Car Accident Lawyers – What Type Do I Need?
When you hire a car accident lawyer in Louisiana, the first question that comes to mind will be which lawyer or law firm should you hire. There are literally thousands of attorneys in Louisiana who are willing to take your car accident case. Before you decide which injury lawyer to hire for your car accident, you should consider the following factors.
The type of attorney you should hire depends in part upon the type of case you have. If you have suffered only minor damages, very often any injury lawyer or car accident lawyer is capable of successfully handling such a claim. Some of the larger injury law firms that heavily advertise for car accident cases handle literally thousands of smaller claims each year. If your claim is relatively small, the type of attorney who handles a high volume of cases may be the best attorney for your car accident case. Typically these offices have a large number of staff members who deal with insurance adjusters on a daily basis and negotiate multiple small settlements each week. This type of injury lawyer will be able to quickly move your small claim to a settlement.
However, if you have sustained serious injuries due to your car accident, you may be better off hiring an injury lawyer who is a serious litigator. Car accident lawyers who handle hundreds or even thousands of claims a year simply cannot file suit, take depositions, attend court hearings and prepare each of those cases for trial. They simply do not have enough time or resources to fully litigate and prepare such a large volume of cases each year. In contrast, a smaller “litigation” firm is better able to actually file your case in court, take depositions, file motions to obtain documents and fully prepare your case for trial. In doing so, this type of attorney is often more likely to obtain a higher settlement for you.
All sizes do not fit all people. If you have sustained serious injuries in a car accident, often the best lawyer for you may not be a larger firm that “specializes” in car accidents. Sometimes these offices handle a large volume of claims and many of these claims tend to be smaller value cases. You do not want your case getting overlooked simply for the sake of a speedy resolution. A serious car accident often requires serious litigation attorneys since a full recovery may require proving insurance coverage, taking depositions and perhaps even trying your case to a judge or jury.
