If someone hurt you in an accident, you probably need medical and legal help, and you need it fast. Getting immediate medical attention makes sense, but most people don’t realize that legal advice is also needed as soon as possible after an accident. Why the urgency? First, experienced personal injury attorneys conduct thorough accident scene investigations. The longer the time lapse between the accident and the accident scene investigation, the greater the likelihood that evidence has been lost or destroyed or that the setting has changed. Second, insurance companies push for fast settlements, before victims have a chance to hear an attorney’s assessment of the approximate value of the damages. Third, having a skilled advocate focused on the legal and financial matters allows you to concentrate on your physical and emotional recovery from the traumatic event.
How To Search For The Best Personal Injury Attorney Nearby
Several approaches will help you find the best personal injury attorney in your area. Getting personal referrals, using the state bar website, and conducting internet searches are common strategies for finding an attorney to represent you.
Personal Referrals
The old-fashioned referral process yields results—ask family, friends, and coworkers to recommend attorneys. If the attorneys they know don’t handle personal injury cases, ask your friend to ask the attorney for a referral to a personal injury attorney. If by a personal injury attorney has represented someone you know, ask about the type of case, how the attorney handled it, and how it turned out. Find out if your friend was satisfied with the result and what she or he wished had been different.
California State Bar
The California State Bar has information to help you answer the question, “How do I find the best personal injury attorney near me?” The State Bar website explains what a certified lawyer referral service is, why you might want to use one, and how to locate one near Redding, California. The State Bar website also contains resources about how to find and choose a personal injury attorney.
Internet Research
In addition to providing information about how to find a lawyer, once you identify some lawyers, you can learn more about them on the State Bar website. You can look up lawyers by name to find out where they went to law school when they were admitted to the California Bar, what certified legal specialties they have, whether they are members of specialized legal groups, and whether the bar has taken any disciplinary action against them.
Other internet searches can reveal details about a personal injury attorney’s experience and success in representing clients. Teaching, making presentations, or writing about their practice areas are all evidence of a lawyer’s expertise. Client reviews and synopses of case awards and verdicts provide additional information about personal injury attorneys.
What to look for when finding the best personal injury attorney near me
Certain qualities separate “average” attorneys from “the best” personal injury attorneys. Look for these qualities when searching for the best personal injury attorney in your area.
Experience With Your Type of Accident and Injury
Personal injury law covers a wide variety of tragedies. It includes car crashes, big truck collisions, motorcycle wrecks, construction site accidents, defective products, boating injuries, and more. The best personal injury lawyer for your case is the one who has tried and won many cases with circumstances and injuries similar to yours. Proving the life-long damage from a spinal cord injury is different than demonstrating how a rollover wreck crushed internal organs. Proving who was responsible for the injuries caused by a defective boat part is different from showing who was liable in a big rig crash.
Your research should have provided information about an attorney’s practice areas, the types of clients represented, and maybe the outcomes of some of the cases. In your initial free consultation, you can ask more specific questions about their experience.
An attorney successful in trial advocacy may be more persuasive in settlement negotiations because it is obvious the attorney is willing to go all the way to court and has a track record of winning in court. Litigation is expensive, so insurance companies usually want to settle rather than go to trial. California recognizes a certified legal specialty in Civil Trial Advocacy. The National Board of Trial Advocacy certifies attorneys with this specialty as experts in litigation.
Local Knowledge and Community Participation
Look for lawyers who are familiar with your city or geographic region. Every jurisdiction has local rules governing legal matters—you want your attorney to know the rules. In addition, juries may favor lawyers who are from the same community and understand local customs and people. Finally, it’s easier for a lawyer to successfully complete case investigations and get information in a community where they are active participants. And don’t underestimate how much easier it is to work with a lawyer who is close by rather than across the state.
The experienced personal injury attorneys at Reiner, Slaughter & Frankel are known as Redding, California’s safety lawyers. They host safety events like car seat drives in Redding and the surrounding communities and are community leaders, actively participating in the Shasta-Trinity County Bar Association, the Redding Rotary Club, and West Redding Little League.
Interpersonal Skills
When you are seeking compensation for injuries, you must share a lot of personal information. Attorneys and insurance adjusters will scrutinize your medical records, past and present. You will have to describe how the injuries have impacted the most intimate parts of your life, like your relationship with your children and spouse and your emotional and mental health and well-being. You need support through this process. An attorney who listens carefully and compassionately and knows how to minimize the pain the process itself can cause is the best personal injury attorney for you.
Personal injury cases can take years to resolve. Choose an advocate you can enjoy working with for a long time. While you don’t need to become best friends, compatible communication styles, mutual respect, and a commitment to honest and direct conversations about difficult topics are essential. While you are interviewing attorneys, get a sense of how the attorney will interact with you and your family.
The best personal injury attorneys in Redding, California, work at Reiner, Slaughter & Frankel
The personal injury lawyers at Reiner, Slaughter & Frankel, LLP have over 590 million recovered for victims in a variety of personal injury matters. From a fender bender at Pine and Placer Streets to a Caltrans construction accident, Russell Reiner, Todd Slaughter, and Richard Frankel are there for their clients. They’re experienced litigators who believe in serving their community. You’re as likely to see them on the lakes or at a Little League game as you are to see them in their Redding or Chico offices. If you’re asking, “Who’s the best personal injury attorney near me?” you’ve got your answer in Reiner, Slaughter & Frankel.