Tips for Choosing the Best Workers’ Compensation Attorney
If you sustain a workplace injury or illness, your employer, (or its insurance company) is responsible for paying for the medical costs as well as other losses that arise due to the injury. However, some employers (or the insurer) don’t want to cooperate. In such a case, you may want to hire a Phoenix workers’ compensation attorney to help you get the best possible outcome from your lawsuit.
But the market has no shortage of workers’ compensation lawyers; this makes it challenging for an ordinary person to know whom to work with.
If you are just getting started, here are some tips for choosing the best workers’ compensation attorney:
Start with research
Instead of settling for the first option that comes your way, you may want to dig a little deeper to have a feel of what different lawyers are offering. Doing this will help you identify one who matches your representation needs. Start by asking for recommendations from people within your circles; like your colleagues, acquaintances, and even family and friends. The internet is also a great place to identify top workers’ lawyers near you.
Then narrow down according to your needs
After research, the next step is to sieve out the options according to your needs and preferences. Some criteria to use to narrow down your list include:
Experience
There are two aspects to bear in mind when looking at the workers’ attorney experience – first, the amount of time they’ve spent working on workers ’ compensation cases and second, the number of similar cases like yours that they’ve handled. A good attorney is one who’s spent more time on cases like yours because this will mean that they have lots of experience.
Reputation
In addition to experience, check closely into their outcomes. It is one thing to have experience in a particular case, and another to emerge victoriously. Work with a lawyer who has helped their past clients to get compensation for their injuries successfully.
Communication
Since lawyers work on your behalf, it is crucial to ensure their communication matches yours. Some attorneys keep close tabs with their clients and update them regarding the whole process; others prefer to contact clients only when they have something important to share. It’s a good idea to be aware of this beforehand. Other than that, you also want to look at how willing they are to respond to your questions. If they seem agitated by your endless questions or feel intimidated by your knowledge, they may not be the right choice for you.
Strategy
Once you give the attorney an overview of your case, they should be able to use your information to provide a potential plan as well as highlight any possible drawbacks. They may also be able to tell you what the possible outcomes are. Be keen on their assessment and ensure it sounds realistic and well thought through.
Cost
Of course, you want to find a lawyer whose services are within your budgetary preferences. However, don’t dwell on the price alone, instead, look at the above aspects first, before you consider the price. In the legal world, it’s easy to get what you pay for.