consulter le site Web de l'avocat ou demander une copie de son curriculum vitae.

11. Cet avocat est-il membre d'organisations juridiques spécialisées dans la représentation des blessés?

Il existe des organisations nationales et étatiques composées d'avocats qui se consacrent à la représentation des victimes de blessures. Ces organisations parrainent des publications juridiques et des programmes de formation juridique. Ils mènent également des activités de lobbying pour les droits des consommateurs. L'organisation nationale la plus importante est l'American Association of Justice (AAJ). Dans l'État de l'Indiana, l'Indiana Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) est une organisation nationale d'avocats plaignants dédiée aux droits des personnes blessées. Vous pouvez certainement trouver un avocat qui n'appartient à aucun de ces groupes, mais pourquoi voudriez-vous que cet avocat vous représente dans une poursuite pour blessure grave?

12. Cet avocat est-il un avocat de procès civil «certifié» par le National Board of Trial Advocacy?

Depuis de nombreuses années, la profession médicale utilise un système de tests et d'évaluation par les pairs appelé «certification du conseil d'administration». La certification du conseil est conçue pour identifier les médecins qui ont une expertise dans une spécialité ou une sous-spécialité particulière de la médecine. Ces dernières années, le système juridique a commencé à émuler le processus de certification des conseils d'administration dans la profession médicale. Le National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) est une organisation nationale qui dispose d'un processus permettant aux avocats du procès civil d'obtenir la certification du conseil. Le National Board of Trial Advocacy fait partie d'une plus grande organisation de certification des avocats appelée National Board of Legal Specialty Certification. La certification NBTA en tant que «procureur de première instance civile» n'est disponible que pour les avocats ayant une vaste expérience dans la salle d'audience et dans la préparation des dossiers pour le procès.En plus d'avoir une expérience en salle d'audience, un demandeur doit également passer un examen d'une journée avant de recevoir la certification du conseil de la NBTA en tant que procureur de première instance.

Finding the "right" lawyer to represent you is often the most critical factor in a successful recovery.

Insurance companies have the financial resources to hire skilled lawyers who specialize in defending personal injury claims. The experience and skills of your lawyer will play a pivotal role in the amount of compensation you receive.

Most injury victims do not know that the best, most successful personal injury attorneys in your community charge fees that are the same as inexperienced lawyers who have no track record of success in the courtroom.

Don't make the mistake of choosing a personal injury lawyer from ads alone. There are unscrupulous lawyers who will settle your case quickly for whatever the insurance company will offer because these firms work on a “high volume” and “quick turnover” basis. Every community has a number of personal injury “wannabe” lawyers who would like to grab your case and settle it quickly for low dollars for you (but a high return for the lawyer’s time investment).

So how do you find a good lawyer for a serious personal injury lawsuit?

Like most important decisions, you need to do some “homework” on the lawyers in your community. When you decide to meet with an attorney to discuss your case, you need to ask the right questions to find out if the attorney has a proven track record of success.

The purpose of this free report is to provide you with insights that most injury victims never bother to learn about lawyers who handle personal injury claims. If you follow the advice contained in this report, it may make the difference between winning your case or going home with nothing or significantly less than your case is worth.

1. There are sources that rate personal injury lawyers based on what their colleagues say about them.

How do you find a top-notch lawyer for a serious personal injury case? There are resources you can check before deciding which lawyer to schedule a consultation with. One of the most reliable ways to research a lawyer’s qualifications is to check sources that rate personal injury lawyer reviews based on what their fellow lawyers (and their competitors) say about them. Please understand that there is no other official “rating” system for personal injury lawyers besides peer review by other lawyers. Here are the peer review rating systems that you should check out:

• The Martindale-Hubbell Bar Registry (www.martindale.com) has peer review ratings of more than 1 million lawyers across the country. It publishes short biographies of these lawyers. For over 130 years, Martindale-Hubbell has been the most respected source of authoritative and reliable information about members of the legal community in the United States. An “AV” rating identifies a lawyer and a firm with a very high to preeminent legal ability and is the highest reflection of expertise, experience, and integrity and overall professional excellence. Martindale-Hubbell ratings are established by attorneys for attorneys and it states: “clearly indicates a demonstration of the highest professional and ethical standards.”
• The Best Lawyers in America. (www.bestlawyers.com) The lawyers listed in Best Lawyers been selected by their peers as “the best” in 57 specialties, including personal injury and medical malpractice law.
• Superlawyers. ( www.superlawyers.com) Super Lawyers is an annual listing of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Law & Politics performs the polling, research and selection of Super Lawyers in a process designed to identify lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only five percent (5%) of the lawyers in each state are named Super Lawyers.

2. Ask the lawyer, “What percentage of your cases are referrals from other lawyers”?

If you want to know who the top notch personal injury lawyers are in your community, ask the lawyers who practice there. It’s important to find out whether a significant percentage of a lawyer’s caseload comes from referrals from other lawyers. In any field or profession, the professionals who work in the field usually know who’s good and who’s not. If you have an attorney or a friend who practices law, that might be a good place to start. Even if he or she doesn’t handle injury cases, they are bound to have colleagues who are familiar with the personal injury or malpractice lawyers who are recognized by their peers as being the best in your community.

3. Be careful about lawyers who send “solicitation” letters to your home following an accident.

Recently, an increasing number of personal injury lawyers have been hiring runners or “gophers” to obtain traffic accident reports prepared by local and state police officers. Once the accident reports are obtained, a member of the law firm’s staff will comb through the report to find the name and address of the accident victim. The law firm will then mail a “solicitation” letter to the injury victim informing him/her that the law firm is ready and willing to represent the accident victim in a personal injury case. In our community, it is not unusual for an accident victim to receive fifteen to twenty solicitation letters from law firms. There is a law firm in southern Indiana that sends a solicitation to every single traffic accident victim in the entire state where there is a police report. There are law firms that will continue to send solicitation letters after the initial letter is sent and will even have a staff member call the accident victim and ask if they received the solicitation letters.

The vast, vast majority of law firms that rely on solicitation letters operate on a “high volume, quick turnover” basis. They have difficulty attracting referrals from satisfied clients or other lawyers so they resort to sending out hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of solicitation letters hoping that they will receive responses to their mass mailings. It’s probably safe to say that injury victims who choose an attorney based on a solicitation letter they receive in the mail aren’t doing a lot of research on the law firm they are hiring. Many states are in the process of enacting rules and laws to prohibit lawyers from sending solicitation letters to accident victims.

4. Virtually all personal injury lawyers offer a free consultation and will not charge a fee unless there is a recovery.

Anyone who has ever seen or received any type of advertisements (TV commercials, yellow pages, internet sites, direct mail solicitation letters, etc.) from personal injury firms quickly learns that every injury lawyer makes the same offers:

• "No fee if no recovery."
• "Free initial consultation."
• "We will visit you at home or in the hospital."

A lawyer who offers you a “free consultation” and tells you that he or she will not charge a fee unless there is a recovery in your case (known as a “contingent fee” agreement) is not offering you anything out of the ordinary. Almost every lawyer who specializes in handling personal injury cases will make the same offer.

5. What does it mean when lawyer says “no fee if no recovery”?

Almost every personal injury lawyer handles injury cases on a contingent fee basis. A “contingent” fee means that there is no attorney fee unless there is a recovery and the fee is a percentage of the amount recovered. (i.e. usually 33.33% of the amount recovered). That means that the lawyer will not charge the client a fee unless there is a recovery. Sounds simple, right? Not so fast. This is an area where personal injury victims need to be careful before they make a decision on a lawyer for their case.

If a lawyer agrees to handle your injury case on a contingent fee basis, and loses the case, there’s not going to be an issue on whether you owe the lawyer anything for his or her attorney fee. You don’t owe anything. One third of nothing is nothing. However, consumers must understand that there is a big difference between attorney fees and the case “expenses.” Almost every personal injury case will entail some case “expenses” that need to be paid in order to prepare the case properly. Case expenses are monies paid to third parties to keep the case going: expert witness fees, court reporter fees, charges for medical records, charges for physician reports, filing fees and the many other expenses that go into a personal injury lawsuit.

Case expenses are handled differently by different law firms. In a typical motor vehicle accident case, where the settlement is less than $100,000, the case expenses are usually less than $5,000. However, in a serious personal injury case involving permanent or catastrophic injuries, or in a medical malpractice case, the litigation expenses can run up to $50,000 or more. There are different ways these ongoing litigation expenses are handled by different firms, depending, in large part, on the firm’s philosophy and the firm’s financial resources:

• One way is to require the client to pay all or a substantial share of the litigation expenses at the start of a case or on an ongoing basis. That method can create serious financial issues for a client.
• Another way is for the lawyer to pay all the expenses as the case goes along, with the client reimbursing the lawyer out of any recovery at the end of the case, after the lawyer’s contingency fee is deducted. For example, if the recovery is $270,000, and the lawyer and the client have agreed to a one-third contingent fee plus reimbursement of the expenses advanced by the lawyer, and the lawyer has advanced $10,000 toward the case expenses, the final disbursement of the settlement will look like this:

  - you will receive $170,000
  - the lawyer will receive $90,000 for his attorney fee;
  - $10,000 will be paid back to the lawyer to reimburse expenses.

What happens to the expenses if the case is lost? Some lawyers have a policy of not asking the client to reimburse the law firm for the “out of pocket” expenses. Other lawyers expect the client to reimburse the law firm for all the expenses if the case is lost. As a consumer who has choices, you need to find out the lawyer’s policy on expense reimbursement in situations where the case is lost. If a lawyer tries to tell you "don’t worry about it, I’ve never lost a case," don’t accept that response. Even the very best personal injury lawyers lose cases from time to time.

6. Does this lawyer have the financial and staffing resources to take on my case?

As noted above, lawsuits involving serious or catastrophic personal injuries can be very expensive to take to court. For example, a typical medical malpractice case can involve three, six or even more medical specialties, each one of which needs to have an expert witness hired to deal with issues in that specialty. A serious injury case against a trucking company can involve accident reconstruction experts and trucking safety experts as well as the experts who will be needed to testify about the nature and extent of a client’s injuries (treating physicians, life care planners, vocational experts, economists, etc.). If a lawyer lacks the resources to fund a case properly, corners can be cut at the expense of the client’s case. Or a client can be pressured into taking an inadequate settlement. It pays to hire a lawyer who has the financial resources to take a case all the way to trial, if necessary.

7. What kinds of cases does this lawyer handle on a daily basis?

Some lawyers are “general practitioners” who handle many different types of legal cases, including the occasional personal injury case. If you have a serious personal injury claim, you will want a lawyer who handles personal injury cases on a day-in, day-out basis. The practice of law has become so complex that is it virtually impossible for a general practice lawyer to stay on top of all the developments in personal injury and medical malpractice law. Most of the lawyers who are hired by insurance companies to defend personal injury cases are seasoned specialists who limit their practice to the defense of personal injury cases. A general practitioner is likely to be at a major disadvantage when he or she goes up against a law firm that specializes in the defense of personal injuries cases.

8. How long has this lawyer been handling personal injury cases?

For the most part, lawyers who handle personal injury or medical malpractice cases charge injury victims the same “contingent” fee no matter how long they have been practicing. If a lawyer with only 3 years experience is going to charge you the same fee as a lawyer with 25 years experience and 100 personal injury jury trials under his or her belt, you should strongly consider hiring the more seasoned lawyer. The experience of your lawyer can make a very big difference in the outcome of your case.

9. Does this lawyer actually try lawsuits in court?

Most lay people believe that all personal injury lawyers go to court and try cases on a regular basis. Nothing could be further from the truth. A significant percentage of lawyers who hold themselves out to be “trial lawyers” or “personal injury lawyers” have little or no jury trial experience. One of the first questions you should ask is whether the lawyer tries cases in court, and, if so, how often. This is an important question that many lay people never think to ask.

Lawyers who defend personal injury cases know the injury lawyers who actually try cases and those who don’t. Insurance companies use that information to evaluate their risk. One of the first questions an insurance adjuster will ask when a serious claim comes in is: Who is representing the plaintiff?

There is only one way to get top dollar for your case in a settlement. The insurance company must believe that your lawyer is ready, willing and able to try the case in court. If you hire a lawyer who always settles and never goes to court, be prepared to take a substantial discount on your case.

10. Does this lawyer teach other lawyers?

Lawyers who frequently lecture at legal education seminars (called “CLE” – or continuing legal education) have the esteem of their professional colleagues. They are asked to speak at legal education seminars because other attorneys want to hear what they have to say. Lawyers who regularly write articles in legal publications are usually the authorities in the field and know what they are talking about. Many personal injury lawyers will list the topics of their speaking engagements or their publications on their website. If you want to know whether a lawyer teaches other lawyers about developments in personal injury law or writes articles about personal injury litigation, you should check the lawyer’s website or ask for a copy of the lawyer’s resume.

11. Is this lawyer a member of legal organizations that specialize in representing injured people?

There are both national and state organizations comprised of lawyers who are dedicated to the representation of injury victims. These organizations sponsor legal publications and legal education programs. They also conduct lobbying activities for the rights of consumers. The most prominent national organization is the American Association of Justice (AAJ). In the State of Indiana, the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) is a statewide organization of plaintiff attorneys dedicated to the rights of injured persons. You can certainly find a lawyer who doesn’t belong to any of these groups, but why would you want that lawyer to represent you in a serious injury lawsuit?

12. Is this lawyer a “board-certified” civil trial lawyer by the National Board of Trial Advocacy?

For many years, the medical profession has utilized a system of testing and peer evaluation known as “board certification.” Board certification is designed to identify physicians who have expertise in a particular specialty or sub-specialty of medicine. In recent years, the legal system has begun emulating the board-certification process in the medical profession. The National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) is a national organization that has a process for civil trial lawyers to achieve board certification. The National Board of Trial Advocacy is part of a larger lawyer certification organization called the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification. NBTA certification as a “civil trial attorney” is only available to attorneys who have extensive experience in the courtroom and in preparing cases for trial. In addition to having courtroom experience, an applicant must also pass an all-day examination before receiving board-certification from the NBTA as a civil trial attorney.

Finding the "right" lawyer to represent you is often the most critical factor in a successful recovery.

Insurance companies have the financial resources to hire skilled lawyers who specialize in defending personal injury claims. The experience and skills of your lawyer will play a pivotal role in the amount of compensation you receive.

Most injury victims do not know that the best, most successful personal injury attorneys in your community charge fees that are the same as inexperienced lawyers who have no track record of success in the courtroom.

Don't make the mistake of choosing a personal injury lawyer from ads alone. There are unscrupulous lawyers who will settle your case quickly for whatever the insurance company will offer because these firms work on a “high volume” and “quick turnover” basis. Every community has a number of personal injury “wannabe” lawyers who would like to grab your case and settle it quickly for low dollars for you (but a high return for the lawyer’s time investment).

So how do you find a good lawyer for a serious personal injury lawsuit?

Like most important decisions, you need to do some “homework” on the lawyers in your community. When you decide to meet with an attorney to discuss your case, you need to ask the right questions to find out if the attorney has a proven track record of success.

The purpose of this free report is to provide you with insights that most injury victims never bother to learn about lawyers who handle personal injury claims. If you follow the advice contained in this report, it may make the difference between winning your case or going home with nothing or significantly less than your case is worth.

1. There are sources that rate personal injury lawyers based on what their colleagues say about them.

How do you find a top-notch lawyer for a serious personal injury case? There are resources you can check before deciding which lawyer to schedule a consultation with. One of the most reliable ways to research a lawyer’s qualifications is to check sources that rate personal injury lawyer reviews based on what their fellow lawyers (and their competitors) say about them. Please understand that there is no other official “rating” system for personal injury lawyers besides peer review by other lawyers. Here are the peer review rating systems that you should check out:

• The Martindale-Hubbell Bar Registry (www.martindale.com) has peer review ratings of more than 1 million lawyers across the country. It publishes short biographies of these lawyers. For over 130 years, Martindale-Hubbell has been the most respected source of authoritative and reliable information about members of the legal community in the United States. An “AV” rating identifies a lawyer and a firm with a very high to preeminent legal ability and is the highest reflection of expertise, experience, and integrity and overall professional excellence. Martindale-Hubbell ratings are established by attorneys for attorneys and it states: “clearly indicates a demonstration of the highest professional and ethical standards.”
• The Best Lawyers in America. (www.bestlawyers.com) The lawyers listed in Best Lawyers been selected by their peers as “the best” in 57 specialties, including personal injury and medical malpractice law.
• Superlawyers. ( www.superlawyers.com) Super Lawyers is an annual listing of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Law & Politics performs the polling, research and selection of Super Lawyers in a process designed to identify lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only five percent (5%) of the lawyers in each state are named Super Lawyers.

2. Ask the lawyer, “What percentage of your cases are referrals from other lawyers”?

If you want to know who the top notch personal injury lawyers are in your community, ask the lawyers who practice there. It’s important to find out whether a significant percentage of a lawyer’s caseload comes from referrals from other lawyers. In any field or profession, the professionals who work in the field usually know who’s good and who’s not. If you have an attorney or a friend who practices law, that might be a good place to start. Even if he or she doesn’t handle injury cases, they are bound to have colleagues who are familiar with the personal injury or malpractice lawyers who are recognized by their peers as being the best in your community.

3. Be careful about lawyers who send “solicitation” letters to your home following an accident.

Recently, an increasing number of personal injury lawyers have been hiring runners or “gophers” to obtain traffic accident reports prepared by local and state police officers. Once the accident reports are obtained, a member of the law firm’s staff will comb through the report to find the name and address of the accident victim. The law firm will then mail a “solicitation” letter to the injury victim informing him/her that the law firm is ready and willing to represent the accident victim in a personal injury case. In our community, it is not unusual for an accident victim to receive fifteen to twenty solicitation letters from law firms. There is a law firm in southern Indiana that sends a solicitation to every single traffic accident victim in the entire state where there is a police report. There are law firms that will continue to send solicitation letters after the initial letter is sent and will even have a staff member call the accident victim and ask if they received the solicitation letters.

The vast, vast majority of law firms that rely on solicitation letters operate on a “high volume, quick turnover” basis. They have difficulty attracting referrals from satisfied clients or other lawyers so they resort to sending out hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of solicitation letters hoping that they will receive responses to their mass mailings. It’s probably safe to say that injury victims who choose an attorney based on a solicitation letter they receive in the mail aren’t doing a lot of research on the law firm they are hiring. Many states are in the process of enacting rules and laws to prohibit lawyers from sending solicitation letters to accident victims.

4. Virtually all personal injury lawyers offer a free consultation and will not charge a fee unless there is a recovery.

Anyone who has ever seen or received any type of advertisements (TV commercials, yellow pages, internet sites, direct mail solicitation letters, etc.) from personal injury firms quickly learns that every injury lawyer makes the same offers:

• "No fee if no recovery."
• "Free initial consultation."
• "We will visit you at home or in the hospital."

A lawyer who offers you a “free consultation” and tells you that he or she will not charge a fee unless there is a recovery in your case (known as a “contingent fee” agreement) is not offering you anything out of the ordinary. Almost every lawyer who specializes in handling personal injury cases will make the same offer.

5. What does it mean when lawyer says “no fee if no recovery”?

Almost every personal injury lawyer handles injury cases on a contingent fee basis. A “contingent” fee means that there is no attorney fee unless there is a recovery and the fee is a percentage of the amount recovered. (i.e. usually 33.33% of the amount recovered). That means that the lawyer will not charge the client a fee unless there is a recovery. Sounds simple, right? Not so fast. This is an area where personal injury victims need to be careful before they make a decision on a lawyer for their case.

If a lawyer agrees to handle your injury case on a contingent fee basis, and loses the case, there’s not going to be an issue on whether you owe the lawyer anything for his or her attorney fee. You don’t owe anything. One third of nothing is nothing. However, consumers must understand that there is a big difference between attorney fees and the case “expenses.” Almost every personal injury case will entail some case “expenses” that need to be paid in order to prepare the case properly. Case expenses are monies paid to third parties to keep the case going: expert witness fees, court reporter fees, charges for medical records, charges for physician reports, filing fees and the many other expenses that go into a personal injury lawsuit.

Case expenses are handled differently by different law firms. In a typical motor vehicle accident case, where the settlement is less than $100,000, the case expenses are usually less than $5,000. However, in a serious personal injury case involving permanent or catastrophic injuries, or in a medical malpractice case, the litigation expenses can run up to $50,000 or more. There are different ways these ongoing litigation expenses are handled by different firms, depending, in large part, on the firm’s philosophy and the firm’s financial resources:

• One way is to require the client to pay all or a substantial share of the litigation expenses at the start of a case or on an ongoing basis. That method can create serious financial issues for a client.
• Another way is for the lawyer to pay all the expenses as the case goes along, with the client reimbursing the lawyer out of any recovery at the end of the case, after the lawyer’s contingency fee is deducted. For example, if the recovery is $270,000, and the lawyer and the client have agreed to a one-third contingent fee plus reimbursement of the expenses advanced by the lawyer, and the lawyer has advanced $10,000 toward the case expenses, the final disbursement of the settlement will look like this:

  - you will receive $170,000
  - the lawyer will receive $90,000 for his attorney fee;
  - $10,000 will be paid back to the lawyer to reimburse expenses.

What happens to the expenses if the case is lost? Some lawyers have a policy of not asking the client to reimburse the law firm for the “out of pocket” expenses. Other lawyers expect the client to reimburse the law firm for all the expenses if the case is lost. As a consumer who has choices, you need to find out the lawyer’s policy on expense reimbursement in situations where the case is lost. If a lawyer tries to tell you "don’t worry about it, I’ve never lost a case," don’t accept that response. Even the very best personal injury lawyers lose cases from time to time.

6. Does this lawyer have the financial and staffing resources to take on my case?

As noted above, lawsuits involving serious or catastrophic personal injuries can be very expensive to take to court. For example, a typical medical malpractice case can involve three, six or even more medical specialties, each one of which needs to have an expert witness hired to deal with issues in that specialty. A serious injury case against a trucking company can involve accident reconstruction experts and trucking safety experts as well as the experts who will be needed to testify about the nature and extent of a client’s injuries (treating physicians, life care planners, vocational experts, economists, etc.). If a lawyer lacks the resources to fund a case properly, corners can be cut at the expense of the client’s case. Or a client can be pressured into taking an inadequate settlement. It pays to hire a lawyer who has the financial resources to take a case all the way to trial, if necessary.

7. What kinds of cases does this lawyer handle on a daily basis?

Some lawyers are “general practitioners” who handle many different types of legal cases, including the occasional personal injury case. If you have a serious personal injury claim, you will want a lawyer who handles personal injury cases on a day-in, day-out basis. The practice of law has become so complex that is it virtually impossible for a general practice lawyer to stay on top of all the developments in personal injury and medical malpractice law. Most of the lawyers who are hired by insurance companies to defend personal injury cases are seasoned specialists who limit their practice to the defense of personal injury cases. A general practitioner is likely to be at a major disadvantage when he or she goes up against a law firm that specializes in the defense of personal injuries cases.

8. How long has this lawyer been handling personal injury cases?

For the most part, lawyers who handle personal injury or medical malpractice cases charge injury victims the same “contingent” fee no matter how long they have been practicing. If a lawyer with only 3 years experience is going to charge you the same fee as a lawyer with 25 years experience and 100 personal injury jury trials under his or her belt, you should strongly consider hiring the more seasoned lawyer. The experience of your lawyer can make a very big difference in the outcome of your case.

9. Does this lawyer actually try lawsuits in court?

Most lay people believe that all personal injury lawyers go to court and try cases on a regular basis. Nothing could be further from the truth. A significant percentage of lawyers who hold themselves out to be “trial lawyers” or “personal injury lawyers” have little or no jury trial experience. One of the first questions you should ask is whether the lawyer tries cases in court, and, if so, how often. This is an important question that many lay people never think to ask.

Lawyers who defend personal injury cases know the injury lawyers who actually try cases and those who don’t. Insurance companies use that information to evaluate their risk. One of the first questions an insurance adjuster will ask when a serious claim comes in is: Who is representing the plaintiff?

There is only one way to get top dollar for your case in a settlement. The insurance company must believe that your lawyer is ready, willing and able to try the case in court. If you hire a lawyer who always settles and never goes to court, be prepared to take a substantial discount on your case.

10. Does this lawyer teach other lawyers?

Lawyers who frequently lecture at legal education seminars (called “CLE” – or continuing legal education) have the esteem of their professional colleagues. They are asked to speak at legal education seminars because other attorneys want to hear what they have to say. Lawyers who regularly write articles in legal publications are usually the authorities in the field and know what they are talking about. Many personal injury lawyers will list the topics of their speaking engagements or their publications on their website. If you want to know whether a lawyer teaches other lawyers about developments in personal injury law or writes articles about personal injury litigation, you should check the lawyer’s website or ask for a copy of the lawyer’s resume.

11. Is this lawyer a member of legal organizations that specialize in representing injured people?

There are both national and state organizations comprised of lawyers who are dedicated to the representation of injury victims. These organizations sponsor legal publications and legal education programs. They also conduct lobbying activities for the rights of consumers. The most prominent national organization is the American Association of Justice (AAJ). In the State of Indiana, the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association (ITLA) is a statewide organization of plaintiff attorneys dedicated to the rights of injured persons. You can certainly find a lawyer who doesn’t belong to any of these groups, but why would you want that lawyer to represent you in a serious injury lawsuit?

12. Is this lawyer a “board-certified” civil trial lawyer by the National Board of Trial Advocacy?

For many years, the medical profession has utilized a system of testing and peer evaluation known as “board certification.” Board certification is designed to identify physicians who have expertise in a particular specialty or sub-specialty of medicine. In recent years, the legal system has begun emulating the board-certification process in the medical profession. The National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) is a national organization that has a process for civil trial lawyers to achieve board certification. The National Board of Trial Advocacy is part of a larger lawyer certification organization called the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification. NBTA certification as a “civil trial attorney” is only available to attorneys who have extensive experience in the courtroom and in preparing cases for trial. In addition to having courtroom experience, an applicant must also pass an all-day examination before receiving board-certification from the NBTA as a civil trial attorney.