Palm Springs Attorney Jeff Yoss Shares What to Consider When Hiring a Personal Injury Attorney

July 12, 2014 - If you or a loved one has been injured or harmed because of someone else's actions, this can affect your health, happiness, and your livelihood and ability to take care of your family. You may find that you need help receiving compensation for medical bills, repair expenses, loss of wages, and pain and suffering that is a result another person's aggression, mistake or negligence. This can lead to stressful legal issues and it's important to have the legal support of a personal injury attorney with whom you feel comfortable and confident. When looking to hire a personal injury attorney, the Palm Springs Law Office of Jeff M. Yoss suggests that you keep the following in mind:

Experience - First and foremost, you want to have a personal injury attorney with extensive experience. Things to consider include: how long they have been in practice, how long have they practiced in your geographical area, do they have specific experience with your kind of personal injury case, how many similar cases/clients have they represented, do they have specialty areas of expertise? They may have extensive experience with medical malpractice, but what if your case is the result of a car accident? You want to be sure that your personal injury attorney has experience with your specific situation.

Personal Rapport - No matter how much experience an attorney has, that won't matter if you don't feel comfortable with them. You need to be able to trust this person with the details of your case and feel confident that they will represent you honestly and treat you respectfully. When you meet with them, take time to notice how they speak with you. Do they explain things in a way you can understand? Do they use a lot of legal jargon? Are they condescending or supportive? Do they make you feel that you will be a part of their team or are they arrogant and overbearing? Although you may want a personal injury attorney that will be a shark on your behalf, you probably don't want to feel like you are being attacked while you are working with them.

Communication - In addition to feeling comfortable with how your personal injury attorney talks to you, you will want to know how often and in what way they will communicate with you. Ask how they will contact you - by phone, email, letter? How should you contact them, and how long can you expect to wait for a reply to your question? You don't want a delay in their response to cause a delay in your case or cause you unnecessary anxiety when you may already feel overwhelmed and/or may still be recovering from injuries and emotional stress.

Fees - It's important to understand how personal injury attorneys are paid. Most personal injury attorneys accept cases based on a contingency fee. This means that they receive a percentage of the final settlement should you win the case. If they lose, then they do not receive any fee or payment. The percentage can vary so it's important to discuss this topic. However, personal injury fees are different from costs, which are expenses involved with the case such as court fees, copying costs, etc. These costs are subtracted from the final settlement in a variety of ways. If the case is not won, these costs may get passed to you. It's important to understand how those expenses will be handled prior to hiring a personal injury attorney.

If you have been involved in an accident you need to be sure to find the professional legal advice and support of an experienced personal injury attorney. The Palm Springs Law Office of Jeff M. Yoss has extensive experience in many types of personal injury and handles cases from all of the desert cities, including: Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, Coachella, Thermal, Desert Hot Springs, Banning, Beaumont, El Centro, Temecula and beyond. Call the Palm Springs Law Office of Jeff M. Yoss at (760)322-6690 for a one-on-one consultation to discuss your case.