If you have been injured in an accident, and you are thinking about making a claim for compensation, then the legal advice you receive right now is very important, since it may sway your decision to claim. You need to know if you have a strong claim, and how much you can claim, before being able to make an informed decision.
The best place to get legal advice is with accident advice solicitors who specialise in your kind of accident, or the injuries that you have sustained. The solicitor in question will ideally have plenty of case experience and a high success rate, which is a percentage of the amount of cases they have won. The solicitor should also work for a reputable law firm, and preferably one that has been operating over 10 or 15 years.
Here are our top tips for hiring a trusted lawyer:
- Case experience
You need a lawyer on your side who has been there before. What we mean by this, is that you need a lawyer who knows how to win you compensation, because they have won compensation for people in a similar situation to yourself in the past. For example, if you suffered broken bones in a road traffic accident, then a solicitor who has worked road traffic accident claims where similar injuries were sustained with be most relevant to your claim. It is also important to remember that years’ experience does always guarantee case experience. There are plenty of young lawyers out there with considerable case experience.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority
It is also important to consider that practicing solicitors in England and Wales must be admitted to the Solicitors Regulation Authority ‘roll of solicitors’. This is a list of individuals who are registered and legally allowed to practice the law. You can check the credentials of any lawyer against this roll, with their ‘roll number’. In addition to this, you can also check the credentials of a law firm, since the SRA regulates these too in the United Kingdom.
- Law firm communication
Our last top tip is simple – you should contact each law firm you are interested in on the telephone, and speak to their advisors or a solicitor. This is the best way to get a sense of how suitable they are to process your claim. Some law firms also operate ‘accident claims helplines’, which you can call for fast and relevant claims advice. These are offered without obligation and are free to call. And, since they are operated by law firms, you will be able to take your personal injury claim further with them should you wish to do so.