The Best Lowell Personal Injury Lawyer Near Me – How to Make the Best Choice for Your Case

In all likelihood, if you have been severely injured in a car crash or in another matter caused by the recklessness, negligence, or wrongful acts of someone else, this may be the first time that you have had to retain a personal injury lawyer.

I understand.

You may not know where to turn.  Should you hire one of the lawyers on the billboards or the TV ads – are they the best lawyer for you?  Or might it be someone else?

Whether you are looking for the best lawyer in Lowell, Billerica, Andover, Wilmington, Tewksbury, or any of the surrounding communities, the primary aspects that should be considered are the same.  This blog post discusses a number of factors that I suggest be considered for choosing the right lawyer for your case or that of a family member.

How Much Time Will Your Attorney Have for You?  Understanding How Personal Injury Cases are Staffed

There are two fundamental approaches for staffing personal injury cases.  On one hand some law firms accept a large numbers of cases, and staff these cases with paralegals, document clerks, and others who do large amounts of the work under the direction of an attorney.  Junior lawyers may also be used.

Under this approach a client might have a legitimate questions about how much time their lawyer might have for their case and to answer their questions, if the lawyer has dozens (or even hundreds) of other cases.

On the other hand, other lawyers prefer to accept fewer cases, and to do much (or sometimes all) of the work personally, or perhaps with the help of one staff member (often a paralegal).  Lawyers using this approach often believe that having fewer clients makes it easier for them to have more time for each individual client.

I follow this second approach.  Through this approach, I believe that I can get to personally know each client better, and can also better understand their circumstances.  I also want to be able to have sufficient time so that I can address questions that clients may have as their case is progressing, and so that I can meticulously build each client’s case.

I would suggest that it’s important to have an honest conversation about how your case will be staffed prior to making a decision about which attorney to retain for your case.  Will the attorney be taking your calls when they are not in court, or will much of your interaction be with a staff member?  Will the attorney you hire be handling most of the work for your case, or will it be delegated to a junior lawyer?   You deserve to know up-front as to exactly how your case will be handled and staffed so that there are no surprises.

Visit the Lawyer’s Office to Understand How Much Time the Lawyer Will Be Able to Devote to Your Case

If you or a family member has been seriously injured, or if your family has lost a loved one, retaining the best personal injury lawyer for your case will be important in seeking full compensation.   I would suggest that the following are important considerations and factors in choosing a lawyer:

• As in other professions, having more experience is beneficial.   Experience, however, should not be judged solely by the number of cases that an attorney may have had.  As an example, one attorney might work for a couple of years on a single highly complex medical malpractice case, while another attorney may have handled a dozen or more smaller car accident cases during this same time.  The second attorney should not be considered to have more experience than the first attorney simply because she had a greater number of cases.

• Dedication and tenaciousness. Dedication and tenaciousness are what I believe are the fundamentals to client representation, and are critical for seeking maximum compensation.  This is the willingness to devote significant time and energy – every time – in seeking the best outcome for a client.  When hiring an attorney, you will want an attorney who is willing to go the distance in personally seeking to get you the best outcome possible.

• Power of persuasion. Ultimately, your case will either be settled with the defendant, or resolved at trial.  Does it seem like the attorney you are considering will be effective in both of these settings?

To make these determinations, I would urge you to visit the offices of any lawyers who you may be considering, and to carefully take note of the following:

• Does the attorney seem like he or she will be personally invested in the outcome of your case? Or will you be treated just like another case file?

• Does the attorney seem like he or she has the time to discuss your case with you in detail? Or do they seem rushed and overworked?

• How does their staff (if they have staff) treat you? Do they make you feel like a valued client, or are you treated like you are one of hundreds of clients (and not all that important)?

• Does the staff seem like they are knowledgeable and professional? Do they seem like they are rushed?

What is the Lawyer’s Approach to Case Development?

The vast majority of all personal injury cases in the United States settle prior to trial.  Courts have been increasingly encouraging pre-trial settlements through the use of mediations for most cases.   Such mediations, and the corresponding settlement negotiations that take place both in and outside of mediations, usually benefit all parties.

I believe that mediations and settlement negotiations should be approached with the same level of dedication that would be used if a case was going to trial.  Rather than approaching a mediation or settlement with only a dollar amount in mind (without having done the work to back up a claim), I invest the time to build a client’s case through carefully establishing fault and liability and presenting this to the defense, so that my clients will be negotiating from a position of strength.  The message to the defense will be that “this is our case; you can pay fair compensation now, or we will not hesitate to take our case to trial and let a jury determine fault and damages.”

Does the Attorney Have Trial Experience?

Contrary to popular belief, many personal injury lawyers have never tried a case in front of a jury.  I am an experienced trial lawyer, having tried cases involving both personal injury and criminal defense matters before juries.  If you’ve been injured and retain my services, you can rest assured that I will not hesitate to take your case to trial if full and fair compensation is not offered through settlement discussions.

I Would Invite You to Call Me to Learn if I and My Firm are Right for Your Case

I offer a free consultation, and there is no fee unless compensation is recovered.  I also typically advance all litigation costs, so you will not need to pay these costs while your case is ongoing (such costs are then subtracted from jury awards or settlements).