Your doctors are there to help take care of you and help you get better. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. Reports show that medical errors now cause 250,000 deaths per year in the United States.
If you’re in this situation, you’re entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit. If you want to maximize your chance for success, then you’re going to need a lawyer.
You need to do your due diligence when hiring wrongful death lawyers. Below are seven things to keep in mind when picking someone to represent you in your case.
1. Find a Specialist
A wrongful death lawsuit isn’t going to be like any other case in the courtroom. It requires a lot of specialized knowledge to get right. According to this link, hm-attorneys.com/st-louis/
A general lawyer may be able to handle simple cases. However, they may have never worked on a wrongful death suit before. They won’t know all the ins and outs of the process.
Getting an expert means you won’t miss any of the small details of the case. Try to find a lawyer who has several years of experience in dealing with wrongful death. You’ll be able to look at past cases to see what kind of results they produced in the past.
2. Meet Everyone You’ll Be Working With
You’ve probably seen a lot of advertisements for lawyers on TV and billboards. The people you see advertise themselves as the best. The question is, are they the people you work with?
When interviewing lawyers for your case, ask them if they will be working with you personally or if they will hand your case off to their team. If you’re working with someone else, you need to meet them so you can decide if you want to work with them.
It also helps to meet everyone else involved in the process. This includes junior lawyers and the aides you’ll be working with for your case. You want to be able to get along and work well with everyone involved.
3. Look for Contingency Fees
A wrongful death lawsuit is going to be long and hard. If you work with a lawyer that charges an hourly rate, you’re going to be paying a lot of money out of pocket.
Working with contingency fees avoids this problem. Instead of paying for your lawyer’s time, your lawyer will take payment after they win their case. You won’t need to pay any money from your own pocket before your case starts.
Typically, their fee will be based on how big your settlement is. Going this route will incentivize a wrongful death lawyer to try and get you the best deal possible. The more money you get, the bigger their paycheck will be.
4. Look for Online Reviews
You need to start your search somewhere if you don’t have any references for good lawyers. One of the best places to start is Google.
Type wrongful death lawyers into a search engine to find a list of lawyers that are close to you. They will be organized by their distance from your current location.
The good thing about this is that Google allows users to review companies. You’ll be able to see ratings for the top law firms in your area.
Keep in mind that a review might not tell the whole story. You should still talk to a lawyer that has reviewed a little lower than the others. They may be the perfect fit for your case.
5. Look for Discipline Problems
The last thing you need for your case is a lawyer that has a history of causing problems. You need to research anyone you think of hiring to make sure they won’t cause issues for your case.
You can check this by going to your state’s bar association website. They hold records of all disciplinary issues a lawyer has faced. You’ll be able to see exactly how many strikes someone has on their records.
You don’t need to base your entire decision on hiring someone on this, though. There might be a reason for a strike on someone’s record. Make sure to ask a lawyer about their past issues so you can get their side of things.
6. Ask About Communication Methods
You don’t want to be left in the dark about your wrongful death case. It can add a lot of stress when it takes days for your lawyer to get back to you. Make sure to ask about communication when interviewing potential lawyers.
Ideally, you want someone that will get back to you within a day. If someone has a team helping them, they should have the resources necessary to get back to you.
The next thing to ask about is communication methods. Do they prefer email, text messaging, or phone calls? You want to find a lawyer that will work with you the way you prefer.
7. Ask for Reference
Even if a lawyer has good reviews, it doesn’t mean that they will be the best choice for your case. They could handle things in ways you don’t agree with.
Make sure to ask for references before committing to someone. A lawyer should have plenty of references available if they do good work. See if you can talk with their past clients.
Doing this will let you learn what the experience was like for other people. You can use this information to help determine if you will work well with your lawyer.
Good Wrongful Death Lawyers Can Help Win Your Case
Don’t underestimate the importance of finding the right wrongful death lawyers for the job. You’re bringing in an ally who knows the ins and outs of the process when you find a great lawyer. Use the tips above to find the best lawyer you can.
Are you looking for a few ways to get on with your life after your loved one passes? Head to our blog to read a few new activities you can try to bring more joy to your life.