How to Choose the Right Workers Compensation Lawyer Atlanta
Work-related accidents can be quite common—a broken hip from slipping on wet floor, a broken arm from falling off a ladder, a back injury from lifting heavy equipment, or carpal tunnel syndrome from too much typing are just some of the most common examples. Workers that get sick or injured on the job can qualify for compensation from these injuries, including lost wages and medical expenses. The best way to get the compensation you deserve is to get yourself a lawyer—not just any lawyer, but a workers compensation lawyer Atlanta.
What Does a Workers Compensation Attorney Do?
The main goal of a worker’s compensation lawyer is to represent their clients—the injured worker—and help them obtain benefits. The employer’s or employer’s insurance company’s lawyer’s task, on the other hand, is to mitigate the reduce the defendant’s liability.
A worker’s compensation lawyer’s job includes the following:
- Collecting medical evidence and medical records
- Taking depositions of the victim (claimant), doctors, physicians, medical experts, and other parties
- Carry out discoveries
- Conducting legal research
- Keeping up to date with developments in the law
- Draft pleadings and other legal documents such as motions, briefs, opinions and findings of fact
- Taking a case to court before a judge or referee
Finding the right worker’s comp lawyer for your needs may feel overwhelming and intimidating, but like everything else in life, doing research is the key.
At some point in our lives, we might find ourselves in situations where we’d need the help of a good lawyer. Whether it involves real estate transactions, dealing with family law issues, or setting up a business, there are a number of situations where the experience and assistance of a good lawyer is needed. When you get injured at work, you need the help of a good workers compensation lawyer Atlanta.
If You’re Looking for a Lawyer
If you find yourself in need of a lawyer to deal with an issue involving work-related injury, you may be wondering how to find one and how to know if you’re choosing the right lawyer to properly represent you.
It should be noted that all lawyers are offering their services to you and that you, as a potential customer, can evaluate the kind of services they offer. In fact, it is very important that you evaluate their services offered in the same way you’d evaluate any type of product or service you would like to avail.
How to Choose a Workers Compensation Lawyer
The first step in choosing the right lawyer is the research phase. In theory, if you want to start getting names of lawyers, you should start with getting personal referrals or recommendations. Start compiling a list of possible lawyers by asking family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and acquaintances for recommendations.
State bar associations are also a great place to start looking for lawyers that practice in the field you are interested in. For example, if you’re looking for a lawyer that specializes in workers’ comp laws, then you can find one there. Online resources are also a good place to start looking, and most of these resources come with reviews, so you can see how other people have rated their experience with a particular lawyer.
How to Know if Your Lawyer is Good?
Once you’ve done creating a list of potential lawyers, you can get started with the evaluation process. Most lawyers provide free initial consultations and, as a consumer, it would be wise for you to take advantage of these.
When meeting with these lawyers, always be ready with a list of questions, and don’t forget to take notes during the meeting/consultation. This way you’ll be able to compare the lawyers on your list.
Below are some important questions you can ask during the initial consultation:
- What is their area(s) of expertise? –you want to be sure that you’re hiring a lawyer with experience in the area of law you’re in need of assistance with. There are many different practice areas in the legal field, and majority of lawyers usually handle cases in specific areas of practice. For example, you can’t hire a divorce lawyer to handle your workers comp claims, you’d need a workers compensation lawyer Atlanta for that.
- What are the potential costs? –legal advice can be costly in the long run, so you must know how much a lawyer would charge for the services you seek. A lawyer should be able to give you an accurate estimate on the costs, according to the facts of your legal case.
- Who’s in the legal team? –there are lawyers that work independently (by themselves), and there are those that work paralegals. Others even outsource some legal work to other lawyers. It’s important that you know who is handling your file, because this can significantly affect the quality and cost of service you receive.
- Do they communicate with you? –find out how the lawyer communicates with their clients. If you have any inquiries, how would you get in touch with them? Do they take too long to respond? Although most lawyers handle several cases at one time, your case is important for you, and you must make sure that the lawyer you hire understands this and responds to you in a timely manner.
Last but not the least, besides getting answers to these questions, you must make sure that the lawyer you hire is compatible with you personality-wise. Ask yourself questions like: do you feel comfortable with this lawyer Do you feel at ease with them? Do you feel comfortable asking them questions and bringing up issues that matter to you?
Once you’ve chosen the attorney you think matches your criteria and you feel is a good fit, it’s wise to check with the organization that handles attorney disciplinary matters in your state. This way you can be sure the lawyer you chose hasn’t been subjected to disciplinary sanctions.
After completing the assessment process, you’ll have all the answers you need to properly choose the right lawyer for your case.
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This content was originally published here.
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