If you have suffered an injury due to another person’s negligence in Ohio and are considering suing them, hiring a lawyer is a good idea. This is especially in the case of a personal injury. Such cases can be tricky to navigate all by yourself. A lawyer can work to your benefit and help you get what you’re legally entitled to.
For first-timers, choosing a lawyer can be overwhelming, and you may not know where to start or what to look for. This guide can help you take the first steps in the lawyer-choosing journey and can be an excellent read for tips.
Consider Experience and Focus Area
Hands-on experience endows a lawyer with skills no years of school can teach. So, the first thing to look for in a lawyer is their years of practice. Most lawyers or legal firms will flaunt their experience on their websites. If not, you can ask.
Experience in a specific field also matters. Personal injury law is a pretty broad field. Most lawyers pick a specific area and focus on it. For example, a lawyer can choose to focus on car accidents. While such a lawyer can do a commendable job in personal injury cases, they may not do such an excellent job in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
For such cases, you will need to work with a lawyer whose focus area is medical malpractice or who has experience working on medical malpractice lawsuits and winning fair compensation for clients.
Track Record and Reputation
You cannot accurately predict a lawyer’s performance, but their track record and reputation can give you an idea of what to expect from them. If they have had a history of winning fair settlements for their clients, there is a big chance you could recover fair compensation. The opposite is also true. Recognizing the strengths of your lawyer can significantly bolster your case and help you make an informed decision.
So, apart from years of experience, look for their track record. Most lawyers will have their best wins displayed on their websites. If not, you could ask. However, it is important to understand that every case is different, and their past wins do not guarantee that your case will be the same.
You must also pay attention to their reputation by listening to what their past clients say on social media, review sites and testimonials.
Geographical Area of Practice
When navigating a personal injury claim in Ohio, a local personal injury lawyer may be the best fit for your case for several reasons. They will have a deeper insight into local laws than a lawyer from another state; they will also be more readily accessible when you need to have an in-person meeting and be familiar with the system and its officials.
Sometimes, you may need to narrow it down to a county or city. The nearer they are to you, the more convenient it will be for you, but you also want to consider other factors besides convenience. For those in Ohio, speaking to personal injury lawyer Charles Boyk of Charles E. Boyk Law Offices, LLC can be especially beneficial.
Other Factors
Payment options are not a major consideration when choosing a personal injury lawyer in Ohio because almost all lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. It means a lawyer gets a percentage of the settlement if they win a client’s case and nothing if they lose.
However, you may need to pay attention to the percentage a lawyer takes because it can range from 30 to 40 percent. However, it would be best to consider other factors besides the lawyer’s cut, as some cheaper options may be expensive.
Do not hire a lawyer without visiting their office in person. Visiting a lawyer’s office in person gives you a rough idea of who you are dealing with regarding their organizational skills, communication skills, time management, and other interpersonal skills.
Lynn Martelli is an editor at Readability. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and has worked as an editor for over 10 years. Lynn has edited a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and more. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends.
