You have sustained a serious injury and have identified the party at fault. After extensive research, you are considering a personal injury attorney and schedule an initial consultation either free or paid. Before you attend the consultation, composing a list of questions to ask would be beneficial so you can make an educated, timely decision based on answers you receive.

The outcome of your lawsuit could be the difference between a judgement that satisfies you and allows you to receive the help you need and deserve and one that will be a failure and leave you in financial uncertainty. Here are some important questions to ask a personal injury lawyer at your consultation.

1. Do you have experience in cases similar to mine?

Some lawyers and law firms are considered general litigators, meaning they are experienced in all sorts of different types of law. When looking to hire a personal injury lawyer, you want to make sure that the person is experienced in personal injury law more than any other type of law if not exclusively. This will guarantee they have handle personal injury cases on a daily basis. It is beneficial to hire someone who has experience representing the plaintiff instead of having a record representing only defendants as processes to represent each are vastly different.

2. What are your fees?

This question is imperative to ask at the initial consultation because if you cannot afford the lawyer’s fees, you are wasting your time. Ask if they have a retaining fee to hire them because this will need to be paid before the attorney starts anything to do with your case. Ask for a contract and breakdown of all fees including any administrative costs and any money needed to hire professionals such as investigators, experts, and physicians who may ask for a fee to testify.

Also of value would be asking whether the attorney or law firm can carry any fees until the judgement date and in the event your lawsuit is denied will you be responsible for any fees other than the attorney’s. If the fee breakdown is acceptable, sign a contract that demonstrates that both parties agree to costs and this will prevent any hidden or additional fees that you did not agree to as these could create problems down the road.

3. Do you see any problems with my case?

Paying attorney fees as well as any additional costs recommended by the attorney would amount to a substantial amount of money. Therefore, you want to make sure that your case is as clear as possible. Asking this question will give the opportunity for the attorney to clarify any information he needs to move forward with your case. Lawsuits and potential trials take up a lot of time and most attorneys get paid more if they win.

For this reason, most will be up front and tell people if they think their case cannot be won so they can move on to cases where they can be more successful. So if a personal injury attorney tells you that your case may be problematic, you can usually take their word for it.

4. Do you have actual trial experience?

Just because an attorney may be trained and experienced in personal injury cases this does not equal that they are familiar with trials. The reality is many attorneys who call themselves trial lawyers or personal injury attorneys rarely if ever go to trial. A significant amount of personal injury lawsuits are settled out of court before a trial begins, but in case there is a chance that your case does go to trial, you would want to make sure that your attorney is experienced in the courtroom. A lawyer with extensive experience in the courtroom shows that the inclination is not always to settle and that they are not afraid to take a matter to trial.