How to Find a Qualified Wrongful Death Attorney to Fight Your Case
“As the client, it is your goals that drive the representation.”
Perhaps you and your children no longer have the same financial security. Maybe the pain from your loss is affecting your mental health and preventing you from fulfilling your own obligations.
Thinking about the prospect of hiring a wrongful death lawyer to embark on a legal battle might seem daunting. However, you may be entitled to damages that could help ease the burden of losing a loved one. A qualified wrongful death injury lawyer can help you through that process.
Finding a wrongful death attorney to fight your case does not need to be a challenging or stressful process. While many people are skeptical of lawyers in general, a wrongful death attorney may be the best person, and sometimes the only person, to fight on your behalf, for your interests and benefit.
What to Search for in a Qualified Wrongful Death Attorney
If the person at fault is wealthy, powerful or a large corporation, having a qualified wrongful death lawyer could be the difference between winning and losing your case. For those who have never needed to hire a lawyer, or do not have any experience going to court, there are several things to consider when searching for a qualified wrongful death attorney to represent you in court.
Experience With Wrongful Death Cases
First, it is important that you find a wrongful death attorney that has experience in wrongful death cases. Though all practicing lawyers have attended law school and passed the bar examination to receive their license, that does not mean that all lawyers are experts in the same areas of law. Some lawyers specialize in criminal law, some in civil law. In fact, civil law is a very broad category that includes all sorts of litigation.
It is important to find an attorney that has a history of representing clients specifically in wrongful death cases. This is because of the complicated nature of wrongful death cases.
Types of Wrongful Death Cases
Furthermore, it is important to consider the type of wrongful death cases that the lawyer has experience working with. If a wrongful death attorney has only represented clients whose family members were killed in slip-and-fall cases, for example, they might not be the best choice for a wrongful death case based on medical malpractice.
History of Successful Outcomes
Second, it is important that you find a wrongful death lawyer that has a history of positive outcomes for their clients. An attorney may have represented thousands of clients but how many actually got what they needed as a result of the representation?
Questions to Consider Asking
- You must ask how many of those clients were awarded damages?
- How long did litigation last?
- How often do the lawyers go to trial?
- How often do they settle cases outside of court?
Jurisdiction Experience
It is also important to make sure that the wrongful death injury lawyer has experience practicing in the jurisdiction where your case will be heard. Each court operates in a different way and experience with the nuances of your specific jurisdiction, including the judge, will give a qualified wrongful death lawyer a leg up.
Listens and Understands Your Specific Needs
Finally, it is important to hire a wrongful death injury attorney that listens and understands your specific goals and needs. As the client, it is your goals that drive the representation. An attorney that does not listen to their client, does not ask questions during a consultation, or does not seem genuinely interested in the representation may not be a good fit.
Wrongful death lawsuits can be emotionally heavy and last for a long time. A positive and trusting relationship between the attorney and client is imperative for the case to move forward smoothly.
If a prospective attorney has a poor communication style, brushes off the client, or does not adequately explain the steps that they are taking to achieve the client’s goals, it may be a sign of trouble ahead.
Contact Wrongful Death Attorneys Goodnow McKay
Given the sensitive nature of wrongful death cases, you can never be too careful when hiring a qualified wrongful death attorney. The attorneys at Goodnow McKay are experienced in many different types of wrongful death cases and have a proven track record of positive outcomes for their clients. Not only are they experienced, but they also care about, and listen to, their client’s goals. They are willing to settle cases when it benefits their clients, but also prepared to go to trial when it is necessary.
