4 Ways to Find an Excellent Personal Injury Lawyer in NYC

You probably know that looking at billboards and listening to commercials is not the best way to find a personal injury lawyer in NYC. There are so many choices and you’re under so much stress due to the trauma of having an accident and concerns about your health due to your injuries. New York City is a big place, so you may want to narrow your search to a Queens, Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island or Brooklyn Personal Injury Attorney. That’s why it’s helpful to take a look at these 4 ways to find an excellent personal injury lawyer in NYC before starting your search.

NUMBER ONE:A good starting point is word of mouth.

Ask your colleagues, family members, and friends if they have faced similar issues and have contacted a personal injury lawyer in New York. Only a person who has received service from a lawyer or a law firm can tell you their way of handling clients and their work procedures. Ask if they returned calls promptly and explained things clearly. Follow up by looking at the lawyer’s website and noticing whether their specialty is personal injury law and whether they handle the type of case that you have. For example, some personal injury attorneys handle car accidents, but not product liability claims.

NUMBER TWO: Read reviews from previous clients.

If you aren’t able to get a personal referral, you can go right to the internet to search for a personal injury attorney. It is always a good idea to visit an attorney’s website and view the client testimonials. You can also look at reviews on websites like Yelp or Linkedin where the firm itself does not control what’s posted. Keep an eye out for reviews written by previous clients, and you will learn a lot about the organization or and their individual attorneys. Also, ask the attorney to share a few references with whom you or your family member can speak on the phone.

NUMBER 3 – Do they specialize in cases like mine?

Priority number one is to make sure you hire a firm that mainly specializes in personal injury. Stay away from firms that have a large amount of specialities and include personal injury. Great personal injury firms usually only handle personal injury because there are so many different types of personal injury that there’s no need to branch out. Make sure the specialty you are looking for such as car accidents, dog bites, slip and falls, medical malpractice, etc., is listed on the website. It’s even better if the sub-specialty is listed as well, such as pedestrian accidents or orthopaedic malpractice. It’s important to make sure that the Queens, Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island or Brooklyn personal injury lawyer is the best personal injury lawyer in NYC for your type of case.

NUMBER FOUR: Are they charging the going rate?

Most personal injury attorneys in NYC handle cases on a contingency fee. This means that you don’t have to pay them anything until your case is settled. Stay away from any attorneys that ask you for money up front. Most Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn personal injury attorneys charge one-third of what’s collected as their fee, with the expenses coming off the top. Some attorneys will ask you to lay out expenses for the case, such as paying for medical records, deposition transcripts and other costs, but they should be avoided as you can usually find a great attorney that’s willing to front those costs, too. If the attorney doesn’t have confidence in the case and wants to charge you an hourly fee – run!

Wittenstein & Wittenstein is the leading Personal Injury and car accident attorney in New York City. We are based in Forest Hills and have been serving New York City for more than six decades. We are known for being exceptionally transparent and considering clients our extended family. Call us for a free consultation and find out what great service really is.