Finding a good Tacoma Injury Lawyer
If you are a Tacoma resident and involved with a personal injury claim, it may be time for you to find a good Tacoma injury lawyer. There are a couple pieces of advice you should follow to make sure you find the injury attorney that is right for you.
First, you want to be wary of injury lawyers that proactively seek you out. These are known as “ambulance chasers”, and the ethics of this tactic is questionable in the field of law. Lawyers who do this usually have their eye on a potential big payday and look to seek out vulnerable clients. So even if it sounds like a lawyer is coming to your rescue, you should hold out, do your research and find a lawyer who suits your needs.
Mainly, you want to try to get recommendations for a good Tacoma injury lawyer from people you know or try to find one with plenty of experience with personal injury claims. If your case is complicated, trial experience would be helpful. If you were involved in wide-scale accident where they were many victims, then you may want to look for an attorney who has experience with class action settlements and mass torts.
Another good thing to keep in mind is the level of comfort you feel with an attorney. The attorney-client relationship is important – you have to be able to trust them and let them guide you in your case, especially if litigation is involved.
Attorney Fees
The fees you will be charged by your Tacoma injury lawyer is another factor you have to take into consideration. In addition to the rates, you also need to know how the fees are structured. There are hourly rates, flat fees, retainer fees and contingency fees. Hourly rates are pretty self explanatory. Unless you completely trust the attorney and are getting a good rate, you need to be careful when being charged hourly rates. It’s difficult to tell how much you will end up having to pay your attorney.
A flat fee is when you pay an agreed set amount to your attorney for your case, regardless of the outcome or tasks required, whether the attorney has to negotiate your settlement or take your case to trial. A retainer fee is when you pre-pay for the lawyer’s services. This fee is placed in an account the lawyer will then use for expenses related to your case. When expenses are exceeded you may have to pay an additional fee to retain the lawyer’s services.
Contingency fees are when you pay your Tacoma injury lawyer a percentage of the overall settlement you receive. This may be as high as one-third but can be negotiable. This is ideal because in essence you are paying your attorney on a performance basis. If your settlement ends up being much lower than expected, at least your attorney’s fees won’t be that high. Unless you have a previous relationship with the injury lawyer, the contingency fee or flat fee is probably the ideal structure to use.
You need a Tacoma injury lawyer with personal injury claim experience and a record of success. To find an experienced and successful Tacoma injury lawyervisit http://injuryattorneytacoma.com.