Best, Highest Ranked, #1 Personal Injury Attorney, Columbia, Missouri, How to Choose, Top Rated, Accident Attorney, Car Crash
If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident resulting in injury or death, you are likely wondering how to go about choosing an attorney. While many attorneys claim to be the “best”, “highest ranked”, “#1 personal injury attorney”, or “top rated”, unfortunately, most accident victims have no way of knowing whether such claims are true. Even worse, many attorneys who make these claims are the ones you should be avoiding – such as big city attorneys who do not practice locally and who are simply trying to sign up as many clients as possible to settle their claims for a quick buck.
So, what can you do to truly hire the “best”, “highest ranked”, “#1 personal injury attorney”, or “top rated” injury attorney for yourself or your loved one in Columbia, Missouri and Mid-Missouri? Fortunately, there are a few tried and true filters you can use to separate the wheat from the chaff.
First, ensure that the attorney you are hiring for your case is local. Again, it is becoming more and more common for big city attorneys to advertise and solicit clients for cases involving accidents which occurred hundreds of miles from their office. Here in Mid-Missouri, this often involves firms from St. Louis and Kansas City heavily advertising in our community despite having little or no connection to the area. While these St. Louis and Kansas City firms will occasionally claim to have “offices” in Mid-Missouri, these “offices” are typically unstaffed and are simply used as an address to trick local accident victims into hiring their firm. More so, these big city attorneys lack knowledge of our local courts, local judges, and the community members who will ultimately serve as the jurors on your case.
Second, research the past results for the attorney you are considering hiring. Check to see what past judgments the attorney has obtained and settlements the attorney has acquired. The attorney should be able to point you to these results and explain to you how they were obtained.
Third, ask the attorney whether they have previously tried a case to a jury. Again, many attorneys are simply looking to sign up as many cases as possible with no intention of ever trying a case. In doing so, these attorneys are significantly compromising the value of their clients’ cases. While some cases can be settled outside of court, many cases require significant litigation and occasionally a jury trial. If an attorney is simply settling most of the cases they have outside of court, insurance carriers quickly learn of this, and will offer far less money on cases that the attorney is handling – including your case.
Finally, look at reviews that have been posted about the attorney you are considering hiring. Often these reviews will come directly from past clients and will provide valuable insight into what other accident victims felt about how their claim was handled by that attorney. Look for reviews that provide specific detail on what the former client liked about the attorney and also for reviews about what the former client disliked about the attorney (be cautious of hiring an attorney with reviews stating the attorney and/or their office had poor communication, was difficult to get ahold of, or did not perform services as promised).
In summary, to hire the “best”, “highest ranked”, “#1 personal injury attorney”, or “top rated” attorney in Mid-Missouri and Columbia, Missouri, for your case, it’s important to hire local, verify past results, ensure your attorney can and/will try cases, and check their reviews. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an accident in Mid-Missouri, we are confident The A.W. Smith Law Firm will check each of these boxes. If you would like to learn more about our firm, or to see whether we can assist you with your case, please reach out to our office for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.
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