Choosing The Right Solicitor For An Accident Claim

After an accident, seeking legal help can often be so time consuming and worrisome that it feels like another accident in the making. Making sure you have the right solicitor to represent you in your accident compensation claim is of the utmost importance and this article aims to provide some guidelines to make the best choice.

Firstly, it is important to find out if the solicitor you are thinking about is a specialist in the area of your accident. If you have had a car accident and suffered whiplash, there would be little point in retaining the services of a solicitor who specialises in probate matters who happens to do a bit of personal injury on the side. This is important because you want the best service and that means you need a specialist. Not doing this can cost you more money because if your chosen accident claim solicitor does not specialise in this particular area of law then they are unlikely to know what the current trends in the law are and this could end up costing you money. If the law firm in question does not have a specialist department in the field in question, e.g. personal injury, it would be advisable to look elsewhere.

A collateral point here is that a specialist would be well advised to tell you if you have a valid claim at all as compared to a firm that is not a specialist. Many of the leading accident compensation firms have services online, which makes it easier for the individual. There will be forms which can be filled out, and there will be experienced solicitors who will help.

When you have retained the services of your accident claim solicitor be completely aware of the arrangement between yourselves as regards fees. When signing a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) you want to make sure that in the agreement the solicitor is going to claim for all of their fees and expenses from the opposing side and not from any accident compensation you receive. Bear in mind at this stage the law is on your side and does not cater for a solicitor disputing this. The Access to Justice Act permits them to claim all reasonable costs from the other party.

Furthermore, it is up to you whether you want to claim or settle out of court. Solicitors may be over zealous to taking matters straight to court. This should not be against your wishes. As such, if you want to settle the claim, rather than go to court, you should ask your accident claim solicitor whether they have any objection to such. On the other hand, if you want to go to court, but your solicitor is advising that you settle the claim, you should discuss this with them to see if there are any adverse effects for taking your accident compensation claim to court.

Of course, if worse comes to worse, you need to understand your position if you lose the case. In this respect, you need to ask your accident claim solicitor their position in such a scenario and see if he/she is willing to insure your claim against the chances that you may lose.

Saurav is an author of several articles pertaining to No Win No Fee, Compensation Claims, Accident Claims, Personal Injury Claims and other legal articles.