Las Vegas Accident Lawyer - Injury Lawyer

Las Vegas Accident Lawyer - Injury Lawyer

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As a Las Vegas accident lawyer, clients will ask me, "I'm coming in to meet with you, what should I bring with me?" I tell clients to bring everything with them that they think might be related to the case. If you've been in a car accident bring copies of any photographs you've taken with a camera or your cell phone (those can usually be uploaded or emailed). Bring anything you got from the police (if the police were called to the scene), or if you went and filled out a report, bring that report. If you got the little ticket stub that you get from the police officer (with the event number) bring that, because if we can get that event number we can get the police report. If you've already taken your vehicle in for repair, bring copies of any appraisals or damage estimates with you. Also, if you wrote down any notes either at the scene or when you got home, bring those. Those can sometimes be very helpful. Simply stated, bring everything with you that you think might be related to the case. It's better to have more information than not enough.

Lastly, I tell all my clients, "Write down any question that you might have for our meeting, and we'll go through them one at a time." That way you're not going to leave the office thinking, "Oh shoot, I forgot to ask two or three things." You'll know that every one of your questions has been answered.

One of the questions that I'm asked all the time is, "How can I afford a Las Vegas injury attorney?". Personal injury attorneys work a little differently than most attorneys. We charge a contingency fee basis as opposed to an hourly rate. If you've ever been to an attorney before, most attorneys charge you $300 - $500 per hour and make you give them a retainer up front and then draw against that retainer. And then when the retainer runs out they ask you to write them another check, and as you can imagine, many people can't afford to do that. Personal injury attorneys work a little differently. We work on what is called a contingency fee basis, and that means that our fee is contingent on getting money for our clients. If I spend 1000 hours on a client's case, but don't get that client any money, the client doesn't owe me anything for my time. We have a strong incentive to get the most money for every client, and we do that anyway, but, obviously, the more money we get for our clients, the higher our fee goes. It's a good situation for most of our clients because they can't afford to write that check up front, and they're generally very pleased with the outcome.

One of the things that I tell all my clients to be aware of are the so-called, "discount firms" that charge a discounted contingency fee. In Las Vegas the standard contingency fee is one-third (33.3%), but there are some firms that advertise less. One of the things you need to watch out for is hidden fees (or hidden charges). Typically those lawyers will charge you for things that other lawyers won't. They'll charge you for a percentage of the property damage that's recovered. Most reputable firms here in Las Vegas don't charge for property damage. They'll also take a percentage of the medical payments coverage that was obtained, and that's money that you would have gotten anyway (even without an attorney). The other thing I always tell me clients is, "If you're dealing with a discounted fee, you're usually going to get discounted service too." So be careful because you get what you pay for.

Many people ask me, "What information should I look for, what research should I do before I hire a Las Vegas personal injury lawyer?" Obviously, a referral from a trusted source is always the best way to go, but sometimes you don't have that luxury. What I recommend my clients do is do a Google search on a lawyer that you're thinking about meeting with first, just to see what you can find out (you might be surprised). There are good things on there, but there could be some bad things, and it's up to you, and you can ask the attorney about those thing. The other thing that I encourage people to do is, when they're meeting with a client, ask the attorney, "What is the extent of your involvement going to be on my case? What are you going to do personally?" At our firm, I don't do everything. I don't request the records from the hospital. I don't put the address on the letter and drop it in the mail box. But I do the important things. I deal with the insurance companies, and I talk to the adjusters. I answer all the legal questions. You want to make sure that you have somebody like that; somebody who's qualified to be handling the aspect of the case that they're handling. You don't want some high-school graduate who is 19 years old negotiating with an insurance company on your behalf, but unfortunately there are firms out there that do that.

The other thing that I encourage clients to ask their lawyer is, "How many lawsuits have you filed, and how many lawsuits does your firm file?" Insurance companies keep track of those things. If a personal injury attorney never files a lawsuit, the offers go lower and lower and lower, because the insurance company's not going to respect that law firm. You want an experienced litigator, who's done it before and can tell you what to expect, leading the charge.

About the Author:
If you are interested in learning more about: <a href="http://www.hennessandhaight.com/types-of-cases";>Las Vegas Accident Lawyer</a>, then visit the Henness and Haight Injury Attorneys' site and learn more about these <a href="http://www.hennessandhaight.com";>Las Vegas Injury Attorneys</a> now!



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