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Personal
injury law is a description utilized to cover all types of
cases where people are injured allegedly as a result of the
fault of another. It includes injuries from auto accidents,
medical malpractice, defective products, falls caused by trips
and slips and toxic exposures among others. It does
not include injuries that occur at work unless someone other
than your employer or a co-worker were at fault or you are
hurt in a construction site accident. That area of law
is covered under the Workers' Compensation topic treated elsewhere
on this website.
You should also be aware that the better your case, the more interest you will have from attorneys wishing to represent you. Conversely, the harder your case is to win the fewer options you will have. This is a basic function of the contingency fee system. Attorneys working on a contingency do not get paid unless the case is successful. Few attorneys will take a case that has a low probability of success. Therefore, if you have difficulty finding a top lawyer to take your case this could be an indication that your case is not likely to be successful. |
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| Questions
to Ask and Information to Obtain About your Prospective Attorney: |
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| Have
you handled a case like this before?
Like all areas of law, there is no substitute for experience.
However, it is not only the number of years of practice or the
number of trials that an attorney has had in the field, it is
also the experience with your particular type of case.
For instance, an attorney experienced in representing automobile
accident victims but without any experience in medical malpractice
cases may be a poor choice for your medical malpractice case
despite his or her overall experience. |
What
are your peer ratings from other attorneys?
Some attorneys are better salesmen with a prospective client
than they are representatives after they take the case.
That is why peer-reviews are important. "Peer-review"
refers to the process where other attorneys and judges are asked
to rate an attorney's qualifications and there are several reputable
sources for obtaining peer-review information on lawyers.
- Martindale
Hubbell
- Best
Lawyers in America
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Do
you belong to any specialty bar associations or organizations
dedicated to trial or personal injury practice?
In addition to general bar associations such as the Monroe County
Bar Association, the New York Bar Association or the American
Bar Association, there are specialty bar associations that are
specific to certain areas of law. For instance, the New
York State Trial Lawyers Association and the New York State
Academy of Trial Lawyers are specialty organizations whose members
practice personal injury law on the side of the injured plaintiff.
There are other organizations that include trial attorneys who
represent both plaintiffs and defendants but membership is limited
to attorneys with a certain level of experience who are invited
to join. Two relevant organizations to personal injury
law are:
- The
American Board of Trial Advocates This organization
is limited to attorneys who have tried at least 20 civil
jury trials. A personal injury attorney that is a
member of this organization is sure to be experienced in
the field and highly regarded by his or her colleagues.
The website for ABOTA is abota.org where you can find out
the local chapter members as well as other information about
the organization.
- The
American College of Trial Lawyers this is also
an organization composed of the most experienced trial lawyers
in the country. Members must be invited to apply and
there is a rigorous application process involved.
Again, if your personal injury attorney is a member, it
is a sign of high competence. For more information
on ACTL, this organizations website is at actl.org.
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| Have
you been asked to lecture other attorneys in topics relevant
to my case? Attorneys are required to take a certain
number of hours of continuing legal education credits each year
in order to retain their license to practice law. These
seminars are organized and sponsored by bar associations and
also private companies. Leading attorneys in their fields
will frequently be asked to speak at these seminars. If
your attorney is one who is frequently asked to speak, again
it is a sign of his or her standing among his or her colleagues. |
| Have
you ever been disciplined? Attorneys are strictly
regulated by the State of New York through the Attorney Grievance
Committee of each of the four Appellate Divisions. It
is completely appropriate to ask if an attorney has ever been
disciplined and, if so, for what offense. |
| Who
will work on my case? The attorney you first
meet at a firm is not necessarily the one who will do most or
any of the work on your case. It is appropriate to have
others with less experience or training work on your case but
it is important that you know who the lead attorney will be
and that you are comfortable with him or her. |
| Do
you have malpractice insurance? Attorneys make
mistakes because they are human like everyone else. If
a mistake is made in a personal injury case, such as failing
to file a case within the appropriate statute of limitations
period, your claim against the person that injured you will
be lost and replaced by a claim against the attorney.
However, that claim will not do much good unless the attorney
carries sufficient malpractice insurance. For a personal
injury attorney, the coverage should be at least $1,000,000
if the attorney is representing people with significant and
catastrophic damages. You should ask to see a copy of
their policy to verify this coverage. |
| What
will this cost me? Almost all attorneys who practice
in this area work on a contingency fee basis. This means
that they are not paid for their legal work, unless there is
a recovery. The amount these attorneys can charge as a
contingency fee is regulated by law. For most types of
cases, the maximum is 33 1/3% of the net recovery (gross recovery
less the expenses incurred). For medical, dental and podiatric
malpractice, the fees are on a sliding scale between 30% and
10% of the net recovery based upon the amount of the recovery.
Virtually all attorneys who work on a contingency fee will offer
you a free consultation to discuss your potential case.
Be wary of any attorney that tells you that you are not responsible
for the expenses incurred. It is a violation of ethical
standards to make such a promise. Attorneys are permitted
to advance the expenses but if the case is lost those expenses
must remain the responsibility of the client. For this
reason you should ask what the likely expenses will be and ask
to be kept up to date on the total amount of the expenses being
spent on your case as it progresses. |
