Biking isn’t the safest thing you can do on the road. You not only have to worry about staying safe yourself but also about other people not paying attention and creating dangerous situations for you. And when you’re already more likely to get into an accident on a bike, you must prepare for the case when you need to deal with an accident case.
Do you want to learn what it takes to find bike accident lawyers who can help you get the settlement you deserve? Keep reading to learn how to find the best bike accident lawyer in your area.
Find Someone Local
Accident law can change a lot, depending on where you live. You may be the cause of an accident in one place but be the victim in the other. There are also countless other factors that can play into how your accident case proceeds.
That’s why you need a local bike accident lawyer. Make sure the attorney you work with has a local presence and knows your local rules. They’ll be able to properly negotiate with the insurance company in this situation and increase the chance of getting a successful settlement.
Look for Expertise
There is a lot that goes into an accident case. Each type of accident is unique and has factors that play into a successful case. A slip-and-fall accident, for instance, will have a completely different set of circumstances than a biking accident.
Because of this, it pays to hire a bike accident lawyer with experience with these types of cases. Ask your lawyer options what their history is with bike accidents and their history of success. You want to hire someone with a great track record if you want to maximize your chance of winning.
Make sure you discover more about a lawyer’s case history and learn all you can about how similar those cases are to yours.
Work on a Contingency
Lawyers are expensive when you hire them hourly. If you need to work with an attorney for an extended period, the chances are good that you’ll end up wasting all your money before you get a result from your accident case.
It makes more sense to work with a lawyer who works with a contingency. When you hire a lawyer on a contingency, you won’t have any fees out of pocket. In fact, you won’t pay any money if your lawyer doesn’t win your case.
Your payment will come from a percentage of your settlement amount. Even if you get less money at the end of your case, it’s better than not being able to hire an hourly lawyer to represent you.
Interview Your Actual Lawyer
The person you see on the billboard on the side of the road isn’t always the person you’ll work with if you use their firm. They’re the face of the company. Even if they take on some cases, they probably can’t take on every client that comes in the front door.
Those cases get passed off to other firm associates. This is fine if the firm you decide to use has a great reputation. However, you still need to speak with and vet the bike accident lawyer who will handle the case.
You never know, the best bike accident lawyer may be a less-known associate at a larger law firm.
Gauge Communication Skills
Unfortunately, not every lawyer is a great communicator. Some of them retreat behind closed doors once signing you as a client and become hard to reach until they need something from you. Even if the person you hire is doing a great job, you don’t want to get stuck in this situation.
You want to work with a lawyer who communicates well. You should get regular updates about your case and be able to get a response without waiting forever to get a returned phone call. Ask your potential bike accident lawyers how they handle communication and what update frequency you can expect.
Learn Your Role in the Case
You won’t rely solely on your bike accident lawyer in many situations. There may be information you need to provide, forms to fill out, or other legal requirements. Some lawyers will have different expectations for those things depending on how they deal with their clients.
It’s important to understand your role in the case to figure out what you need to do during the process. This is especially important if you’re suffering from an injury and don’t want to deal with the case. Find a lawyer that will meet your needs and assign you as much responsibility as you want to take.
Get Lawyer References
One great way to find injury lawyers is to listen to people who have been in your shoes before. Many people spend time online talking about their experiences with service providers. Lawyers are no different.
You can quickly search on Google to find local lawyers and reviews from previous clients. Use those reviews to narrow down the good lawyers in your region and use that list to start the interview process.
Start Your Search for Bike Accident Lawyers Today
You need all the help you can get when you aren’t getting a good settlement from your bike accident case. Insurance companies will try to do whatever possible to pay less money, so you sometimes need to fight back to get more compensation.
Unfortunately, this is hard to do on your own if you don’t have a great legal background and are dealing with the aftermath of a bike accident. Use the guide above to find bike accident lawyers who can help.
Check out the blog to find more tips that will help in other legal situations.
