According to a May 2023 post from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), 4714 people died in large truck crashes in 2021. This number represents a 17% increase over the previous year.
In a longer timeframe, the number of deaths has risen dramatically. IIHS notes that the number of people who died in large truck crashes was 50% higher in 2021 than in 2009.
Who was killed in these crashes? IIHS reports that 16% of the deaths were occupants of the truck, 68% were occupants of cars and other vehicles, and 15% were bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians.
If you have been involved in a truck accident, you may be wondering what to ask a Marietta personal injury lawyer. Here are the key questions to ask. These can help you get started if you are considering having a lawyer represent you in a personal injury claim.
What About Legal Experience?
Trucking accident law is complex. If you are interviewing a lawyer, knowing they have handled similar types of cases is important. It clarifies that the attorney is an expert in navigating complexity and knows the local laws that could affect the outcome.
What About Availability?
Many personal injury attorneys are extremely busy. Lawyers often have a backlog of cases and need to evaluate which cases they can accept to effectively serve their clients. In interviewing a lawyer, find out if they have room to take your case and give it their full attention.
What is the Quality of Communication?
Some truck accident and personal injury law firms rely on teams to get work done. This may mean that you will speak with a team of people, including paralegals, assistants, and the attorney.
Knowing how the firm works can help you manage your expectations and meet the people who could be working on a case.
What are the Fees?
In Georgia, law firms typically work on a contingency fee. According to NOLO, this means that the lawyer and team do not get paid until you get a settlement. The contingency fee is typically a percentage of the total settlement.
Talking about fees is something to do in advance so you are aware that the personal injury lawyer works on a contingency basis and provides work at reasonable fees.
What is Your Subjective Experience?
Talking with an attorney requires a balance of understanding the law, evaluating their experience, assessing availability, and learning how the firm communicates. These are critical factors in deciding which firm you want to work with.
However, external factors are not the only thing to consider. Many people make decisions based on the more subjective experience of the lawyer and the law firm. To evaluate this, it may help to take a closer look at your personal experience.
You could ask yourself a few questions and answer based on your experience with the lawyer:
- Do you feel comfortable when speaking with this person?
- Do you trust this person has the expertise to represent you?
- Do you feel the lawyer cares about your case?
- Do you feel it is easy to have your questions answered by the attorney?
Many people find that this kind of self-reflection helps clarify a decision. As you consider these options, take the time to evaluate all these aspects. As you balance your answers, you can decide in favor of your peace of mind.