This is a question that we get several times a month. Someone will have ordered our free book on Virginia Car Accidents read it but hire another lawyer. Sometimes they read it after hiring another lawyer.

Then they want to switch lawyers.

We have a strict criteria. We will not accept any case where you have already hired another lawyer to represent you.

Why?

1. We like to do things “our way.” In the past, when we did accept these sort of cases, we usually had to clean up a mess.

2. It’s a headache. Usually the lawyer you are firing wants to charge you some sort of a “lien” for her time. That’s fair, but its a headache. People were expecting that we would reduce our fee to account for the money to be paid the fired lawyer.

3. We don’t need to. Each day we field inquiries from many people who want to read our books, find out more about us, or hire us. We like to get cases when they are ‘fresh.’ Taking over someone else’s case is just not something that we need to do.

What’s the exception? We do accept cases that have been referred by other lawyers. The other lawyer may have done some work collecting records, etc, or that lawyer may be from out of state. The exception to this rule is that we don’t accept any cases last minute. If the reason for the referral is that the lawyer can’t settle the case and is panicking all of a sudden because Virginia’s 2-year statute of limitations is upon them, we don’t get involved.

Question: I visited a Virginia personal injury attorney near Tyson’s Corner for a free consultation recently about my car accident case. I had not seen a doctor as the accident only happened recently.

This lawyer had a huge wall of business cards of doctors, physical therapists and chiropractors on his conference room table. He told me he could set me up on referral and I wouldn’t need to pay anything up front to visit one of these health care professionals, the money would come out of my settlement later.

What do you think about this idea?

Response:

Beware of any lawyer who has a stable of chiropractors, doctors or therapists to refer you to. This is a recipe for disaster.

Local Fairfax judges call this “service” the kiss of death to a claim. (One long-time attorney was disbarred because he referred clients to a chiropractor and then told his clients to lie about the referral when asked in deposition.) He got caught big time.

The problem with a lawyer to doctor referral is that jurors are highly suspicious of lawyers and doctors who have a referral relationship. While the client may not know how many of that lawyer’s clients have been referred in the last 12 months to a particular doctor, you can bet that the insurance company knows it or will find out about it. How credible do you think that doctor’s testimony will be when the jury finds out that he treated 50 patients from the same lawyer last year?

Are there exceptions to this rule? Yes, there are.

You may have a very special need for a doctor with a special expertise. It is perfectly legitimate for the attorney to make that suggestion/recommendation. If every client, though, is getting referred to the same chiropractor or the same orthopedist, then that is a huge problem. (So beware of the attorney who has a stack of doctor/chiropractor cards in his office. You need to ask the right questions and fully understand the business relationship, if any, between that attorney and the doctor.)

People contact me and ask: why did you take the time to write and publish a book on Virginia car accident cases that you give away for free to Virginia residents?

Here’s the answer:  

 I’ve been in practice representing Virginia accident victims since 1983.  I’ve seen it all. I am sick and tired of insurance companies taking advantage of people before they have a chance to talk to an attorney. For years one major insurance company encouraged claimants to not hire an attorney.

You may not need an attorney to represent you in your case but you should be armed with some good information, right from the beginning of your claim. I wrote this book so that you can be informed, today. (And maybe you won’t ever need to talk to a lawyer.)

I am also sick and tired of outrageous lawyer advertising where lawyers with a reputation for handling hundreds of cases at a time make promises that can’t be kept or equate your injury to “cash, cash, cash.”  I am also tired of lawyers who file frivolous lawsuits, because frivolous lawsuits hurt everyone by delaying real claims from getting to court.

Most attorneys require you to make an appointment in which you would get some of the information that I have provided here. I believe that you should be able to have this information, right now, and without any pressure. The hiring of an attorney to represent you is a very important step that should not be taken lightly.

Frankly, this method of talking to you also saves me time. I’ve packed a ton of information into this book and it saves me the hours of time that it would take each day just to talk to all of the new potential clients who call. I cannot and will not accept every case and, frankly, each year we turn down good cases that simply do not meet our case selection criteria.  So, rather than cut you short on the phone, writing mt book gives me a chance to tell you what you need to know so that you can make an informed decision about what steps to take with your case. Even if I do not accept your case, I would like you to be educated about the process so that you don’t fall victim to the insurance companies.

New Hampshire personal injury attorney Ed Van Dorn answered a question that is ofter asked by claimants: after I hire a personal injury attorney, can I switch lawyers? Ed’s answer is absolutely correct, you can change lawyers. You have the absolute right to change lawyers, even if your lawsuit has been filed.

Each office handles this differently. In our office, because of the volume of inquiries we get, our policy is to generally not get involved in a case that another lawyer has done significant work in. We’ll meet with you and give you a second opinion bu, no, we’ve generally found that there are a lot of reasons to not get involved later.

So, choose your Virginia personal injury attorney carefully, while allowable, it may be difficult to switch later!

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.