When hiring a New Bedford personal injury attorney, there are a number of things that need to be considered and one of them is experience. Clients want to hire an attorney who knows what they are doing at a reasonable price. And considering that personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, the only thing you’ll need from your attorney is their experience.
But when we talk about experience, what exactly are we saying? Should you focus on the number of years they have in experience? Does it mean that an attorney who has five years’ worth of experience is less qualified than one who has ten or twenty years of experience?
What Matters is the kind of Experience they Have
There are two types of experience: specialized area experience and general torts experience. Most attorneys have a general practice where they handle everything from bicycle accidents to spinal cord injuries. While the details of every practice area might change, most of the cases remain similar enough that after a few years in practice, a newbie attorney can successfully handle your case.
However, there are certain areas of personal injury that might require an attorney to have extensive experience. Medical malpractice, for instance, is one area of personal injury that requires a well-trained attorney because most medical malpractice claims require expert witness testimony. Workers’ compensation claims also require attorneys to have extensive experience because such cases follow a specific filing process.
Experience is not Overrated
An experienced New Bedford personal injury attorney with experience is in a better position to tell you if you have a legal case and if you do, what the best legal strategy would be. They will know what claims to file and tackle any challenges that your case might come across.
Apart from having extensive experience using the law to fight for the rights of clients, it’s also essential that the attorney also has experience dealing with insurance companies and other attorneys. Their negotiation skills matter and it’s what will determine whether your case will reach a resolution. If your case goes to court, an experienced lawyer will know how to sway the jury in your favor.
What if my Case is assigned to a Paralegal?
When you hire a personal injury attorney, they will most likely assign your case to a paralegal and this isn’t necessarily a sign that your attorney works for a settlement mill. A paralegal is responsible for managing your case file. They will organize your medical records and handle the scheduling of depositions and hearings and you will basically have to go through her to get to your attorney.
The reason why you have to go through her to get to your attorney is to keep you from taking up all your attorney’s time by asking questions that don’t need a law degree to answer. A paralegal can answer some routine questions about your case. For instance, she can give you a status update about your case.
Your New Bedford personal injury attorney will speak to you directly when something important comes up like a court order, a settlement offer, or a deposition. A paralegal usually knows when you should or shouldn’t speak to your attorney. She too has years of experience screening clients with cases similar to yours so if she passed every client call through to the attorney, she wouldn’t have a job.
Between meeting new clients, taking potential new client phone calls, and working on existing cases, your attorney practically has no free time.
In short, paralegals are not your enemy and an experienced attorney needs one in order to handle their cases smoothly.
How to Hire an Experienced New Bedford Personal Injury Attorney
Most personal injury attorneys will agree to a free initial consultation to discuss your case. This has been our policy here at Kevin P Landry and the reason why we do this is to assess whether our clients have a case or not before going any further. We’d hate to make a potential client pay to talk to us only to discover they don’t have a case after all.
Given our years of experience, we know how to investigate and settle most personal injury claims ranging from wrongful death claims to medical malpractice claims. Call one of our New Bedford personal injury attorneys at 508-999-0800 today or visit our offices to get your claim reviewed for free.
