You can find the best personal injury lawyers on Long Island by looking for an attorney who is experienced in your practice area, accessible, and prioritizes your needs as a client. You can’t prepare for an accident, but you can prepare for what comes next.
After an accident, you may have serious injuries, require medical treatment, or face time off from work. It’s unfair for you to have to bear those costs all on your own if you did not cause the accident.
The law allows victims of accidents to hold the at-fault party responsible in a claim for damages. To recoup compensation, you may be considering hiring a personal injury lawyer. A personal injury lawyer can help you build your claim, but not all attorneys are right for you. To find the best personal injury lawyer on Long Island for your case, you’ll need to take the time to carefully research and ask questions about your potential legal representation.
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Why You Need to Find the Right Personal Injury Attorney on Long Island
The right attorney could make a difference in helping you recover compensation. Your lawyer can help you seek a settlement in your personal injury case that makes up for the losses you suffered.
Who qualifies as the best personal injury lawyer is subjective, so it will change from one person to the next. Personal injury victims should focus on finding the best lawyer on Long Island for their particular needs. Consider your personal needs as a client and find an attorney who you believe can meet them. When looking for an attorney, you should:
Find Someone With Experience in Your Practice Area
At the most basic level, you want your attorney to be familiar with personal injury law as well as the type of case you are bringing. This is called a practice area. Not all lawyers handle the same type of personal injury cases. The best personal injury lawyer for you will ideally have years of experience handling cases in the same area.
If you have a construction accident, you should search for an attorney with deep experience fighting for construction accident victims. A medical malpractice victim should look for an injury lawyer who has handled numerous medical negligence claims. While many legal concepts overlap between practice areas, the specific statutes that apply to certain personal injury claims can vary greatly.
Seek a Personal Injury Attorney Local to Your Area
The advent of virtual conferences has allowed personal injury victims to meet with attorneys when they can’t be in the same room, but at some point, you may need to sit down with your lawyer in person. It helps to have someone that you can easily travel to see. A local office is ideal.
Alternatively, you could seek out a lawyer who is willing to travel to see you even if they are not within your local area. Be aware that travel time and trip planning can take extra effort and take away from time spent on your case. There is also a level of connection that you can build when you can see your attorney in person, and they can see you without technological barriers.
Have an Attorney Who Is Accessible
You may feel frustrated if you hire a lawyer you cannot reach. Some personal injury lawyers are so busy that they lose touch with their clients. They say they’re working on your case but can’t be bothered with taking your call to speak to you about it.
You are more than a case file, and your lawyer should treat you as such. To find the best lawyer, you need to search for someone who values building strong client relationships, prioritizes communication, and ensures they are available and accessible.
Hire an Attorney With Access to Resources
The best accident attorney will have the resources to fight for your compensation even if that means filing a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf and going to trial. Your lawyer must have the financial resources and the network to launch an investigation, hire experts, obtain information, and cover necessary litigation costs.
Insurance companies have a lot of money at their disposal. If your case goes to trial, your law firm may need to match the insurance company’s spending. It’s much harder to do this if they are backed by limited resources.
Find Out the Injury Lawyer’s Legal Fees
The cost of handling a personal injury claim is probably high on your list of things to consider when finding the right attorney. You should aim to find an attorney who works on a contingency-fee basis. This is a fee arrangement that allows you to receive legal service at no upfront expense. Injury lawyers who use this pricing structure only charge you for their service if they win your case. The amount you pay will be a percentage of the compensation they help you obtain.
If you’re trying to put your life back together after an accident that put you out of work, it’s unlikely that you’ll have the money to continuously pay legal fees. Finding a lawyer who works on a contingency-fee basis is the most practical solution.
Be sure to find out the actual percentage the attorney charges and any other costs associated with their legal service. The best injury lawyers are transparent about their pricing.
Look at the Accident Lawyer’s Reputation
The top lawyers on Long Island will have a reputation of success and may even have the awards to back it up. Search out or ask to see their case results. Look for any honors from legal organizations, publications, and reputable websites.
Accolades that these organizations give out are usually based on peer recommendations from other lawyers, client feedback, and case victories. These honors can indicate the law firm or attorney’s degree of success and service. Not all lawyers will have awards or public recognition. That should not disqualify them from consideration as there are other criteria to evaluate.
Read Client Reviews
Locating the best Long Island accident lawyer should also include reading client reviews from reputable and objective sources. Past clients will illuminate the law firm’s service quality. Reviews usually talk about a firm’s shortcomings and strengths. As you read client reviews, focus on any patterns that emerge in the positive reviews and the negative ones. Past clients may also include other types of information that can help you decide if the lawyer or law firm is the right fit for you.
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Qualities of a Good Lawyer on Long Island
Beyond evaluating the legal practice that the law firm demonstrates, you should look at the qualities the individual lawyer possesses. After all, you could be in a relationship with this person for a long period of time. You need to know if they have what it takes to pursue your case to victory and handle the responsibilities that go along with that. A great personal injury lawyer should have the qualities listed below:
Passion for the Law and Service
Passion is easy to spot. It comes through in how a lawyer explains your case, how they talk about their past victories, and how hard they work. The best lawyers are the most passionate about serving others. They achieve results for their clients not because of how much money they can make, but because they know what a difference it makes to the clients’ lives. Passion is a great driving force for lawyers, and it will keep them going in times when cases become challenging.
Communication Skills
Being a great communicator is essential to handling the affairs of other people. As your representative, one of your attorney’s primary jobs will be to speak for you in a host of situations. They will need to communicate with insurance adjusters, police officers, medical providers, witnesses, experts, staff members, judges, juries, and potentially many others.
They need to have the temperament and agility to effectively communicate with these parties in different scenarios. They must also communicate clearly with you to explain legal concepts in a way you understand and keep you updated on the progression of your case.
Honesty
Your lawyer should be honest about what you can expect in your case, even if there are legal challenges involved. They should provide transparency about their pricing, strategies, the prospect of winning, and their familiarity with the insurance company or defendant involved in your case. Honesty breeds trust, and you need to have an attorney you can trust.
Compassion and Client Care
Personal injury lawyers, just like any other type of attorney, should serve their clients with care and compassion. As you are going through what may be the most difficult time in your life, you deserve to have an advocate who takes the time to get to know your situation and wants to do everything in their power to ease your burdens.
The attorney-client relationship is key. The right Long Island injury attorney is dedicated to providing you with top-notch legal service and personal attention. They call to check up on you, provide timely updates and replies, and treat you with dignity and kindness. They serve with compassion, knowing that you are suffering because of an accident that you did not cause.
Attentive Listening
To foster a strong relationship, your injury lawyer will first learn your story. The best lawyers are attentive listeners who can focus on the important details, respond appropriately to your concerns, and keep them at the forefront of their thoughts. A lawyer with great listening skills can adapt to each client and tailor their strategy to meet your needs and win your case. An attorney who does not listen to you does not have your best interests in mind.
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Resourcefulness and Creative Thinking
The best injury attorneys are resourceful, creative thinkers. They can find a solution to a problem others find insurmountable by thinking outside the box. They know how to leverage information and contacts to achieve results for their clients. Resourceful lawyers anticipate the other party’s moves and adapt their strategy accordingly. When your case gets complicated, they will navigate the gray areas.
Organization
A great injury lawyer is organized. Attorneys must manage a large amount of information to keep cases moving forward. From meetings to case files, to trial appearances, to communications, a lawyer must stay organized to keep up with multiple cases. They should maneuver from one obligation to the next with ease. This also means they should have a support staff and utilize technology to help them stay on top of their daily tasks.
Assertiveness
Lawyers must be staunch and unmovable when it comes to dealing with certain kinds of insurance companies and opposing counsel. A good lawyer is sure of what they know, committed to their goals, and dedicated to protecting your rights. The path of least resistance is not an option if that path is not in your best interest.
Assertive attorneys communicate with confidence, knowing that you are riding on their judgment. Any hint of uncertainty could be taken as a sign of weakness to the opposing party. Your lawyer should not back down when faced with opposition and should do everything in their power to ensure you get the compensation you deserve. That may mean taking your case to trial or holding out in settlement negotiations.
Don’t Be Discouraged When Searching for the Best Lawyer Near You
When you know how to find the best accident lawyer on Long Island, you can search for an attorney with confidence. Understanding what makes a great attorney will hopefully empower you to seek only the best and help you make a decision much faster than you otherwise would.
You may have to speak with multiple attorneys to arrive at the right fit. Just know that taking the time to evaluate each one will eliminate a lot of confusion, frustration, and disappointment down the line. In most cases, when you find the right accident lawyer, you’ll know.
