Did you know that in the United States, there are nearly 225,000 unintentional injury deaths per year?
Some of these are likely self-caused. However, there are times when negligence comes into play. This is called a wrongful death.
If your loved one was a victim of a wrongful death, then you should consider speaking to a wrongful death attorney.
Not sure what to ask? These are four questions for a wrongful death attorney.
1. How Much Do You Charge?
Like most things in life, you are not going to get a lawyer’s services for free. The good news is that with wrongful death cases, you typically do not have to worry about paying a fee upfront.
A lawyer is most likely going to ask for a contingency fee. This is a percentage of the settlement money you will give to your lawyer if you are awarded any.
This contingency fee typically starts out around 33%, and can get up to 45% depending on how complex the case is, and whether or not it goes to trial.
2. What Is Your Experience?
Next, you are going to want to ask about the experience a lawyer has with wrongful death cases.
How many years have they been practicing this type of law? How many cases like this have they won? How many similar cases to this have they had in the past?
This is a question you need to ask to get an idea if your lawyer knows what they are doing with your case.
3. Can You Still File a Lawsuit?
One important thing you need to remember is certain types of cases have a statute of limitations when it comes to filing a lawsuit.
With any type of personal injury or wrongful death case in Alabama, this period is typically two years. However, there are certain situations which may affect the statute limitations. An attorney can help you determine whether your claim is eligible to be filed.
4. What Can You Expect?
Finally, you should ask your wrongful death lawyer what to expect if you go forward with this case. A lawyer should explain this in two parts.
They should tell you how much time a case like this can take to settle and they should give you an estimate of how much money you can stand to win in this case. Knowing these two things can make a big impact on if you want to go forward with your case.
Hire a Wrongful Death Attorney
These are four of the main questions that you need to ask a wrongful death attorney before moving forward with one. Get an idea of how much they charge, what experience they have, and what you can expect to gain by moving forward with a case.
Are you looking for a wrongful death attorney in Birmingham? Get a free consultation from us today.