How to Choose a Compensation Lawyer

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.

Injured? Get expert advice now: Smith's are Queensland's only 100% risk-free injury compensation lawyers. Insist on our 'No Win. No Fee. No Catch' ® promise. Check your rights with no risk or obligations now and talk direct to our Principal lawyer, Greg Smith. Call 1800 266 801 OR  check if you can claim

Injury experts or Jack-of-all trades?

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.

Experience of staff 

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:

• Have they had much experience in the area of law you are looking for?
• Who will be working on the case?
• Will you have a specific lawyer appointed to your matter?

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Risks - could you be left out of pocket?

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:

• Could I be liable for any outlays such as medical reports if my case is successful?
• If my case goes to court and I lose, could I be liable for the other side's legal costs?
• Are there any other situations in which I could be left out of pocket.
  Are there any upfront fees?
  

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Convenience 

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;

• Do you offer home visits?
• Do I need to come into the office often?
• Do you have an office near me?
• Can we communicate by phone / email/skype?

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Service 

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:

• Testimonials on their website from past clients
• Looking at their Google reviews and star rating on Google
• Asking the business about customer satisfaction ratings of current clients

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Assessment of fees 

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:

• Are fees independently assessed?
• When will the fees be paid?
• Is a breakdown of fees available on request upon settlement?

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.