Whether you are a parent pursuing a claim for your child’s injury or you have reached adulthood and are interested in suing for injuries you experienced as a child, you need to make sure you find the right attorney to meet your needs.
These tips can help you find a child injury lawyer who can be a solid advocate for you.
Get a Referral
Other attorneys are often in the best position to know who is the best child injury lawyer. So, if you’ve worked with any lawyers on any issues in the past, turn to your attorney for help finding an advocate during this difficult situation. Your lawyer should be able to refer you to someone with experience helping families after children are harmed.
Professional organizations and the local bar association also have directories of attorneys in good standing with different areas of specialization as well as referral programs. And you can reach out to friends, family, coworkers and others in your network to see if they have any personal experience with a child injury lawyer.
Asking others to point you in the right direction greatly simplifies the process of searching for a child injury lawyer and helps you maximize the chances you’ll find the right legal professional to handle your case.
Understand the Cost of Legal Services
You need to make sure you understand how you will be charged by your child injury lawyer.
The most likely fee structure is a contingency fee structure, which means your payment is contingent on your attorney helping you win your case and recover compensation.
When attorneys charge on a contingent fee basis, they usually collect a percentage of the money they help you recover. This is typically about 33% to 40%, with larger fees charged for cases that take longer to resolve. But find out exactly what percent you will pay, and if you will be responsible for actual expenses regardless of the outcome of your case.
Find Out About a Child Injury Lawyer’s Specific Experience
Child injuries can occur in many different ways.
A child may have suffered birth injuries due to negligent prenatal care or due to problems during labor and delivery. Or a child could have been harmed by negligent supervision during sports activities, by a fall on a premises or in a car accident. These are just a few of many potential disasters that could cause injury to kids.
Different kinds of lawyers specialize in different types of child injuries. If you or your child was hurt by a collision, for example, you want a car accident lawyer while a medical malpractice lawyer is the appropriate professional to assist you after a birth injury.
Ask How Past Cases Have Been Resolved
You will want to make sure any child injury lawyer you hire helped clients to negotiate large settlements and also represented clients in court. While most cases settle, you want a lawyer who is prepared for litigation if necessary.
Also make sure your lawyer is successful in most claims they handle. While the specifics of your case determine if you’ll win or lose, good attorneys usually know when a case isn’t viable. If your potential lawyer doesn’t have a lot of past wins, that means they may not be very good at assessing whether you have a case or very good at helping you make your claim.