How Do I Select A PI Lawyer?
Q: I'm located in the San Francisco/Oakland area and am in the process of doing research before selecting a personal injury attorney for my mother. Background: She was a passenger behind the driver in a '87 Cadillac that rear ended another car on the freeway. She suffered injuries caused by the lap belt she was wearing. The belt caused internal bleeding in the abdomen from torn mesentery veins and a small hole in her duodenum(small intestine). She had surgery to stop the bleeding/repair the damage and spent seven days in the hospital. Due to the loss of blood, the nature of the injury/surgery she probably won't be back to work for at least 2-3 months. Other passengers in the car: The driver suffered minor injuries from his seat belt and was back to work within a week. The front seat passenger, wasn't wearing a seat belt, suffered a cut on her cheek and the area around her eye was swollen. She was released from the emergency room within 4 hours and sought the care of her own doctor. The other back seat passenger, wasn't wearing a seat belt, had minor soreness and a cut from her glasses when she hit the back of the seat in front of her. The insurance company for the driver has already admitted responsibility. So...Here are some of my questions: 1) What type of personal injury attorney should I be looking for? 2) Large or small law firm? 3) What type of questions should I ask the attorney? 4) How can I check the past cases an attorney or firm has handled? 5) What happens if the driver is under insured? 6) Where does the hospital(HMO) recover it's costs from? 7) What happens if multiple claims are filed against the driver's insurance? Will we be fighting for a share of the insurance coverage pie? Who gets to "eat" the pie first?
A: I am glad to see that there are folks like you that are asking good questions on how to select a lawyer as opposed to just turning to the local yellow pages or the fanciest ad on TV for the lawyer to call. I am a personal injury trial lawyer in La Crosse, Wisconsin. I started helping people on the Internet about a year ago. I was amazed at how many people would pick an attorney without any thought. For that reason, I founded prairielaw.com at http://prairielaw.com on the Internet. Not only is there an article there on how you should go about selecting a lawyer, but there is a directory of screened plaintiffs lawyers from throughout the country. We have done our best to limit it to plaintiffs lawyers who tend to be members of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America or your state's trial lawyers association. Those lawyers are going to be representing Plaintiffs and have an awful lot of experience in handling personal injury claims. Specifically in regard to your questions, I don't think you are going to need a specific type of personal injury lawyer. Although your mother's injuries were significant, there is nothing unusual about the nature of the case. Generally, you will find that good plaintiffs firms tend to be on the small side, that is anywhere from 2 to 6 or 7 lawyers. The mammoth firms tend to be firms that represent large corporations and insurance companies against folks like yourself. The questions that you ought to ask the lawyer are what type of cases do they handle on a regular basis, what has been the result of the last three cases that they have settled or tried, how often do they go to trial? That is something that you are going to want to know so that the insurance company knows that this attorney is willing to take the matter to trial if the insurance company does not handle the matter fairly. You can ask the lawyer what you expect the out-of-pocket expenses to be on the case in addition to the legal fees. That will give you some idea as to what the lawyer expects to do in working up a case. In certain states, references are allowed. I give out past clients as references to future clients so they can check me out. If the other driver is underinsured, your mother may have underinsured