One of the most common questions we receive as personal injury lawyers is: do I need an attorney for my case?
The answer is yes. Without a doubt, you should hire an attorney when pursuing a personal injury claim. Individuals often leave money on the table when they attempt to negotiate their own settlement. An attorney can greatly increase the amount that you net in your pocket, will work to get your case settled in a timely way while ensuring all claims are presented, and will ensure you meet all filing requirements and deadlines.
Getting an attorney is highly recommended, but how do you choose one? Your choice of attorney can mean the difference between recovering the maximum compensation and receiving no money at all, so it’s crucial that you choose wisely. Finding an attorney can be an intimidating process, and you must assess and compare your options. One of our tips has always been to ask around. If you do, you’ll hear that many judges, law enforcement officers, and community members recommend Warshafsky.Â
Contact Warshafsky Law Firm today to speak to a Milwaukee personal injury attorney.
Below are some key things to consider when searching for an attorney.
Above all, you want an attorney with sufficient experience in your type of case. For instance, you most likely wouldn’t choose an attorney who primarily deals with divorce law or business mergers for your car accident claim. Ask potential attorneys about previous cases they have worked on and whether they have experience with your type of case. The more complex your case, the more you’ll want someone with niche experience.
Ultimately, you want an attorney with a proven track record of successful settlements and verdicts. Most attorneys post a list of their case results on their websites. Perhaps counterintuitively, the attorney with the most case results is not necessarily the best. An extremely long list of case results may show that they pursue cases quickly, which may not always produce the best outcome.
It also helps to look at testimonials and get word-of-mouth recommendations. You can get recommendations from friends, family, and professional colleagues or look at third-party review websites. Firms often post client testimonials on their websites, but they might curate these to create a positive impression. You can search firms on the Better Business Bureau’s website to see if they have any complaints. You can also contact the Wisconsin Bar Association to see if the firm or attorney has had any disciplinary action against them for professional misconduct.
You will spend a lot of time with your attorney, so you need someone personable with whom you can get along. Your attorney doesn’t need to be your best friend, but you should have a friendly relationship and see eye-to-eye on the critical issues in your case. It’s crucial that you respect and trust their advice and insight. Injury victims are often going through some of the most difficult times of their lives, and they need someone empathetic to guide them through the claims process.
In addition to the positive features of attorneys to consider, below are some red flags signifying that a particular lawyer might not be right for you.
Most reputable attorneys or firms focus on one or two practice areas, but none are masters of them all. If an attorney splits their time between several different fields, their skills in any of them might be lacking as their time and resources are stretched too thin. For instance, an attorney who handles personal injury, bankruptcy, family law, criminal defense, business litigation, and estate planning likely won’t have the deep knowledge or experience to excel in each practice area.
Personal injury (also called tort law) is a niche area of practice. Despite what attorney advertising might say, these are complicated situations and the law evolves annually. You need an injury lawyer who focuses their practice.
Attorneys should be confident in their skills, but they should not make grand promises they cannot keep. When discussing your case, your lawyer should provide a realistic assessment of its merits and difficulties. There are always uncertainties in legal proceedings, so no lawyer can guarantee a specific result. Wild promises are a sign an attorney is more interested in courting clients than in providing a sober legal assessment of your circumstances. With Warshafsky, you will always be given facts and legal consequences, so that you can make the best choice for your claim.Â
Generally, personal injury attorneys work on a contingency-fee basis. That means that they only get paid if they resolved a claim. But this also means they get paid whether they resolve it quickly for some money or take the time to do it right for a larger amount for their client. When you see mass market advertising of a personal injury brand, keep in mind that it is individual claimants who provided the firm with the funds to do that. Are they investing in their claims and clients, or are they investing in mass market advertising? Warshafsky only recommends resolving a claim when it is the proper time for that specific claim and at an amount that is a benefit for the client. We do not take shortcuts.
A major reason why people are hesitant to seek legal counsel is that they are worried about the cost. How are you supposed to weather the cost of a personal injury lawsuit when you don’t have the money to hire an attorney?
The good news is that most personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis. That means they take payment for their legal fees out of your settlement or award. When you hire an attorney on a contingency basis, you don’t pay an upfront fee, and you only pay if they win your case. If you don’t get a settlement or award, you won’t have to pay any attorney fees.
This arrangement is highly beneficial for both parties. The attorney is incentivized to win the case, and you won’t have to pay unless you receive money. With a contingency arrangement, you can seek the legal counsel you need without worrying about how you’ll pay for an attorney.
I’m Scott Hawkins. Ruth Hawkins was my stepmom. She was devoted to her family, devoted to church, and devoted to making everyone around her a better person. Antoine, he was my stepbrother. We grew up together. We played together. We had a great bond. They were on their way to Texas to celebrate Easter with my stepsister Rashida. They were traveling from Jackson, Tennessee, where they just picked up Janese. Janese – she was my sister. I can truly say that for her 20 years of life, me and my sister got along like best friends. My nephew, Antoine Jr., loved to play with his cousins. He loved to play with trains. He just enjoyed being a young kid. He was 3. He didn’t get a chance to enjoy life. They were traveling through a construction zone when they were rear-ended by a semi truck. We chose Warshafsky because to them it was more about taking care of us and not just a settlement. There were other firms that wanted us to settle quick, settle fast, so they could get their paycheck. They weren’t concerned with us. The Warshafsky Firm asked questions about us as a family – how we were doing and how we were handling the situation. One of my family members chose a law firm from the West Coast. That firm tried to convince them to settle for $750,000. The $750,000 they offered was the limit for the insurance carrier for the semi truck diver. Warshafsky was able to get down to the root of the accident and realize that the actual person at fault was the construction company. In the construction zone that they were traveling, the construction company had made it convenient for them to pull into their areas, but not convenient for drivers to flow through smoothly. By proving who was responsible for the accident, Warshafsky was able to get us $3.9 million instead of the $750k that the other company was offering for liability. Attorney Frank Crivello of Warshafsky Law Firm made us feel like more than just a client. He made me feel like a friend, a family member, like a person that he cared about. 12 years after the accident, I still talk to Frank Crivello. He’s become a friend of mine. I don’t wish tragedy on anyone, but if there’s a tragedy in your life, the Warshafsky Law Firm will take care of you and your family.
Our attorneys at Warshafsky Law Firm collectively hold over 100 years of trial experience and have recovered tens of millions of dollars for our clients across a wide range of personal injury claims. We have forged a reputation as aggressive negotiators and litigators who are unafraid to stand up to big insurance companies and fight for the rights of injury victims.
We take a comprehensive approach to every case we take on and will look for every possible source of compensation. We’ll account for the long-term effects of your injuries, such as long-term medical care or reductions in lifetime earning capacity. We are relentless in the pursuit of justice and will utilize every resource at hand to achieve a satisfactory resolution to your case. When it’s your money and well-being on the line, you need an attorney who won’t back down.
Most importantly, we have the compassion and empathy necessary for effective legal counsel. We understand how difficult life can be after sustaining a serious injury and will work to secure the compensation you need for financial stability. We cannot undo the pain and suffering you have unjustly experienced, but we can help you find security and closure during this challenging period.
Contact us online or call (414) 276-4970 to speak with a Milwaukee personal injury attorney. We offer free, no-obligation case consultations, so you have nothing to lose by giving us a call.
