4 Tips for Choosing the Best Wrongful Death Attorney
By definition, wrongful death is when another party is the reason why your family member’s life ended. This can happen because of negligence, car accident, manufacturing, or selling a product with a defect and many other reasons. If something like this happens in your family, then you need to look for a wrongful death attorney that will be able to help you get justice in this terrible and scary period.
We compiled a list of tips on how to choose the best lawyer for your case, so before you decide on the right one, make sure they really are the best. Follow our tips and remember that you are the one who has the last word.
1. Experience with Wrongful Death Cases
The first thing you should look for when choosing the right lawyer is if they are experienced in similar cases. You should know that you are not looking for any type of attorney and that you are represented by someone who knows what they are doing with these cases.
You can ask the law representative you talk with about their rates for the verdicts they got and how many settlements have they led. Most lawyers try and settle because that cuts the procedure short, and this is both good and bad for you.
If you are looking to get money out of the other person or company, then you should talk to your lawyer about your chances. However, if you are looking for someone to be responsible, if you are looking to take their license away or their product out of the market, you probably don’t want to settle and you want the case to go in front of a judge.
Wrongful deaths happen and often we will it to be an injustice done to our family members. On a side note, that’s why it is important that a person pens out a will. With modern technologies at hand, you can do so at OneWill.co and the process is fairly simple.
2. Do some background checks
Before settling for an attorney, you should do a lot of research when it comes to their background and if they are a good lawyer. You can start by Googling the best law representatives in your area, and once you find a list, you should check them one by one.
You should check their website and see what they are offering, check to see if they have all the right degrees, diplomas, and certificates. These things should be written on the website.
The next thing you should do is check their reviews. Don’t stick just to the things they have on their site, because everyone adds the best things possible on their personal marketing websites. Go to forums, groups, and check social media. If you notice a bad review, you can even contact the person who left it and try to learn why.
If you notice that there are only good reviews and five stars, it may mean that most of those things are fabricated and maybe even paid for. Try to see what other real people talk about the attorneys and how happy they were with the services.
You can also go to a Facebook group for wrongful deaths and check if people are recommending a lawyer. People who went through the same thing you are going through, know who a good lawyer is and how they can represent you in court.
3. How to prepare for the first consultation
Once you have a smaller list of possible representatives, you can call their offices and ask if they are offering a first free consultation. That first meeting can help you get to know them and ask some of the most important questions.
Some law firms can give you a consultation for free, but not all of them do. You should know that this fact should not be decisive since not every lawyer wants to give their services for free. If that is an option, book an appointment and talk to them about the possibilities, their rates, and if you will have a chance to win the case in court.
One of the things you need to notice is how your potential attorney talks to you. The communication should be open, they should be patient with you and they should always keep you in the loop. This is for both before you choose the right representative and during the whole process.
Feelings of anger, sadness, and fear are normal, and your attorney should address them and talk to you about every step of the way. They should always be open with you and give you information on how everything is going.
4. Lawsuit information and FAQs
You should know that in order to file a lawsuit for wrongful death, you need to have reasonable suspicions and proof. Thelawcenter.com suggests that there are elements that need to be present so you can prove liability in court. One of them is that the death occurred due to the other’s side negligence or wrongful act. Your attorney will give you more information about the elements and they should tell you which documents or proof you’d need to get in order for the whole case to go easy.
When you talk to the possible representative, you should come prepared with questions so you can learn more about them, experience, and expertise.
You should ask them about their experience when it comes to personal injuries, and as we mentioned before, their experience with wrongful death cases. Ask them how many cases like this they have per year and the statistics about them. How many of those cases end in settlement, how many went to court, and what their verdict rate is.
Ask them if they have ever had a case similar to yours and how they handled it. You can even ask them to walk you through the whole process and give you an estimation of what is the best thing you can hope for and what happens if you lose the case.
These are some of the things you should consider before you choose the right representative for you when it comes to your case. Feel free to talk to as many attorneys as you want and if all of them offer a free consultation, then you should book an appointment with all of them.
These cases may take a while, and sometimes liability is hard to prove. You need a lawyer who is going to be there for you every step of the way and you should feel comfortable with them. If you don’t trust them and if you don’t believe they can win your case, then you should continue your search for the best attorney.
