Hiring A Florida Personal Injury Attorney
If you have been injured as a result of someone else’s negligence in Florida, then you will want to retain an experienced personal injury attorney and achieve maximum compensation for the injuries and damages that you suffered. Part of this process is looking at each prospective attorney and making an informed decision as to who you want to represent you in connection with obtaining compensation for your injuries. However, there are a number of things you should be careful of when hiring a Florida personal injury attorney. The tips below are some factors that you should consider, and particularly some things that you should avoid, when it comes to making the important decision as to who you want to represent you in connection with your Florida personal injury claim.
The Florida Personal Injury Attorney Who Guarantees You a Result
Be wary of any attorney that guarantees you a certain amount of money from your case or tells you that you have a slam-dunk case that you cannot possibly lose. You may well have an excellent case that may be worth many thousands of dollars or even more, but no case is bulletproof. Juries routinely return verdicts that none of the attorneys were expecting. Witnesses may seem like they will help your case when your attorney interviews him or her prior to trial and then may say something totally different once in the stand, under oath and being cross-examined by the defense attorney. This is one reason that the ethics rules that apply to attorneys in Florida and just about every other state expressly prohibit attorneys from guaranteeing any result to their clients. There are just too many variables for an attorney to be able to guarantee any outcome to a client. Therefore, you should be careful of any attorney who tries to tell you that he or she can “for sure” get you a certain outcome. An experienced, seasoned attorney knows there are just too many things outside his or her control to make such a guarantee.
The Florida Personal Injury Attorney Who Solicits You in Person
In Florida, attorneys are not permitted to solicit potential clients in person under the ethics rules. If you were in a car accident and a car pulls up and someone gets out, tells you he or she is a personal injury attorney, that he or she can ensure you receive “big money” for your injuries, and that you should sign a retainer agreement on the spot, that is a major red flag. The same is true if you have been injured in a slip and fall incident and an attorney comes to your hospital room and tries to sell you on why you should choose him or her to represent you in seeking compensation for your injuries. There are several problems with this scenario. First, in both circumstances, you are either likely in shock from just having been in a very traumatic situation or else under the influence of pain medication, so you are hardly in a position to be making an important decision like who you want to represent you for purposes of your personal injury claim. The attorney pressuring you to sign up with him or her is violating ethical rules that could subject him or her to disciplinary action including a suspension or even loss of the ability to practice law. If you find yourself in this position, then take a breather and ask yourself (and this attorney) why it is so imperative that you act immediately. Often, you make the best decisions when you stop to give yourself some time to think about and weigh your options and the choice of who will represent you in a personal injury claim is no exception. This is particularly true given that you will only have one chance to recover for your damages and injuries suffered as a result of someone else’s negligence.
The Florida Personal Injury Attorney Who Pressures You to Act Immediately
An attorney who puts pressure on you or tells you that you need to do something immediately is usually a warning flag. This is true in the context of an attorney that tells you that you must accept a settlement offer because another one will never come along, or in any other context.
This often comes up in the context of an attorney who puts inordinate pressure on you to accept a settlement offer from the insurer who insures the person that injured you. You may receive a settlement offer and your attorney may tell you that this is the insurance company’s very best offer and you have to accept it immediately or the insurance company will never make a settlement offer this high again. A settlement offer that comes with a timeline attached to it is called an “exploding” offer. There are very few real “exploding” settlement offers, and they more often come from the injured person’s side as an attempt to put pressure on the insurance company to settle than they do from the other side. The quicker a case is settled and the settlement check is received, the quicker the injured person’s attorney gets paid, so there is a financial incentive for an attorney (particularly one who may need money for any number of reasons) to try and convince you to settle your case and settle it immediately.
Why Should You Choose Schwed, Adams & McGinley to Represent You?
At Schwed, Adams & McGinley, our Florida personal injury attorneys have over 150 years of combined legal experience. Our firm’s track record of obtaining excellent results speaks for itself. In addition to being well known for the outstanding results we have achieved for clients, we also are well-known for the work that we do in the community. You will never receive pressure from us to immediately settle a case or to sign on with us as a client. We will always look out for your best interests and do everything we can to ensure you receive maximum compensation for your injuries suffered as a result of someone else’s negligence. If you have been injured in any scenario in Florida, whether a motor vehicle or truck accident or a slip and fall or trip and fall or any other scenario, call the experienced Florida personal injury attorneys of Schwed, Adams & McGinley all us toll free at 877.694.6079 or email us at contact@schwedlawfirm.com today to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer.