You may already know that once you’re affected by asbestosis, mesothelioma or another related cancer after exposure to asbestos, a lawyer can help you gain significant compensation for your medical expenses—not to mention, pain and suffering. But finding the right lawyer for your case can be a confusing charge. Although mesothelioma law firms can seem a dime a dozen, many of those firms lack the experience and competence that you’ll need to secure a winning settlement or trial award.
Five Red Flags to Look for in a Potential Asbestos Lawyer
Sign One: You only know about the lawyer or their firm because of widespread and zealous advertising techniques. While advertising and solicitation is a common and relatively understandable aspect of what is a highly competitive and somewhat oversaturated legal field, you certainly need to know more about any firm you are seriously considering than what their billboard or mail-out flyers look like. Noticeable and expensive advertising efforts are hardly proof of quality.
Sign Two: The firm will not give you any guarantee that your case will be handled in-house. Many firms that advertise aggressively are only interested in getting clients through the door—and not in successfully filing a mesothelioma lawsuit on their behalf. Many firms “sell” potential clients to other, less experienced firms in a common brokerage-type process. You want to secure your attorney’s word that he or she WILL be the one handling your case personally, before you sign on the dotted line.
Sign Three: An asbestos lawyer is vague or non-committal when discussing fees and other specifics of the attorney-client contract. Contingency fees are relatively standardized in mesothelioma cases, but make sure that your attorney’s falls along the line of current standards (around 40 percent) and that other details of his contact do as well.
Sign Four: The firm is difficult to reach or does not promptly respond to your calls or emails. A firm or attorney that values customer service will usually give you a timely standard to expect for returned correspondence. If they don’t, ask. And if you’re finding that it takes days for someone from the office to get back with you, look elsewhere.
Sign Five: An asbestos lawyer will not give details of past clients’ cases—including their results and confirmation of client satisfaction. A good asbestos-injury attorney should have no less than 5-10 years of experience in handling cases like yours. This will ensure that he or she has the knowledge and expertise necessary for competently representing your interests. In order to prove such competence, any high-quality asbestos-injury attorney or firm should be able to give you detailed information about their case history and also provide you with contact information and testimonials from clients who have reported full satisfaction with their provided services.