In 2020 alone, there were more than 35,000 deaths caused by car accidents. Car accidents can be very serious even if they don’t result in death since they can also result in serious injuries and other problems. If you have recently been in an accident involving a car or semi truck, you might be wondering what you should do next.
The next step is to hire an attorney in Houston, Texas, to help you through this. The last thing you want is to try to navigate this problem without a lawyer, otherwise, you might end up confused and stressed. But how should you hire a good truck accident lawyer in the first place?
Keep reading and learn more about what you should consider below.
Check the Online Reviews and Ask for Referrals
The first step you should take before you hire a truck accident attorney is to ask for referrals. If you know anyone that has been in a truck accident before and has hired a lawyer to sort it out, you can ask them about the lawyer they chose. You can also ask specific questions about the lawyer such as how helpful (or unhelpful) they might have been.
If your acquaintance doesn’t have much good to say about the lawyer they hired, that lawyer obviously won’t be a very good choice. On the other hand, if your acquaintance has only good things to say about the lawyer and the lawyer’s performance, then this is a good sign. Your acquaintance might enthuse about the professionalism of the lawyer, the lawyer’s efficiency, and so on.
Your acquaintance might even refer you to the lawyer themselves. But what if you don’t have anyone you know that has been in a truck accident before? In that case, you’ll have to resort to doing a bit of research online.
Fortunately, you can find a lot of important information about different lawyers on the internet. This is because most lawyers have at least a handful of reviews available for you to browse. These online reviews are helpful for a variety of reasons.
The Details
After all, they are from clients who have used a particular lawyer before. Whatever those reviews have to say can tell you a lot about the professionalism of that lawyer and so on. If you find a lawyer with mostly negative reviews, this is a bad sign.
The reviews might find that the lawyer charged too much or that the lawyer didn’t do a very good job of representing them. Whatever the case, you should always stay away from a lawyer that doesn’t have very many positive reviews. This is a sign that the lawyer doesn’t care about their clients and, of course, such a lawyer won’t be of much help to you.
On the other hand, if you find a lawyer that has mostly positive reviews, you may be on the right track. The reviews might enthuse about the lawyer’s efficiency and ability to sort out problems in a speedy and professional manner. Whatever the case, if you find a lawyer with many positive reviews, this means that the lawyer cares about his or her clients and will try to come up with the best legal outcome for them.
At the same time, you should try to avoid lawyers that don’t have many or any reviews at all. This is because it will be difficult to see how the lawyer really operates without the second opinion of others. While the lawyer’s website might look professional, you’ll still have no way of knowing the lawyer’s attitude or level of professionalism.
Years of Experience and Education
While client reviews can be helpful in narrowing down your options, you shouldn’t choose a lawyer based on these reviews alone. Instead, you will also need to consider a few other important factors such as how many years of experience the lawyer has. The last thing you want to do is choose a lawyer that is fresh out of school and hardly has any experience.
While such a lawyer might have all the necessary legal education, the lawyer still won’t have any hands-on experience. And of course, hands-on experience is exactly what a good lawyer needs, especially if the case ends up going to court. A lawyer who has never been in court before or who has never dealt with a case like yours before will not be able to help you very much and won’t be able to represent you very well.
For that reason, you should always choose a lawyer who has at least a few years of experience. The more years of experience a lawyer has, the better. This is because the more years a lawyer has, the more skill he will have at overcoming unexpected problems throughout the duration of your case.
An experienced lawyer will also be able to better navigate your case and make sure that it is represented in the best way possible. A new lawyer might be smart but he or she might not know what to do if an unexpected problem happens to arise.
What You Need to Know
Besides the years of experience a lawyer has, you should also double-check the lawyer’s credentials and education. A lawyer not only needs to have a law degree but also needs to pass the Bar exam to be a professional lawyer that can legally represent other people. In most cases, you can find these credentials on the lawyer’s website so you can browse the lawyer’s level of education.
If you can’t find this information on the lawyer’s website, you should find out in another way such as by making a call or sending out an email. You should be wary of any lawyer that is reluctant to reveal their education and credentials as such a lawyer might not be as professional as you might expect.
But as long as you find a lawyer with plenty of experience and evidence of a good education, then you shouldn’t have to worry about the lawyer’s quality.
Go for a Consultation
Once you find out all the major information about a particular lawyer, it will be a good idea to go in for a consultation. Meeting a lawyer in person is very important as it will give you a better idea of how the lawyer acts and operates. It will also give you the chance to ask the lawyer plenty of questions.
It is important for the lawyer to make a good first impression. Obviously, a lawyer that makes a bad first impression on you won’t be very pleasant to work with. Ideally, your lawyer should have a good attitude and should be ready to overcome whatever legal trouble you happen to have.
If you find that the lawyer has a bad attitude or if the lawyer is rude or distracted, this is a sign that you should go and find another lawyer that is more attentive to your needs. Besides the impression that the lawyer makes on you, you should also take the consultation as an opportunity to ask plenty of questions.
What to Know
For example, you can ask how long the legal proceedings might take and if there might be any problems along the way. Most importantly, you should ask about how the lawyer is going to charge you. This is significant because different lawyers charge in different ways.
For example, some lawyers may charge by the hour. In this case, you would have to be careful about how much of your lawyer’s time you take up if you don’t want to spend unnecessary money. Some lawyers, alternatively, may instead charge by the case.
It is, of course, important to choose a lawyer whose services fall within your budget. At the same time, you don’t want to get a low-quality lawyer at a cheap price. For that reason, you will have to balance out the price of the lawyer along with the quality of the lawyer.
As long as you do that, you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding the perfect truck accident lawyer for you.
Hiring a Truck Accident Lawyer in Houston, Texas
Hiring a good truck and car accident lawyer in Houston, Texas, can be difficult but it isn’t impossible as long as you know what to look for. For example, it would be a good idea to first start asking for referrals or doing some research online. It would also be a good idea to make sure that your lawyer has plenty of years of experience and a good education.
To find a good lawyer right away, contact us here. How to Hire a Commercial Truck and Car Accident Attorney