If you are trying to choose a personal injury lawyer, it can be difficult to decide who is right for you if you don't know what you are looking for - especially if you are in a vulnerable state.
With over 500,000 people suffering work-related injuries in Australia -add to that all the other types of personal injury claims- in the spam or a year, it's worth knowing a few things you should consider before making your choice on who will represent you in your claim.
Take a look at the ‘areas of services’ pages for the law firms you are considering. Do they specialise in injury compensation services or do they cover a wide-range of services such as family, wills & estates, commercial law and so on? Larger firms may have specialised departments but some firms may have lawyers who spread themselves over many areas of law.
Personal injury compensation is a very complex area of law and it’s important for those working on the cases to be fully up to date with all legislation and case decisions to get the best outcome.
It’s good to look at the experience of the staff in the firm and who will be handling your case. You can ask questions such as:
If you’ve been looking for a personal injury lawyer then you will almost certainly of noticed that almost all firms offer a ‘no win, no fee’ offer of some description. However, there are many circumstances where you could be left out of pocket, even if this promise is made. You need to look for a no-catch firm where no matter what, you won't be left out of pocket. Before choosing you should ask:
If you have the ability to travel and get around due to an injury then convenience may be an important factor in choosing a law firm. You could ask potential firms questions such as;
The best way to know whether a firm is doing a good job of keeping it's clients happy is to look for honest testimonials about the business. These can be found through:
As your case progresses, there will be a series of fees and charges you will need to pay either upfront (if not a 'no win, no fee, no catch' firm) or that will be paid by the firm and will come out of your final settlement. The law firm you choose should be transparent about fees you are being charged. Some questions to ask are:
If you have any questions or would like to get in contact with a Queensland 'no-risk' compensation law firm, contact us on 1800 266 801 for free advice. Talk to our personal injury expert lawyers based in Brisbane, Gold Coast, and Sunshine Coast, risk-free.
It’s important to get advice for your specific situation. Check if you can make a risk-free compensation claim and get free initial advice from our Principal lawyer, Greg Smith.