Fairfax attorney Ben Glass explains how to go about finding the right attorney for your Virginia car accident case.

If you are represented by an attorney who has never tried a serious case or who “handles” a lot of automobile cases but settles them all, you may not be in the best of hands. I believe it is so important that you get into the right hands that in my book I give you the names and telephone numbers of other good attorneys in our area who you should call if you don’t become my client. Why do I give you the names of my competition? Easy–I believe that we are all on the same side in battling the insurance companies (there’s an insurance company behind just about every case.) These people are attorneys who I have a great deal of respect for in our area. It is my desire, above all else, that people with meritorious cases get into the hands of the experienced, good, trial lawyers.

Choosing an attorney to represent you is an important but daunting task. The decision certainly should not be made on the basis of advertising alone. The Yellow Pages are filled with ads–all of which say basically the same thing. You should not hire based solely on advertising–anyone can buy a slick commercial. Heck, you shouldn’t even hire me until you trust that I can do a good job for you.

How Do You Choose?

How do you find out who in your local community is the best for your case? I believe that there are certain questions to ask that will lead you to the best person for your case—no matter what type of claim you have. It may involve some time on your part, but that’s OK because the decision as to who your attorney will be is very important.

The world of personal injury and accident claims is, in our opinion, much too specialized for someone who does not regularly handle these cases. Too many times we have looked at cases that other—inexperienced—attorneys have handled. You should be aware that the insurance companies who defend personal injury and accident cases know who the attorneys are in your area who actually go into court to try cases and who do not. The insurance companies use that information to evaluate their risk. One of the first questions some insurance adjusters will ask when a serious claim comes in is: who is representing the plaintiff? If this information is important to the insurance company, shouldn’t it be important to you?

You definitely do not need an attorney for every small injury case. In fact, our office does not even accept cases where there’s little or no property damage or the injuries are minor. Why not? Simple. In the small case, the attorney fee and costs might leave little or nothing for you after your medical bills are paid, and we don’t believe that would be fair to you.

Want to learn more? Get The Truth About Lawyer Advertising.

Based on our experience, here are the top six questions that you may have if you have been in an accident:

1. Do I need an attorney to represent me? Not always. My view is that the more complex the injury is the more an attorney will be able to add value to your claim. If you injury is slight and resolves in a few weeks, my book may be all that you need to settle your case yourself.
2. Who should pay my medical bills now? Submit your bills to your own health insurer. Then, call you car insurance company and ask if you have medical payments coverage. If you do, submit the bills to your car insurance company as well. (My book will explain in detail how all of this works.) The insurance company for the person who hit you will not generally advance these funds to you, preferring to string you out and settle everything at one time at the end. You don’t want your medical bills going to collections!
3. What about my car? Who should pay to get it fixed? Often the defendant’s insurance company will help you immediately with this. If they don’t, contact your own car insurance company and get them to work on it. Yes, you’ll pay a deductible, but your insurance company will help you recover that deductible from the person who was at fault.

4. What else should I be doing at this time?

• Follow your doctor’s instructions and keep all medical appointments.
• Take digital pictures of your car and your injuries.
• Obtain the police accident report.
• You may settle and release your property damage claim with the other person’s car insurance company.
• You may give a recorded statement to your own car insurance company if requested.
• Cooperate with the police and if subpoenaed, appear at any court hearing.

5. Is there anything I should not be doing while I wait for your book?

Don’t give a recorded statement to the other person’s insurance company.
Don’t sign medical releases for the other person’s insurance company.
Don’t accept a check for your personal injuries and sign a release.6. I am hundreds of miles away from you; will you still take my case?
At one time the answer to this question would have been “no.” Today, though with modern technology being what it is, we represent accident victims all over Virginia (and, from time to time, we handle large cases out of state). If we accept your case, it doesn’t matter where you are located. However, your case must qualify for our office. The details are in my book.

If you have been hurt by someone else’s negligence you may not need a lawyer but you should arm yourself with good, quality information before calling a personal injury attorney or dealing with the insurance company yourself.

I’m sick and tired of the insurance companies taking advantage of people before they have access to valuable information that previously could only be obtained by calling an attorney and making an appointment for a consultation. I’m tired of lawyer advertising that is simply not helpful to consumers. 

So that’s why we are here now.  Enjoy.